It Is Not Real, It Does Not Grow

"TATTOO SONG (Daisy on my Toe)" -- Mason Williams

Many summer camps and Girl Scout troops know this song:

What they often don't seem to know is who wrote it.  In fact, most assume it's a folk song, handed down over so many years that no one remembers where it originated.  It's time to correct that misconception.


In fact, "Tattoo Song" debuted in 1965 on a best-selling album by the Smothers Brothers, "Mom Always Liked You Best."  Like most of the duo's cuts, it combined humor and music.


So who wrote it?  A man who has been awarded an Emmy and two Grammys.  A man who is an accomplished guitarist, comedian, artist, poet and author.  His name is Mason Williams, and he is best known for ""Classical Gas," a huge hit in 1968 whose popularity has never waned in the decades since its release.

Williams received his two Grammy Awards for composing and performing "Classical Gas."  At the time, he was head writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, a groundbreaking, controversial and popular television variety show.  For this work, he landed his Emmy,

A few years earlier, just before he wrote "Tattoo Song," Williams released an album called "Them Poems," a collection of humorous short pieces he sung or recited before a live audience.  That same year, the Kingston Trio ("Tom Dooley," "Charlie and the MTA,") included a few of these tunes on their live album:

"Tattoo Song" is seemingly just one of many short comedic songs written by Williams at a time when he was busy with a a variety of successful creative endeavors, one which could have gently faded into the past.  Instead, it has taken on a life of its own, inspiring countless numbers of camp counselors to get a daisy tattooed on her or his toe.

I caught up with Williams recently to quiz him about a song for which he gets so little credit.

Did you or someone you know have a daisy tattoo...

Mason Williams: No.

...or did something else inspire the lyrics?

MW: Song to sing after getting tattoo.

Did you write the song specifically for the Smothers Brothers? 

MW: No

On the recording, the brothers do their usual comedic banter before they play the actual song. Given that you were later the head writer for their television series, were you involved in writing this banter or just the song itself? 

MW: Could be either, don't remember.

It appears you've never recorded a version of the song.  Was it ever part of your live act?

MW: No

You've written a lot of terrific music.  And thoughts on why this particular tune took on a new life as a popular song for Girl Scouts and summer camp kids? 

MW: Surprise to me!  Not sure how / why it caught on.

You and the artist Ed Ruscha were roommates in Los Angeles in 1964; your website says you composed Tattoo Song on 9/12/64.  Was there much creative interaction/inspiration between you two or were you both off in your own artistic worlds?  

MW: We went on DADA dates.

When you wrote the song, did you foresee the day when having a tattoo would be as mainstream as it has become? 

 MW: Nope, tattoos were basically the realm of sailors & criminals.

Get Funky, Sweat a Little Bit

TWIN CITIES FUNK & SOUL: Lost Grooves from Minneapolis/St. Paul 1964-1979

Click here to check out the album's website

I recently stumbled across this amazing anthology from Minneapolis based record label Secret Stash, somehow having missed its release in 2012.  What caught my eye were the tracks from the Prophets of Peace, a band that was based in my south Minneapolis neighborhood.  They were older than me and my friends; when we were just learning how to play our drums and guitars and horns, I was always impressed and intimidated when I could jam with someone whose brother was in that band... or who had played with a Prophet.  But I hadn't thought about the band in years.

So this album was a true find.  Even better, its grooves (pun intended) contain a wealth of musical history that I didn't know about my hometown in the era BP (Before Prince).  The music is excellent and the packaging is even better.  Take a look at the fantastic "newspaper" that Secret Stash produced for TCF&S by clicking on the following:

TwinCitiesFunkAndSoulNewspaper

This project was obviously a labor of love, given all the time and work that went into researching and writing the "newspaper," tracking down and clearing various recordings from 40-50 years ago, and putting the whole shebang out on vinyl and CD. The music itself is priceless, but overall music sales continue to shrink as more people prefer to simply stream content - and issuing an anthology of relatively obscure music is not a way to get rich.

TRACKS

1. All Day Long - The Valdons

2. Sock-A-Poo-Poo '69 (Part 1) - Maurice McKinnies & The Champions

3. Work Your Flapper (Part 1) - Jackie Harris & The Champions

4. She's A Whole Lot's A Woman - Mojo And His 'Chi 4'

5. Ridin' High - Dave Brady And The Stars

6. I Ain't Gonna Cheat on You No More - Wee Willie Walker

7. Save Me - Wanda Davis

8. Get Funky, Sweet a Little Bit - Jackie Harris & The Exciters

9. There Goes My Used to Be - Wee Willie Walker

10. Take Care - Wanda Davis

11. Sweet Smell Of Perfume - Maurice McKinnies & The Champions

12. Baby, Baby I Need You - Dave Brady And The Stars

13. Love Me, Leave Me - The Valdons

14. Dipstick - Willie and The Bumblebees

15. Rusty McDusty - Morris Wilson

16. Thieves In The Funkhouse - Band of Thieves

17. You Can Be - Prophets of Peace

18. Saxophone Disco - Morris Wilson

19. Honey From The Bee - Willie and The Bumblebees

20. The Maxx - Prophets of Peace

21. Get Up - The Lewis Connection

So I tip my hat to everyone involved in putting out this album.  The rest of Secret Stashes' catalog looks interesting and I'm eager to check it all out.  In the meantime, Secret Stash's Eric Foss, the man behind TCF&S, has some answer for my seven questions:

1 - What was the inspiration or catalyst for producing TCF&S - and did the concept evolve between the initial idea and the final product?  

Eric Foss: The idea started when we got hipped to a record by a band called the Lewis Connection (though it’s misspelled on the album jacket).  We met with the band leader and he gave me a copy of the record.  He wanted to a deal for the record, but part of what makes that record so collectible is also what makes it tough to deal with.  Prince plays guitar on a couple tracks.  It’s really what would sell the record.  But The Purple One is well-known around these parts for being one of the most litigious people you could ever come across.  

I think that is what honestly first started the conversation about a compilation.  Even still, it took us at least 6 months before we knew what the goal for a finished project was. 

The Lewis Connection - "Get Up"

2 - Were there any tracks you really wanted to use but were unable to find or couldn't clear the rights for, etc?  

EF: Yes, they will remain nameless at this point because A) we may end up licensing them for something else, and B) some of that left a few people feeling very disappointed.  

I remember one track in particular was a real letdown for us.  The guys in the band wanted a shit ton of money for the license.  I had to tell them we couldn't do it.  Then they called me like a day after we approved the test pressings and said they’d go with my original offer (which was like a tiny fraction of what they said they wanted).  It was a real bummer. 

3 - You had an album release party in September, 2012, featuring performances from a number of the musicians from TCF&S. What was that like? 

EF: Life-changing.  Basically that show was supposed to be a onetime thing, but I was getting non-stop offers to bring the show to different festivals and events around the Twin Cities.  The problem was, I knew it had a short shelf life.  A very short shelf life.  We (I say we because I wound up drumming for most of that stuff) weren't writing and recording new material, and frankly didn't have the ability to that well if we wanted.

I saw very serious excitement for what we were doing, but saw that within a year, no one would really care anymore.  How many times can you put on the same show in the same town?  

Anyhow, I say it was life-changing, because after identifying the limitations of what we were doing, I started a new band with one of the singers called Sonny Knight & The Lakers.  For years I swore I wouldn't work “new” records at Secret Stash.  But now here I am just weeks away from the debut of the first Sonny Knight & The Lakers LP. 

4 - Secret Stash released TCF&S on collectible vinyl and CD, but why is it not available to buy as a download?  

EF: A couple guys thought they could do digital themselves.  I wound up giving them some names and phone numbers of people who could help with that.  For something like this, to me it’s all or none.  I wasn't going to put the record on iTunes with a few tracks missing.  

5 - What about this project did you find most gratifying? 

EF: Getting know and play with the artists. 

Prophets of Peace - "You Can Be"

6 - What was the most challenging aspect of producing TCF&S? 

EF: Woof…. Clearing the rights and organizing the live events.  Also, I wound up laying out that newspaper that’s tucked inside the LP myself.  I had literally never used Indesign a day in my life when I decided to do that.  That shit sucked.  Will (GM at SSR) and I had about 7-10 days of very little sleep leading up the deadlines for print materials. 

7 - For anyone who loves this anthology, what would you recommend be the next album they listen to from the Secret Stash catalog? 

EF: Hands down, it’s the new Sonny Knight And The Lakers album.  This band got started by covering material off the TCFS comp.  It’s really where the roots of our sound lies. 

http://sonnyknight.com/

I'm Shouting All About Love

All Those Years Ago - George Harrison (Al Kooper on keyboards)

Hit the "play" button in your mind and listen to "All Those Years Ago," George Harrison's 1981 tribute to John Lennon. As with songs, the vocals are most prominent in memory. Then what do you hear? Probably George's unique slide guitar. Next? That great keyboard part. Who's playing it? Al Kooper.


George, Ringo, Barbara Bach, Al Kooper
Photo © Al Kooper

Now, the people I've interviewed for this blog have all been very kind and each one is an accomplished and talented musician. But Al Kooper is a whole other level. Initially I was going to list his career highlights, but it was way too long. Then I pared it down to the highlights of his highlights and it was still a bit long. So I cut it down once more to produce what appears below.

Besides his work on a song featuring three Beatles, he also:

• Played the fantastic organ part on one of the milestone songs in pop music history, Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone." The story of how this came to be is a great one; he recounts it memorably in Martin Scorsese's documentary "No Direction Home." Kooper also played with Dylan at the infamous 1965 Newport Folk Festival. 
• Speaking of stones that roll, Kooper played the piano, organ and french horn on another 1960s masterpiece, "You Can't Always Get What You Want." 
• He founded the innovative jazz rock band Blood Sweat & Tears - only to be kicked out by the other members, who wanted to pursue Top 40 hits (which they accomplished). 
• At age 21, co-wrote the #1 pop hit "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys. 
• He discovered Lynyrd Skynyrd, signed them to his Sounds of the South label, and produced their first three albums (which included "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama.") 
• Wrote the book Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor and played in the Rock Bottom Remainders with other authors (Stephen King, Amy Tan, Matt Groenig, Dave Barry, etc.). 
• Was a faculty member at Berklee College of Music in Boston. 
• Released a dozen solo albums and landmark LPs with Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. He sings, plays keyboards, guitar and more. 
• Scored Michael Mann's Crime Story series, among other film and television work. 

And so on and so forth. Google him for more details. A personal favorite of mine is his production of the live Joe Ely EP, "Texas Special."

I am happy to report that Al cheerfully answered seven questions about "All Those Years Ago."

George Harrison is recording a heartfelt song about John Lennon not long after John's murder. He thinks, I need to have these guys perform on it: Paul, Ringo... and Al Kooper? Pretty elite company. How did the gig come about?

Al Kooper: I was living in London. I was best friends with bassist Herbie Flowers who I worshipped as a musician at the time. I played with him as often as I could. He got called for the Harrison sessions and suggested George hire me as well. George didn't know I lived there and was a large Dylan fan so I got the job. 

We were recording an entire album, plus some tracks for Ringo's album that George was producing. We cut a version of ATYA before John died, but it had an alternate lyric. John died while we were naking the album. George rewrote the lyric and recorded a new vocal to the track we had already cut.

And then had Paul, Linda and Denny Laine come in and add backing vocals. George supposedly wrote the song for Ringo to sing - this was before John died, so it had different lyrics - but Ringo wasn't keen on it. Did you ever hear the original version?






Photos © Al Kooper


AK: I think that is not so. I don't think it was for Ringo's album, but rather George's. But it did have another lyric based on the title. 

Your part is very prominent in the mix. Did George give you much direction or did he leave it up to you to create what you felt was right?

AK: All the tracks we cut were just jammed. We were all experienced studio players and that's the way we played. George sang live so I knew where to play fills.

Did you record any alternate versions or just the take we all know?

AK: We played it until George thought we had a good take.


Photo © Al Kooper

You recorded this at Friar Park, George's home. What was that like? 

AK: It was very comfortable and it was great to see his guitar collection.

Did you know Lennon?

AK: I did know Lennon. Mostly when we both lived in LA. A bunch of us used to record and hangout at The Record Plant studios.

When I was producing (Lynyrd) Skynyrd's second album, John came in during a session to ask me something. He stayed for two minutes then discretely left.

The band were all out in the studio. Lennon had come into the control room.

When he left Ronnie Van Zant said: Was that John Lennon who just came in?"

I said "Yeah."

Ronnie said " We have to take a break for a few minutes." It blew their southern minds!

How do feel the song holds up since it was recorded all those years ago, pun intended?

AK: a) I have never been so loud in a mix on someone else's record
b) I am very proud of what I played on the fly
c) It was a #1 record in Billboard
d) For me, it holds up great

Don't You Cry Now

Forget Him - Bobby Rydell

Teen idols get short shrift.  Male pop singers from the late fifties and early sixties - after Elvis was inducted into the Army and before the Beatles conquered America - are often overlooked.  Fabian, Frankie Avalon, Brian Hyland - good looking, clean cut guys who sang catchy if simple love songs.  Paul Anka and Neil Sedaka, who wrote their own songs, are perhaps better known for their 1970s comebacks than for their teen years.

In any musical genre, there are records that are disposable and others that work magic on open-minded ears, to coin an odd phrase.  So it goes with the output of the original American idols.

My favorite song by one of these artists is Bobby Rydell's "Forget Him."  Yes, he was another young, handsome fellow from Philly who sang songs aimed at young girls, but he had (and has) the best set of pipes in his peer group.  Something in the combination of strength and vulnerability in his voice on the lines "So don't you cry now, just tell him goodbye now, forget him and please come home to me" charms me every time.

34 Top 40 hits.  Streets named after him in Philadelphia and in Wildwood, NJ.  The high school in "Grease" bears his name.  A starring role in "Bye Bye Birdie."  Fifty years of touring the globe.  And he still takes the time to graciously answer my questions - look for them and for video of "Forget Him" below the fold.