50 years ago: Bing Crosby “Don’t Fence Me In” hit #1

Don’t Fence Me In Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters

Writer(s): Cole Porter, Robert Fletcher (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 25, 1944 Peak: 18 US, 14 GA, 18 HP, 9 RB, 112 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This song about “a footloose and fancy-free kind of person who refuses to settle down” TY1 was considered uncharacteristic for songwriter Cole Porter. Not only does it lack the “sophistication of most of his lyrics” TY1 but it does not “seem especially clever or debonair.” TY1 Porter even called it his least favorite of his compositions. WK Then again, the song wasn’t entirely his. Robert Fletcher, a Montana engineer with the Department of Highways, wrote a poem, which would seem to be “Open Range” from his 1934 book Coral Dust, and Porter bought the rights for $250. WK Porter used some of the phrases to fashion “Don’t Fence Me In”. TY1 The song was written in 1934 for the never-released film Adios Argentina. The song resurfaced when Roy Rogers and the Andrews Sisters performed it in the film Hollywood Canteen. TY1 Rogers performed the song again in the 1945 film Don’t Fence Me In and it was also featured in 1946’s Night and Day, a tribute to Cole Porter’s life and his music. TY1 Kate Smith introduced the song to many new listeners on her October 8, 1944, radio broadcast. WK Meanwhile, Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters recorded a version of the song in a mere thirty minutes on July 25, 1944. WK They released the song as a single. All told, the pairing made for 23 chart appearances, hitting #2 on five occasions. This was the bigger of their two songs which hit #1. The other, “A Hot Time in the Town of Berlin”, had charted only a couple of months earlier and topped the charts for six weeks. PM “Fence” and 1943’s “Pistol Packin’ Mama” were also million sellers. PM Resources: AMG All Music Guide DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 49. TY1 Don Tyler (1985). Hit Parade 1920-1955. New York, NY: Quill. Pages 122-23. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 113. WK Wikipedia.org Related Links: First posted 11/25/2011; last updated 3/31/2023.

Giraffe performs The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway live

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Giraffe

Recorded: November 8, 1994 Released: 2014 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway [6:07] Fly on a Windshield [1:21] Broadway Melody of 1974 [3:23] In the Cage [9:11] The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging [2:54] Back in N.Y.C. [7:03] The Carpet Crawlers [6:44] Lilywhite Lilith [2:54] The Lamia [7:52] The Colony of Slippermen [6:29] In the Rapids [2:21] It/Watcher of the Skies [8:42] The Musical Box [8:28] Songs written by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, and Mike Rutherford. The Players: Kevin Gilbert (vocals) Dan Hancock (guitar) David Kerzner (keyboards) Stan Cotey (bass) Nick D’Virgilio (drums)

Rating: 2.517 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

About the Album: Anyone who does any reading on Kevin Gilbert will quickly note how he name checks early Genesis amongst his progressive rock influences, specifically “conceptual masterpiece The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,” MO-PA the 1974 double album that was then-lead singer Peter Gabriel’s swan song with the band. In his own words, KG says, “I’d put it right up there with Tommy and Quadrophenia,” CH two albums by The Who that are perhaps the best known and most critically acclaimed rock operas ever conceived. Gilbert seemed determined to put The Lamb on its proper pedestal. As he said, “I think that’s a great lost piece of work…People have forgotten it, at least in the genre of rock music that is also story.” CH “I used to rehearse that when I was a kid…I’d close the door, I’d put on my leather coat, and I would perform The Lamb from start to finish. I probably performed it a hundred times.” CH He “had a burning desire to perform [it] in its entirety” MO-PA outside of the confines of his childhood bedroom. This wish was fulfilled at ProgFest 1994 at the Variety Arts Center in Los Angeles. With a reformed Giraffe (containing a then unknown Nick D’Virgilio on drums), Gilbert wowed the audience with a performance worthy of Genesis themselves.” MO-KG “This show, although never officially released, has become the stuff of legends.” MO-PA Dave Kerzner, who played with Gilbert at that gig and on KG’s subsequent Thud album and tour, recounts how it came about. “One day I got a phone call from Kevin because he had heard I had a studio filled with vintage keyboards. He wanted to see the various Mellotrons and Chamberlins I had, so I invited him over.” DK “We talked, and I played him some tunes I was working on at the time…He…commented…about how he knew I must be into Tony Banks because I had every keyboard Tony ever used. At the end of our first ‘hang,’ he said ‘You know, we should get a bunch of guys together and play The Lamb’! I just looked at him in disbelief and said ‘Sure, that would be awesome!’” DK “At the end of 1994, Kevin came to me and said ‘Dave, still want to play The Lamb? I know the perfect place to do it. It’s called ProgFest.’ So I said, ‘Yeah, I am totally up for the challenge but who else can we get to do this?’ Kevin explained to me that he had played with a drummer named Nick D’Virgilio who was a huge Phil Collins fan. He was very confident that Nick could pull it off.” DK Nick met Gilbert at a ski resort gig. He later drummed for Gilbert on 1995’s Thud and was responsible for completing The Shaming of the True after Gilbert died. The Progfest program says that “Nick divulged his Collins obsession and mentioned that he had learned to drum by playing along to The Lamb.” PP Rounding out the band were Dan Hancock took on the Steve Hackett role and filling in for the part of Mike Rutherford was Gilbert’s ex-Giraffe bandmate Stan Cotey. With two ex-Giraffe members on board, the gig was billed as Giraffe, largely out of Gilbert’s trepidation of having it viewed as a solo project. The show was at the Variety Arts Center in Los Angeles on 11/6/94. “Widely hailed as a brilliant performance,” MG it was a “brilliant dedication to one of prog rock’s hallmark records.” SF “If you’re a musician, you probably know how impossible it is to perform any song from The Lamb, and musician-wise it’s a fabulous performance (some instrument parts are played ‘better’ than on the original record).” SF The program does note, however, that “Due to time considerations, this evening’s performance is a slightly chopped Lamb. But…the band assures you the task they did not crave was what to kill and what to save and they’re sorry if they skipped your fave.” PP Kerzner fondly remembers the performance: “We all got to play one of our favorite records of all time in front of a crowd of several thousand screaming prog fans that knew every note! And most of all, I am happy we were able to provide the background for one of Kevin’s fantasies, to play the part of Rael.” DK “This concert was a big highlight for me because not only was it the most challenging gig I ever played, but the best feeling I ever had on stage was at the end of ‘Watcher of the Skies’ with that big grandiose ending along with the crowd reaction after. What a feeling that was!” DK

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for the original Genesis’ album: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1994) DMDB encyclopedia entry for Genesis SF Sol Friedman, New Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock CH Christine Holz (co-editor). Music News Network. Toying with Kevin Gilbert (11/94-1/95). DK Dave Kerzner (as interviewed by Debbie Miller). Two Thuds and a Lamb – An Introspective by Dave Kerzner MO-KG Michael Ostrich, KevinGilbert.com (KG bio) MO-PA Michael Ostrich, ProgArchives.com PP Progfest ’94 program. ‘A 20th Anniversary Performance of Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ First posted 3/6/2010; updated 6/4/2021.

Eagles reunite with Hell Freezes Over

11/8/1994:

First posted 3/26/2008; updated 9/16/2020.

Hell Freezes Over Eagles

Released: November 8, 1994 Recorded: 1994 Peak: 12 US, 28 UK, 11 CN, 23 AU Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 0.1 UK, 12.1 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Click for codes to singles charts. Get Over It (10/22/94, 31 US, 4 AR, 21 AC, 4 CN, 74 AU) * Love Will Keep Us Alive (12/17/94, 22a US, 1 AC, 52 UK, 10 AU) * The Girl from Yesterday (11/12/94, 58 CW) * Learn to Be Still (1/21/95, 61a US, 33 AR, 15 AC, 9 CN) * Tequila Sunrise Hotel California Wasted Time Pretty Maids All in a Row I Can’t Tell You Why New York Minute (Don Henley solo song) (11/3/90, 48 US, 24 AR, 5 AC) The Last Resort Take It Easy In the City Life in the Fast Lane Desperado * Studio cuts. Chart figures are only for those songs not previously featured on any Eagles’ albums. Total Running Time: 72:36 The Players: Glenn Frey (vocals, guitar, keyboards) Don Henley (vocals, drums) Don Felder (guitar, vocals, mandolin) Timothy B. Schmit (bass, vocals) Joe Walsh (guitar, vocals, organ)

Rating: 3.582 out of 5.00 (average of 19 ratings) Awards:

About the Album: “The Eagles’ first newly recorded album in 14 years gets off to a good start with the rocker Get Over It, a timely piece of advice about accepting responsibility, followed by the tender ballad Love Will Keep Us Alive, the country-styled The Girl from Yesterday, and Learn to Be Still, one of Don Henley's more thoughtful statements.” AMG “Unfortunately, that’s it. Hell Freezes Over contains an EP’s worth of new material followed by a live album. The Eagles, known for meticulously recreating their studio recordings in concert, nevertheless released Eagles Live in 1980. Six songs from that set reappear here, and only one is in a noticeably different arrangement, Hotel California, which gets an acoustic treatment.” AMG “As was true on Eagles Live, the group remains most interested in their later material, redoing five songs from the Hotel California LP and two from its follow-up, The Long Run, but finding space for only three songs from their early days, Tequila Sunrise, Take It Easy, and Desperado, the last two of which were also on Eagles Live.” AMG “As such, Hell Freezes Over is hard to justify as anything other than a souvenir for the Eagles’ reunion tour. That, however, did not keep it from topping the charts and selling in the millions.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: Eagles’ DMDB Encyclopedia entry AMG William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Aerosmith’s Big Ones compilation released

First posted 9/11/2020.

Big Ones Aerosmith

Rating: 4.274 out of 5.00 (average of 5 ratings)

Released: November 1, 1994 Recorded: 1987-1994 Peak: 6 US, 7 UK, 2 CN, 12 AU Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, 0.3 UK, 9.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock Tracks: (1) Walk on Water (2) Love in an Elevator (3) Rag Doll (4) What It Takes (5) Dude Looks Like a Lady (6) Janie’s Got a Gun (7) Cryin’ (8) Amazing (9) Blind Man (10) Deuces Are Wild (11) The Other Side (12) Crazy (13) Eat the Rich (14) Angel (15) Livin’ on the Edge Total Running Time: 73:25

The Players: Steven Tyler (vocals, keyboards, harmonica, percussion) Joe Perry (guitar) Brad Whitford (rhythm guitar) Tom Hamilton (bass) Joey Kramer (drums, percussion) A Brief History: The rock band Aerosmith formed in Boston in 1970. With hits like “Dream On,” “Walk This Way,” and “Sweet Emotion” they became one of America’s biggest rock bands. After six albums together, the original lineup started to fracture because of in-fighting and drug abuse. They released the tepid Rock in a Hard Place in 1982 without Perry or Whitford and it looked like they might be done as a band. However, they jumped from Columbia Records to Geffen and found new life. The band reunited for 1985’s Done with Mirrors. The muted reception suggested the band might be done, but then rap group Run-D.M.C. remade the band’s “Walk This Way” into a top-five pop hit and reignited interest in Aerosmith. Their next three albums were multi-platinum affairs which maintained the classic rock audiences while also finding new fans with younger crowds. Each of these has a dedicated DMDB page (click on links below), but snapshots on this page. Permanent Vacation (1987) Pump (1989) Get a Grip (1993) When the group returned to Columbia, Geffen released the Big Ones compilation to celebrate their most commercially successful years. Songs featured on Big Ones are noted below. Following the song title are the writers, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance, and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to singles charts. Permanent Vacation (1987): After Run-D.M.C. brought Aerosmith back in the limelight with their “Walk This Way” cover, the band followed with this album, which produced three top-20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. One of those songs, Angel, became the band’s biggest charting hit to date. Dude Looks Like a Lady (Tyler, Perry, Desmond Child) (8/29/87, 14 US, 4 AR, 20 UK, 22 CN, 95 AU) Rag Doll (Tyler, Perry, Jim Vallance, Holly Knight) (9/12/87, 17 US, 12 AR, 42 UK, 23 CN) Angel (Tyler, Child) (1/30/88, 3 US, 2 AR, 69 UK, 14 CN) Pump (1989): After the success of Permanent Vacation, Aerosmith stormed back even bigger with Pump, an album which gave the band three more top-ten hits and landed them atop the album rock chart for the first time with Love in an Elevator. The band also won their first Grammy – for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group – for the murder-and-abuse-themed Janie’s Got a Gun. Love in an Elevator (Tyler, Perry) (9/2/89, 5 US, 1 AR, 13 UK, 13 CN, 33 AU, gold single) Janie’s Got a Gun (Tyler, Tom Hamilton) (9/23/89, 4 US, 2 AR, 76 UK, 2 CN, 1 AU) What It Takes (Tyler, Perry, Child) (1/13/90, 9 US, 1 AR, 15 CN, 46 CN) The Other Side (Tyler, Vallance, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland) (6/16/90, 22 US, 1 AR, 46 UK, 22 CN, 73 AU) Get a Grip (1993): While this album failed to generate any top-10 pop hits, it produced seven songs which charted on various charts, including four top-40 pop hits and six top-10 album rock tracks. One of those cuts, Crazy, became the band’s most-watched video on YouTube with over a half billion views. Livin’ on the Edge (Tyler, Perry, Mark Hudson) (4/10/93, 18 US, 1 AR, 19 UK) Eat the Rich (Tyler, Perry, Vallance) (5/1/93, 5 AR, 34 UK) Cryin’ (Tyler, Perry, Taylor Rhodes) (6/5/93, 12 US, 1 AR, 17 UK, gold single) Amazing (Tyler, Richard Supa) (10/30/93, 24 US, 3 AR, 57 UK) Crazy (Tyler, Perry, Child) (5/21/94, 17 US, UK, 7 AR, 23 UK) Big Ones (1994): The Big Ones compilation featured two new songs and one, Deuces Are Wild, which had never been released on an Aerosmith album. That song had been originally considered for 1989’s Pump, but didn’t surface until 1993 when it was released as a track on the various artists collection The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience. Deuces Are Wild (Tyler, Vallance) (1/15/94, 14 AR, 25 CN) Blind Man (Tyler, Perry, Taylor Rhodes) (11/5/94, 48 US, 3 AR, 5 CN, 76 AU) Walk on Water (Tyler, Perry, Jack Blades, Tommy Shaw) (1/28/95, 16 AR) Notes: A European edition of the album included a live version of “Dude Looks Like a Lady.” In 2004, a special edition of the album was released which included eight cuts from the band’s live 1998 album A Little South of Sanity.

Resources and Related Links: Aerosmith’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry WK Wikipedia

Lyle Lovett released I Love Everybody

I Love Everybody Lyle Lovett

Released: September 27, 1994 Peak: 26 US, 54 UK, 40 CN Sales (in millions): 0.5 US Genre: alt-country/Americana

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Skinny Legs [2:42] (single, --) Fat Babies (Lyle Lovett, Eric Taylor) [2:54] I Think You Know What I Mean [3:05] Hello Grandma [2:35] Creeps Like Me [2:14] Sonja [2:00] They Don’t Like Me [2:34] Record Lady [4:11] Ain’t It Somethin’ [2:14] Penguins [2:31] The Fat Girl [2:00] La to the Left [3:20] Old Friend [3:13] Just the Morning [4:23] (single, --) Moon on My Shoulder [2:20] I’ve Got the Blues [3:34] Good-Bye to Carolina [3:28] I Love Everybody [3:39] All songs written by Lyle Lovett unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 52:41

Rating: 4.023 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Lyle Lovett’s 1992 album, Joshua Judges Ruth, was a highly ambitious project for the Texas-born singer/songwriter – perhaps too ambitious, since despite the album’s beautiful surfaces, the results simply weren’t especially absorbing.” AMG “I Love Everybody is a return to Lovett’s early Texas-cowboy-poet style. In fact, it’s a return to those earlier songs” AZ as “Lovett has raided his attic trunk and has found a surprising number of lost treasures.” AZ “While all 18 tracks on the album are previously unreleased, most of them date from the 1980s when he was writing far more high-quality material than anyone was interested in recording.” AZ “For a set of tunes that were apparent leftovers, the writing on I Love Everybody is startlingly strong, from the saucy Hello Grandma and Record Lady to the stark and edgy storytelling of I Think You Know What I Mean and The Fat Girl.” AMG “Skinny Legs kicks things off with a confession of jealousy. If he only had skinny legs, a new Toyota and a cute rear end, the singer laments, he’d have a girlfriend like that boy over there. Lovett’s dry, deadpan drawl falls on the bouncy, catchy melody with enchanting ease, and he refuses to use a single word more than he needs.” AZ While Joshua Judges Ruth had largely discarded some of Lovett’s fun style, Lyle’s “wry humor (They Don’t Like Me), playful surrealism (Penguins) and disturbing frankness (Creeps Like Me)” WK make comebacks here. The latter was originall song was originally intended to be the title song “and it’s hard to decide if one should laugh or frown in disgust while listening to it.” AMG “The lightly swinging arrangements are as simple as the songs.” AZ “Like Joshua Judges Ruth, I Love Everybody is dominated by clean, stripped-down arrangements and transparent production, but the players bring a lot more spirit and swing to these sessions (top honors go to bassist John Leftwich and drummer Russ Kunkel, a superb and soulful acoustic rhythm section).” AMG Kenny Aronoff also appears on drums. Also, “cellist John Hagen is added to five cuts, fiddler Mark O’Connor to six, the Tower of Power Horns to one, a gospel quartet to three, and a choir featuring Rickie Lee Jones and Julia Roberts [his wife at the time] to two others.” AZ “The dynamics bring more drama to the performances rather than weighing them down.” AMG “For the most part it succeeds where Joshua Judges Ruth disappoints, largely because the songs offer enough changeups to keep the listener engaged at all times.” AMG “At least half a dozen songs are slight one-liners which didn’t deserve revival, and they dilute the album’s impact. Nonetheless this is a welcome reward for all those who believe the funny Lyle Lovett is the best Lyle Lovett.” AZ “I Love Everybody is just eccentric enough to be best recommended to folks already familiar with Lovett’s work, but anyone attuned to his sensibility will find plenty to enjoy here – and a little to make you a shade uncomfortable.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Lyle Lovett AMG All Music Guide review by Mark Deming AZ Amazon.com review by Geoffrey Himes WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 1/12/2010; last updated 5/18/2022.

Sept. 13, 1994: Eric Clapton released From the Cradle, his first blues album

First posted March 31, 2008. Last updated September 9, 2018.

From the Cradle Eric Clapton

Released: Sept. 13, 1994 Sales (in millions): US: 3.0 UK: 0.1 IFPI: 1.0 World (estimated): 6.5 Peak: US: 11 UK: 11 Canada: 2 Australia: 6

Quotable: “one of Clapton's finest moments” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

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Genre: blues

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Album Tracks:

1. Blues Before Sunrise (Carr) [2:58]
2. Third Degree (Boyd/Dixon) [5:07]
3. Reconsider Baby (Fulson) [3:20]
4. Hoochie Coochie Man (Dixon) [3:16]
5. Five Long Years (Boyd) [4:47]
6. I’m Tore Down (Thompson) [3:02] (9/10/94, #5 AR)
7. How Long Blues (Carr) [3:09]
8. Goin’ Away Baby (Lane) [4:00]
9. Blues Leave Me Alone (Lane) [3:36]
10. Sinner’s Prayer (Fulson/Glenn) [3:20]
11. Motherless Child (traditional) [2:57] (10/22/94, #23 AR)
12. It Hurts Me Too (James) [3:17]
13. Someday After a While (King/Thompson) [4:27]
14. Standin’ Round Crying (Waters) [3:39]
15. Driftin’ (Brown/Moore/Williams) [3:10]
16. Groaning the Blues (Dixon) [6:05]

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Singles/Hit Songs:

Click here for the chart codes for singles/hit songs.

Review: Eric Clapton’s 1992 Unplugged gave him the most successful album of his career. It won the Grammy for Album of the Year and has sold more than 20 million copies. Instead of stressing him, however, Clapton felt free to do whatever he wanted. He opted to record an all-blues cover album, the first in his career, despite long being associated with the genre. Reviews were mixed. All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine said “If it wasn't for Clapton's labored vocals, everything would be perfect.” STE “When he sings, Clapton loses that sense of originality, choosing to mimic the vocals of the original recordings. At times, his overemotive singing is painful; he doesn’t have the strength to pull off Howlin’ Wolf’s growl or the confidence to replicate Muddy Waters’ assured phrasing.” STE Entertainment Weekly’s Tom Sinclair considered the recordings “flawless” but boring, WK but Erlewine said “the album manages to re-create the ambience of postwar electric blues, right down to the bottomless thump of the rhythm section.” STE He asserted it was easy to overlook Clapton’s “vocal shortcomings,” STE saying “as long as he plays his guitar, he can't fail – his solos are white-hot and evocative, original and captivating.” STE Clapton once again received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. While he didn’t win that, he did take home the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. He subsequently recorded more blues albums, including Riding with the King with B.B. King, Me and Mr. Johnson (a collection of Robert Johnson covers), and The Road to Escondido with J.J. Cale. Review Source(s): STE Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide WK Wikipedia

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Awards:

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Related DMDB Link(s):

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