The title song from their 1973 album. I just heard it on a replay of AT40 with Casey Kasem. I barley remembered the song. The song reached #14 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on December 22, 1973.

From udiscovermusic.com

Philadelphia soul men the Stylistics were anything but an overnight success story. Formed from members of mid-1960s groups the Percussions and the Monarchs, they first recorded locally on the independent Sebring label in 1969, but didn’t see soul chart action until 1971. What followed was five absolutely golden years on the Avco label, and then many more of continuing popularity, which sees the latter-day line-up touring to this day.

“Rockin’ Roll Baby,” an endearing tale of a toddler born in a theater and thrust into showbusiness almost before he could walk, had been a No.3 hit on Billboard’s R&B chart and reached No.14 pop. Entering the UK survey at No.29, the single landed at its No.6 peak three weeks later. It was the Stylistics’ biggest UK hit to date, but not for long: by August, they were climbing to No.2 with another of their signature ballads, “You Make Me Feel Brand New,” as their tally of Top 10 hits grew ever longer.

Rockin’ Roll Baby

Tootsie roll soul and doodle-white shoes
Papa’s sure proud of his little bitty rockin’ roll baby
Singin’ at the age of two
He can hardly talk but he sure knows how to sing the blues

Little Joe never sings out of tune
Always in key, he’s a soulful little rockin’ roll baby
Papa loves the way you do
Never heard a boy sing the way my little Joey do

He was born in a theater in Bluefield, West Virginia
His ma and I were travelin’ on the road
I worked hard all that summer as a fill-in for the drummer
One-night stands weren’t easy for little Joe

Bought a new house in Beverly hills
Papa made it big and he did it for his rockin’ roll baby
A little bit of rhythm and blues
Got a funky walk in his little orthopedic shoes

He was born in a theater in Bluefield, West Virginia
His ma and I were travelin’ on the road
I worked hard all that summer as a fill-in for the drummer
One-night stands weren’t easy for little Joe

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Linda Creed / Tom Bell

From Wikipedia

Upon release, the song did not find commercial success but in later years, it has gone on to become a Christmas standard. It charted for the first time on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2018 and has since peaked at number 16. It has also peaked at number seven on the Holiday 100 chart. The song has been covered by Mariah Carey, Michael Bublé, and U2, among others.

From Songfacts

Through the mid-’60s, Phil Spector was focused on singles, with his definition of an album being “two hits and ten pieces of junk.” He took a different approach, however, when he recorded a Christmas album in 1963, putting a great deal of effort into every track. The only original song on the album was Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” which he wrote with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. Spector issued the song as a single when the album came out, but unfortunately this was the same day US President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed. This seriously dampened the holiday mood; the single, as well as the album, were withdrawn.”Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” lay dormant throughout the ’60s and ’70s, but in the ’80s, covers and media uses helped introduce the song to a new audience, and radio stations started adding it to their holiday playlists. It eventually became a Christmas classic, but it took decades.

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

The snow’s coming down
(Christmas) I’m watching it fall
(Christmas) Lots of people around
(Christmas) Baby please come home

The church bells in town
(Christmas) All ringing in song
(Christmas) Full of happy sounds
(Christmas) Baby please come home

They’re singing “Deck The Halls”
But it’s not like Christmas at all
‘Cause I remember when you were here
And all the fun we had last year

Pretty lights on the tree
(Christmas) I’m watching them shine
(Christmas) You should be here with me
(Christmas) Baby please come home

They’re singing “Deck The Halls”
But it’s not like Christmas at all
‘Cause I remember when you were here
And all the fun we had last year

If there was a way
(Christmas) I’d hold back this tear
(Christmas) But it’s Christmas day
(Please) Please, (please) please
(Please) Please, (please) please
(Please) Please, (please) please
(Please) Baby, please come home

Baby, please come home
(Christmas) Baby, please come home
(Christmas) Baby, please come home
(Christmas) Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Christmas) I need you, I need you
(Christmas) Please come home

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Ellie Greenwich / Jeff Barry / Philip Spector

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…No/Yes.

From his 1974 album, Goodnight Vienna, The song peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on April 5, 1975.

From Sonfacts

This was written by country music star Hoyt Axton and bass player David Jackson. The song takes a humorous look at someone who is constantly offered drugs and alcohol (marijuana from Columbia, cocaine from Majorca, moonshine from Nashville…) and keeps turning them down.

Axton struggled with drug abuse early in his career and was poking fun at himself in the song. Axton, who also wrote the Three Dog Night hit “Joy To The World,” had a talent for writing whimsical pop songs with a country flavor.

Ringo sings this with more than a hint of irony, as he was far from sober at the time. In interviews, he would cheekily refer to it as “an anti-drug song,” which it is, as the singer describes the consequences of his addictions (waking up on the floor). Ringo was not interested in giving up his habits at the time, but in 1988 he entered rehab with his wife, Barbara. He later described his years of addiction as being a very lonely time.

In a 2007 Time magazine interview, Ringo was asked about his most memorable guest artists in the studio. His reply: “Hoyt Axton was one of them on the Ringo album. We were doing ‘No No Song’ with the biggest spliff and a large bottle of Jack Daniel’s.”

At the very end of this song, Ringo very quietly speaks some dialogue in a drunken slur, which is made even less intelligible because different words are spoken in each channel. On the right channel, he says something like “I’ll just have another drink, have you got any brandy?” and on left, “Just put mine in the boot.”

This was first released in America as a double-sided single with “Snookeroo.” Ringo and his record company didn’t think radio stations would play “No No Song” because of the drug references, but they did, pushing the song to #3 and giving Ringo his seventh Top 10 hit Stateside. Unsurprisingly, the flip side, a song celebrating snooker, was largely ignored.

In the UK, “No No Song” wasn’t released as a single for fear that it would get banned. In 1976, it was used as the B-side of “Oh My My.”

Hoyt Axton released his own version of the song in 1975 after it became a hit for Ringo. His rendition was issued as a single and included on his album Southbound. The stoner comedians Cheech & Chong make an appearance on Axton’s version.

NO-NO Song

A lady that I know just came from Columbia
She smiled because I did not understand
Then she held out some marijuana, ha ha
She said it was the best in all the land

And I said
No, no, no, no, I don’t smoke it no more
I’m tired of waking up on the floor
No, thank you, please, it only makes me sneeze
Then it makes it hard to find the door

A woman that I know just came from Majorca, Spain
She smiled because I did not understand
Then she held out a ten pound bag of cocaine
She said it was the finest in all the land

And I said
“No, no, no, no, I don’t (sniff) it no more
I’m tired of waking up on the floor
No, thank you, please, it only makes me sneeze
And then it makes it hard to find the door”

A man I know just came from Nashville, Tennessee
He smiled because I did not understand
Then he held out some moonshine whiskey, oh ho
He said it was the best in all the land

And I said
No, no, no, no, I don’t drink it no more
I’m tired of waking up on the floor
No, thank you, please, it only makes me sneeze
And then it makes it hard to find the door

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Canadian music.

From their 1985 album, Long Way to Heaven. The song reached #20 on the Mainstream US Rock chart and #66 on the Canadian Singles Chart in 1985.

From Wikipedia

Helix were formed in 1974 for a battle of the bands contest in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada by drummer Bruce Arnold. They were originally a six-piece, consisting of Arnold, lead vocalist Brian Vollmer, guitarists Ron Watson and Rick “Minstrel” Trembley, keyboardist Don Simmons, and bassist Keith “Bert” Zurbrigg, who always wore his trademark tuxedo on stage. Their original name was The Helix Field Band, soon shortened to simply Helix. Trembley left after a few months, making the band a five-piece. Soon after, Helix scored some crucial shows as Del Shannon‘s backing band on some Canadian dates. However, the original lineup dissolved by 1976, and three new members entered the fold. Replacing Simmons, Watson and Arnold were guitarists Brent “The Doctor” Doerner and Paul Hackman, who would both remain with Helix through the 1980s, and drummer Brian Doerner, Brent’s twin brother. Brian Doerner only stayed four years, but returned as a member and a guest several times before joining Saga in 2005.

With new management under Kitchener’s William Seip, Helix released two independent albums on their own H&S Records, entitled Breaking Loose and White Lace & Black Leather, in 1979 and 1981 respectively. During the sessions for Breaking Loose, Helix recorded a cover of the Del Shannon hit “Thinkin’ It Over”, unreleased until the 1999 Helix CD B-Sides. Their second album, White Lace & Black Leather, brought more lineup changes with drummer Leo Niebudek taking over for Brian Doerner. Michael J. Fox auditioned to replace bassist Keith Zurbrigg but the job ultimately went to Mike Uzelac. With Zurbrigg gone, Brian Vollmer was now the last remaining original member.

Changing their image from that of a standard bar band to a more image-conscious metal band, Helix finally signed to Capitol Records after being rejected by them three times. In 1983, they released No Rest for the Wicked, with Greg “Fritz” Hinz (ex-Starchild) on drums. This album featured Canadian hit video “Heavy Metal Love”, which featured their new look. Under Seip’s advice, Helix dropped their T-shirts and jeans in favour of leather clothing in order to stay current. The tour for this album cycle was not without drama. Mike Uzelac, whose drug use had become problematic, left the band to be replaced by a bass player named Peter Guy from London, Ontario. Guy was unable to travel to the United States due to a previous drug conviction, and Uzelac came back to finish the tour. When Uzelac had fulfilled his commitment, Mark Rector of Kitchener was hired on bass. He was let go at the conclusion of the tour. With the addition of bassist Daryl Gray completing the band’s classic 1980s lineup, they released Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge in 1984. It sold over 100,000 copies in Canada, and over 400,000 internationally. The album also included their best known song “Rock You” and a cover of A Foot in Coldwater‘s “(Make Me Do) Anything You Want”.

In 1985, Helix released their fifth album Long Way to Heaven, featuring the singles “Deep Cuts the Knife” and “The Kids Are All Shakin'”. The album allowed the band to tour Sweden, becoming the first Canadian rock band to do an extensive Swedish tour. The result was a No. 1 album in that country. The following year, their song “It’s Too Late” was featured in the movie Iron Eagle and its soundtrack album (this was a completely different song than the track “It’s Too Late” that appeared on their second album).

Deep Cuts The Knife

Lately, all the nights seem all the same
Since you said goodbyeI’m all alone
The only voice is my ownCan you hear me, are you near me
Did you know that I hurt this badDid you love me, did you need me
Or were you just a dream I hadThis memory haunts me foreverBetter run for my life
Hide from the light
Dark is the night
Deep Cuts The Knife
No way, I’ll get away
Memories here to stay
Deep Cuts The KnifeLately, I see your face in everything I do
Sleepless nights I lie in bed just thinkin’ of youI can’t pretend
That I don’t need you back againDid you love me, did you need me
Well, alright, but what’s so wrongThis memory haunts me foreverBetter run for my life
Hide from the light
Dark is the night
Deep Cuts The Knife
No way, I’ll get away
Memories here to stay
Deep Cuts The KnifeI am your slave
Got no defender
You flash the blade
I can’t escape, I can’t surrenderRun for my life
Hide from the light
Dark is the night
Deep Cuts The Knife
No way, I’ll get away
Memories here to stay
Better run for my life
Hide from the light
Dark is the night
Deep Cuts The Knife
No way, I’ll get away
Memories here to stay
Deep Cuts The KnifeDeep cuts, Deep Cuts The Knife
Deep Cuts The Knife
Better run, better run for my life
Deep Cuts The Knife
Deep Cuts The Knife
Deep Cuts The Knife
Memories here to stay, it won’t go away
Deep Cuts The KnifeI am your slave

Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Bob Halligan Jr. / Paul Hackman

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Clear/Dark/Light

The title track from their 1986 album. The song did not chart. The song was written by lead singer Maria McKee and Steven Van Zandt from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.

Shelter