Today, I’m debuting a new feature — Song Of The Week, courtesy of the excellent Can’t Explain blog. This one has a special place in my heart, because I vividly remember this ad for M Network (in my mind, Juice Newton was singing in the ad, but the internets tell me that’s not true).
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Eddie Cochran, “Summertime Blues” (1958)
This seems appropriate after a long tedious week of watching bad-faith Republicans squirm desperately for position (and not over yet), aka “Death Panels II: Dark of the Debt Ceiling.” I like that the singer here takes his problem to the United Nations but ends up talking to his Congressman. In my case, talking to my (freshman) Republican Congresscritter usually feels like it’s doing about as much good as taking my problem to the United Nations. This tune at least is some kind of relief, its exasperated wiseass teen griping nailed down to fine shtick, notably in the flat booming intonations of the walk-on grown-up parts, e.g., “Now you can’t use the car ‘cos you didn’t work late” or “I’d like to help you son but you’re too young to vote.” A million people have covered it over the 50+ years that followed, but I think Eddie Cochran’s is still the best (requires viewing on YouTube).
More versions:
Eddie Cochran 78
Eddie Cochran live
Blue Cheer
Who
Flying Lizards
Alan Jackson
Rush
Review at Can’t Explain
stuckinred
God, it seemed like such and old song when I saw Blue Cheer do it 43 years ago!
WereBear
You saw Blue Cheer? Awesome. I only had the records.
stuckinred
Yea, I was at Ft Lewis in the summer of 68 and we’d go to Seattle and see lots of great music. Ever hear of the Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter than Air Fair?’
http://www.washington.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5425
“On August 30, 1968, the Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter Than Air Fair opens a three-day run in a pasture near Sultan, in Snohomish County, Washington. This is one of America’s first multi-day, outdoor rock concerts. Among the bands and performers playing at the Sky River Rock Festival are Santana, Big Mama Thornton, James Cotton, Country Joe and the Fish, Richard Pryor, Dino Valenti, Byron Pope, It’s a Beautiful Day, Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Alice Stuart Thomas, the Youngbloods, New Lost City Ramblers, and local groups such as Juggernaut and Easy Chair. On the last day, The Grateful Dead arrive unscheduled. “
stuckinred
White Bird
It’s a Beautiful Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0J77CRMeTA&feature=related
MaxxLange
Oh man, this takes me back! Back to the sweltering restaurant dish rooms of Decatur, Ga, 1982
where the boss said, “go back, son, you gotta work late”
MaxxLange
Blue Cheer TOURED last year, if I am not mistaken….with at least one real member
MikeJ
Alex does a pretty drunken version on Bach’s Bottom, but there doesn’t appear to be a copy on youtube. Here he is doing a Seeds cover, Can’t Seem to Make You Mine.
stuckinred
Watson with a hole-in-one!
stuckinred
MikeJ
Sky Saxon!
Sly
Don’t forget Brian Setzer, the guy who was picked to play Cochran in La Bamba.
Full version (from the film soundtrack) here.
Sly
@Sly:
Also, a live version.
Southern Beale
I love the Alan Jackson version of that song.
Captain Goto
God DAMN, that was one hell of a line-up. I’m 43 years envious.
Tom
I think the summer of 2011 calls for this version.
Svensker
Eddie Cochran’s definitely the best. Funny, I posted it last week on a music chat group I belong to.
debit
See, I was going to say, “Didn’t that band that I can never remember the name of, but they had a T-Rex or Godzilla sort of creature on the cover of their album do a cover of this?”
Then I remembered, no, it was another Eddie Cochran song and checked google. Twenty Flight Rock and the band was Montrose. What did we do before the internet?
And now I feel very old.
the fenian
The Woodstock clip of The Who is the prime version. Plus, you get to see the band.
Gregory
Sly beat me to it. Setzer’s casting would have been the movie’s most perfect example of born-to-play-the-role had it not been for Marshall Crenshaw as Buddy Holly.
On the soundtrack recording, you can hear a string break right before the last chorus. I’ve always loved that they left it in.
JoyousMN
I always loved the Flying Lizards version of this song. Thanks for the reminder.
Dave S.
I’m partial to Joan Jett’s version myself.
Comrade Coffin
I’m partial to the T. Rex version.
JPK
I love that T. Rex version, forgot about that one.
Hungry Joe
The Blue Cheer version blew out the $6.99 speakers in my car’s 4-track stereo. Well, all of “Vincebus Eruptum” did, I guess. I still remember how great that 4-track sounded to my 1969 ears.
Dollared
Who. Live at Leeds. Altho I’m going to check to see if Robert Gordon ever did it.
punkdavid
@ Dollared: Beat me to it. Live at Leeds is where it’s at, not just for this song, but the whole set.
Dollared
bingo! Robert Gordon with Link Wray. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Md3uKJdiRc&feature=player_embedded#at=53 History’s greatest tragedy is that this might be the highest quality Robert Gordon video ever recorded.
Captain Goto
One more vote for Live at Leeds. I played that on the ride to the beach with my kid, maybe age 12…she didn’t know the old man had in in him.
pookapooka
If you haven’t heard Flying Lizards, don’t talk to me about what’s the definitive version.
skippy
the flying lizards were definitely to the side of their time.