Practical MIDI

Since Cybermidi's inception more than seven years ago, I've been contributing not only this column, but a lot of the song/artist facts you see when you click on the latest demo on the home page. I've been too busy lately with the column and my own musical career to contribute to demo descriptions of late, but perhaps this column will make up for my absence. Here are some more behind-the-scenes facts about some of Flash's sequences.

Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4” (CM00001)

When this song first hit the airwaves there were rumors of the title making references to a spot on a person’s arm where they could shoot up drugs. It’s also been linked to an English cricket score. Truth is, it was simply the time of day the song was written, which was either 3:35 a.m. or 3:34 a.m., which turns out to be either 25 or 6 to 4. Keyboardist Robert Lamm, struck with writer’s block, wrote the words as a filler until better words came to him. They never did and the filler words stuck.

Badfinger’s “Come And Get It” (CM00041)

McCartney wrote this song for Ringo’s 1969 movie, The Magic Christian. McCartney recorded a demo of this song and insisted that Badfinger play it like the demo, even though they wanted to play it in their own style. Paul won out and the group had its first hit single. They were also the first group signed to the newly formed Apple Lable.

The Beatles’ “Day Tripper” (CM00050)

A “day tripper” was originally the description of a person who takes a trip to someplace and returns home the same day. Day Tripper tickets were issued by 19th century railways and steamships. However, John Lennon wrote this LSD referenced song to tease Paul about not taking acid. He referred to Paul as a “weekend hippie.”

Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talking” (CM00063)

Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay” was written for the movie, Midnight Cowboy but they decided to use this song instead, which was written by Fred Neil and sung by Harry Nilsson. The movie starred Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voigt and went on to become the only X-rated movie to win the Best Picture Oscar.

The Moody Blues’ “Go Now” (CM00082)

Written by Larry Banks for his wife, Bessie, this song was released in 1964 and went nowhere. Record producers Leiber and Stoller then gave it to The Moody Blues who took it to the #10 slot in 1965. It was sung by Denny Laine, who later joined McCartney in Wings.

Three Dog Night’s “Joy To The World” (CM00132)

Hoyt Axton was opening for Three Dog Night when he pitched this song to them, which he’d originally written for a TV cartoon show. Initially the band didn’t want to do the song. They thought it was silly and beneath them. Luckily for them Axton persisted because it became the groups biggest hit, remaining on the charts for 15 weeks, 6 of those weeks at #1.

Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” (CM00172)

This song began its life as “Mrs. Roosevelt” because Paul Simon was writing about Eleanor Roosevelt at the time. When he was approached to write the music for The Graduate, Paul wasn’t sure what he could contribute to a movie who’s main character was Mrs. Robinson but Art spoke up and told the producers, “Paul wrote a song called Mrs. Robinson," which he hadn’t and the song wasn’t even finished at this point. Paul changed the title and the focus and another movie hit was born.

The Rascals’ “People Got To Be Free” (CM00184)

Felix Cavalier wrote this following the death of Martin Luther King but Atlantic Records blocked the release, saying the political theme of the song would hurt The Rascals’ career. Wrong! The song went on to become their biggest hit, remaining at #1 for 5 weeks in 1968.

The Cyrkle’s “Red Rubber Ball” (CM00189)

Paul Simon co-wrote this song with Bruce Woodley from The Seekers. He gave it to The Cyrkle, who were managed by none other than Brian Epstein, who hired them to open for The Beatles’ 1966 summer tour. With that kind of exposure, the song helped the group make a place for themselves in Billboard's Top 10.

The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer In The City” (CM00213)

This song was originally written as a poem by John Sebastian’s brother, Mark for a high school English class project. The Spoons spent many hours in the studio getting just the right sounds, including car horns and traffic sounds as a backdrop for this, their only #1 hit. Thanks, brother.

The Cowsills’ “The Rain The Park And Other Things” (CM00217)

The song was co-written by Artie Kornfield, who later moved on as one of the Woodstock promoters. The Cowsills were an actual family of performers, including their mother, Barbara and their nine-year-old sister, Susan. It gave her the distinction of being the youngest rock performer to reach the Top 10 in The United States. The Cowsills were also the inspiration for the fictional family band, The Partridge Family.

B.J. Thomas’ “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” (CM00258)

This song became the first million-seller for the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who had many hits with Dionne Warwick. Warwick gave Bacharach a copy of B.J.’s record, “Hooked On A Feeling” and they selected him to sing it for the soundtrack of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, but neglected to tell him that Bob Dylan and Ray Stevens had already turned down the project. But since B.J. was also among the Scepter Records stable of stars along with Warwick, he happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Bread’s “Baby I’m A-Want You” (CM00270)

Originally written by David Gates on piano, the song didn’t feel right so he went home, somewhat discouraged and re-wrote it on guitar and raised the key up a whole step. That did the trick for this #3 song from 1971. There was a time when Italian groups protested the song, feeling that Gates was making fun of the way they talked, but that quickly blew over.

Wings’ “Band On The Run” (CM00405)

McCartney wrote this song in several different pieces before combining them into the finished song, something he’d done before with Beatles’ tunes. One of the lines in the song came from a comment George Harrison made at a meeting with Apple Records executives. He said, “If I ever get out of this house.” McCartney remembered that line and incorporated it into the song, which was actually recorded in Lagos, Nigeria by just Paul and Linda and Denny Laine. The other two Wings members quit just before the trip.

Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” (CM00407)

The song described the turbulance between police and the crowd that hung out on the Sunset Strip during the 60s. The title doesn’t appear in the song anwhere, but Steven Stills said when he presented the song to ATCO Records executives he said something like, "I have this song here, for what it's worth, if you want it." The phrase stuck and became the title.

Sugarloaf’s “Green-Eyed Lady” (CM00483)

Denver-based Sugarloaf was originally called Chocolate Hair but changed their name in reference to a mountain just outside Boulder. They had trouble getting the attention of record execs when they first started, but after this song became a hit in 1970, it inspired them to wite “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You,” a phrase that they had heard too many times early in their careers.

Mel Carter’s “Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me” (CM00560)

Originally written in 1952 by Harry Noble and released by Karen Chandler, it went as high as #7 on the Billboard charts and stayed on the charts for 18 weeks. It also became a #3 hit in Britain in 1953, but the best-known version was by Mel Carter, who took it up to #8 in 1965. Gloria Estefan also recorded it in 1994.

The Tymes’ “So Much In Love” (CM00601)

Here was the #1 song in America for twelve weeks during 1963. It was the first hit for this group and the song has been described by many as the greatest pop ballad of all times while others call it the king of summer love songs. It was the first tune to knock The Beatles out of the #1 spot on the British charts.

David Bowie’s “Fame” (CM00612)

John Lennon ended up with a co-writing credit even though he only came up with the title and the subject matter in a conversation with Bowie. However, Lennon’s is the voice you hear in the background singing "Fame" over the guitar riff. Bowie and guitarist Carlos Alomar also shared songwriting credits with Lennon.

The Doobie Brothers’ “China Grove” (CM00723)

From their 1973 album, The Captain And Me, this song was written by guitarist Tom Johnston, who would soon be replaced by Michael McDonald. There really is a China Grove, Texas, but the bulk of the song was made up by Johnston. People from that area have asked Tom how he knew all those things about their little town, but he insists that it is all fiction.

The Buckinghams’ “Don’t You Care” (CM00892)

In 1967, this band was introduced to the bass player for Chad & Jeremy. His name was Jim Guercio, who’d also done a stint with Frank Zappa. Guercio was instrumental (pardon the pun) in cemementing the group’s Brass-Rock sound with his horn arrangements. In 1967 The Buckinghams earned the title of “Most Listened To Band In America.” They split with Guercio, who went on to impliment the Brass-Rock sound with Blood, Sweat and Tears as well as Chicago. He produced more than a dozen gold albums for Chicago before being replaced.

And there you have it, folks - fascinating facts about 21 of Cybermidi's sequences.

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©2009 Bill Bernico for CYBERMIDI.com Downwind Publications