Tuesday Tunes 300: Threes And Hundreds

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Today Tuesday Tunes reaches another milestone, with the 300th post in the series. I never imagined this would last so long! I’m celebrating this with six tunes today, three of them with three in their titles, the others with (loosely) hundred in theirs. This is a bit of a retrospective, as all of these have been played before, some of them quite recently – within the past two months in fact. But you can’t keep a good song down, can you! The three three songs are the most recent ones, so prepare to refresh your memory.

I was going to play something else to start this set, but changed my mind. Even if I have played this recently it is still a great song:

The late, great Eddie Cochran with Three Steps To Heaven. The song is all too short, like Eddie’s life, sadly. Eddie was only 21 when he was killed in a car crash in Wiltshire on his way back to London in April 1960, having just played a show in Bristol. He was already a star and could well have gone on to become huge, though his posthumous legacy has done well and he has taken his place as an icon of rock and roll history. There is a tragic irony in that the final single he released in the US when alive had just come out before the crash that took his life: it was this one. It wasn’t released here until the month after his passing – we took it to #1 in his honour but, rather shamefully, I think, it only made #108 in the US.

Another recent one, but I love this band and couldn’t leave this one out:

3AM is a track on Matchbox Twenty’s debut album, Yourself Or Someone Like You, which was released in October 1996 and reached #5 in the US and #50 here. It has to date sold more than 15m copies worldwide, 12m of those in the US alone. A pretty good start for a band! This track was the third single taken from the album, and like the previous two it wasn’t deemed eligible to make the US charts, though it got to #1 on both Billboard’s Adult Pop Airplay and Adult Alternative listings, and reached #1 in Canada and #64 in the UK. It was written by Rob Thomas, Jay Stanley, John Leslie Goff, and Brian Yale while performing together in the early 1990s band Tabitha’s Secret and was first recorded by that band on its debut EP, Tabitha’s Secret? Its lyrics are inspired by Thomas as an adolescent having to live with a mother fighting to survive cancer: the video has some images which reflect that concern. It may not have been eligible at first to appear in the main Billboard chart (no physical release at that point) but later sales of over 3m more than compensated!

And this video is just too cute:

Presumably for copyright reasons that video isn’t available in the Caribbean area, which strikes me as odd, so I offer my apologies if that is where you are reading this. It is actually a new-ish official video, released in April 2020, but the song of course goes back much further. As I said at the beginning, you can’t keep a good song down, and this is absolutely charming: such a good accompaniment to a simple, but very uplifting, little song. Three Little Birds was originally released on Bob Marley’s 1977 album Exodus, which reached #8 here, #20 in the US, and was #1 in his Jamaican homeland. It was also a single here in the UK, released in September 1980, and peaked at #17. If you are ever in need of brightening up your day, this video will do it for you. It has accumulated more than 216m YouTube views in the past six years, and that many people just must be right!

That’s three done, time for the hundred ones. Starting with this, which I played four years ago. I’m giving you the official lyric video clip as the live version I played previously has now been blocked by its owner from being embedded in posts. A bit of a cheek really, as they just ripped it off the BBC! It’s still a good tune, though:

Seven Hundred Elves was the opening track on Steeleye Span’s sixth album, which was called Now We Are Six – more due to the fact that they had added a drummer, Nigel Pegrum, to their line up, making the band a six piece, than what I think was a happy coincidence of the album numbering. The album was released in March 1974, and reached #13 in the UK chart. This wasn’t released as a single, but has always been a good live song. It’s a shame I can’t show you the previous clip here, as it was from a rather bizarre BBC show of the band in concert at Penshurst Place, an English stately home, playing to an audience of slightly bewildered looking toffs who were dinner guests of the owner, Viscount De L’Isle. You can find it here if you want to see what I mean.

Another long time favourite of mine next:

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were friends of Gram Parsons, who was for a time a member of The Byrds and was the prime mover behind their country-based album Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, which was released in August 1968 and is generally regarded as being the forerunner of what became known as country-rock. One Hundred Years From Now was one of the tracks on that album. The song was written by Gram Parsons, and there is a version included on later reissues with him taking lead vocal. I prefer this one, though, as it highlights the band’s lovely vocal harmonies so much better. The album was their least commercially successful to that point, only reaching #77 in the US and failing to make the UK chart, but its influence has been long-lasting – think Poco, The Eagles, Jackson Browne, amongst many others. Two singles were released from it, of which only one charted: You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere, a Bob Dylan cover, which reached #74 in the US and #45 in the UK.

I’m closing today with one I thought I hadn’t played before, but checking back I found that I did, a couple of years ago. The band have however featured as recently as this week’s Song Lyric Sunday post: that went down well, so I’m hoping this will too:

The Hooters with 500 Miles. Yes, I know that hundred is part of a numeric title, but they sing the word a lot in the chorus, so for me that’s enough to include this. I rest my case, m’lud. 500 Miles was a track on Zig Zag, the band’s fourth album, which was released in October 1989, making #115 in the US but not getting into the UK charts. They were very popular in Scandinavia, for some reason, and the album peaked at #13 in Sweden and #12 in Norway. This song was released as the lead single from the album that November: it reached #97 in the US, #60 in Canada, and #12 in Sweden (them again!). It is credited as having been originally written by an American folk singer in the Sixties, Hedy West, and has been recorded many times, including by Peter, Paul and Mary. The Hooters added some additional lyrics to mark the events in Tiananmen Square earlier that year (the man with a flower standing in front of a tank, who you saw in the video), and PP&M provided backing vocals for them.

That’s all for today’s retrospective. When I started this series just over six years ago I didn’t expect it to last beyond the pandemic, for which we had just been put into our first lockdown, but it kind of became habit-forming! Will there be another three hundred? Who can tell, but you can be sure that unless something unforeseen happens I’ll be back with #301 next week. I hope to see you again then, and will return in a couple of days with another offering. Until then, take care 😊

 

[And my usual reminder that I am sharing this post at Esme’s Senior Salon Pit Stop and Cathy’s Monday’s Music Moves Me, so do hop over to those to see what else you can find, especially as Cathy was kind enough to link to my site in her most recent piece.]

57 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 300: Threes And Hundreds”

  1. Ahh! A Bob Marley song. What a coincidence. Weren’t we just talking about him? 🤣🤣
    I do really like it. Thanks for the smile!!
    And the 500 miles song I have always liked!
    Congrats on your 300th post! And I hope nothing bad happens and you keep posting for a long time yet. You aren’t 100 yet, right? 😉

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  2. Three hundred posts in a series is something to celebrate, so congratulations on that milestone. I knew Three Little Birds and I knew a previous version of 500 miles. I really enjoyed The Hooters’ cover. I never knew the Byrds were country rock pioneers. I had no idea that song existed. I can see why the song and album were not commercial successes because it was so different from their previous hits. Please do join up with Music Moves Me again; you are most welcome! Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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    • Thank you for your good wishes. I’m glad you liked some of these and learned a little along the way: all part of the service!

      I’ll be there for MMMM again, I’m sure 👍

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  4. I agree about Eddie Cochran, he still sounds great after all those years. There is something about dying young that locks the talent into history, with no opportunity to spoil anything later.

    Best wishes, Pete.

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  5. Clive, well done. My favorite of the grouping is Matchbox Twenty’s “3 AM.” I love The Byrds, but this one was not my cup of tea. I enjoyed hearing a different song from Eddie Cochrane. If you do an encore on this one, could I petition Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Gimme Three Steps?” Keith

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    • Thank you, Keith. I’m pleased you enjoyed those ones. That Byrds album isn’t a favourite for many but I love it, and it has become incredibly influential. Thanks for the suggestion but I’m afraid this was a one off theme to mark the milestone. You now have two years to think of a song with ‘four’ in its title 🤣

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      • Clive, I was going to leave at “25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago, then I thought of “409” by the Beach Boys. Then, I cheated and did a search and was reminded of Led Zeppelin’s “Four Sticks,” a great underplayed song. Keith

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    • I’ve been a Span fan since their first album. I’m pleased you liked this one – I bought the album the day it came out, played it to bits, and have seen them play it live several times. It’s a showstopper!

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  7. I’m impressed with how far you’ve taken this series. All of these songs, except the last one are introductions. 500 Miles is an oldie. We use to sing it when I was in elementary school (late 60s). I can’t tell you who the artist was, though. Too young to pay attention to such things. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your music collection and for joining the 4M party, Clive. Have a boogietastic week, my friend!

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    • The Hooters updated the lyrics to that last one – no longer just the folk song you remember from schooldays. There are many versions from the 60s, probably the best known being by Peter, Paul and Mary.

      Thanks for your kind words, and I wish you a good week too 👍

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  9. WHOA Clive!!! My head is spinning … I didn’t think it was possible … or likely … but you have played six songs that I’ve never heard before! None of ’em! Never! I wonder where I’ve been all these years? Congratulations on your 300th post in this series! That’s awesome! And now … I shall go listen to me some Stevie …

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    • I thought that would be unfamiliar to many, Di. I’m very pleased you liked it – I loved the band, had all of their albums, and never understood why they weren’t successful here.

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  15. This is amazing Clive, well done with your 300th Tuesday Tunes. Going strong for more than 5 3/4 years, WOW
    Thank you for sharing with us at SSPS 407. See you again soon

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    • Thank you, Esme. It’s actually six years and a month, as there have been a couple of breaks (Christmas and my father passing away). It has become a habit!

      I’ll be there next week, as ever 👍

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  17. Congrats on 300 posts! I enjoyed all the songs. These were great and your child will learn soon enough. Like we used to, let the kids enjoy the outside and, hopefully, play like hide and seek or tag. Im aging myself …lol.

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    • Thank you, and I’m pleased you enjoyed these.

      The comment about a child wasn’t mine – it was from a friend about her granddaughter. I have three of those, and you’re right!

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  20. Congratulations, my friend on your 300th Post Anniversary; that is quite an accomplishment! Your songs this morning are all winners and there are two in particular that I can relate to in a special way. The first one is the Bob Marley video which I have watched numerous times with Colette; the music in that very cute cartoon gets her dancing, and we both laugh at the antics of the little pig and the big bad wolf, even though she is oblivious to the reefer (which is fine by me!) The other is 500 Miles by the Hooters. Not only did I sing that song and learn to play the guitar in high school, the soundtrack for my limerick today is another song about 500 Miles, one I think you know quite well ….. a lovely little bit of serendipity. Thank you for filling my Tuesday mornings with wonderful songs both new and old. Have a great day and enjoy your anniversary! 🥳

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    • Thank you, Nancy, for your congratulations and good wishes. I’m glad you enjoyed these and found particular reasons for those two. I’m sure Colette won’t know what the reefer is!

      I saw your post but as I never liked The Proclaimers I didn’t want to spoil it by saying so on your blog – I’ll save it for here 🤣

      You have a great day too 👍

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      • Colette is a precocious child; she will learn all about that stuff eventually, but I hope eventually is a long way down the road. Children need to enjoy their childhood. Re The Proclaimers, I don’t know anything about them beyond that song, which I remember from when it was released. I think it fit my limerick nicely. Would I put it on my playlist? Not a chance. 😊

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      • I hope so too!

        The Proclaimers had a run of hit singles here but I couldn’t stand them. A guy I worked with called them – perhaps unkindly, but accurately – as ‘a pair of speccy twats.’ After that, we adopted that as their name 😉

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  22. First up, congratulations- 300 posts is a fair number, even more impressive is the fact it’s only part of your output. All 6 songs are pretty decent, though it was a nice treat hearing 500 miles getting a more modern treatment than the more usual traditional folk one. Can’t keep a good song down.

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