Great Lakes Spotlight: The Pleasure Seekers - What A Way To Die/I Never Thought You'd Leave Me Baby

We're rolling through the Great Lakes Battle of the Garage Bands smoother than a 1964 Buick Wildcat on the rough and tumble streets in America's rust belt. And we've only just begun. 

Today's double sided gem is from Detroit Michigan's, The Pleasure Seekers. And it is our first female entry in the Battle of The Garage Bands! The hedonistic little Pleasure Seekers was comprised of sisters Suzi Quatro and Patti Quatro; sisters Nancy Ball and Mary Lou Ball; and, Diane Baker, who, not long after this recording, was replaced by Arlene Quatro. The band was managed by Dave Leone, who gets writing credit for both sides of this super-rare 1965 single released on the local Hideout Records label.

We've flipped the sides over because -- as usual -- we think the Flip-Side is better. What A Way To Die is, simply put, awesome. The song has a nice Jimmy Reed turnaround riff, bitchin' low-fi production, a perfectly placed spoken voice giving a retort to Suzi's banshee lyrics, reverb drenched over-dubs, growly little vocals, and of course some of the best lyrics ever committed to wax. Watch out boys, these girls are gonna walk all over you as they stagger to the fridge to get another beer.

There is no-way these girls' moms thought this was appropriate. These lyrics are so great, we present every word here for your enjoyment.

Well I love you baby
I'm telling you right here
But please don’t make me decide babyBetween you and a bottle of beer 

And...baby come on overwell come on over to my side (come on baby, to my side)well I may not live past twenty-onebut -- WOO!What a way to die! 

Your lovin' fluctuates babyand everybody knowsbut the temperature always stays the sameon an ice cold bottle of Stroh's 

So...baby come on overwell come on over to my side (come on over, honey)well I may not live past twenty-onebut -- WOO!What a way to die! 

When I start my drinkingmy baby throws a fitSo I just blitz her outta my mindwith seventeen bottles of Schlitz 

And...baby come on overwell come on over to my side (come on...over)well I may not live past twenty-onebut -- WOO!What a way to die! 

You’ve got the kind of bodythat makes me come aliveBut I’d rather have my hands aroundA bottle of Colt 45 

And...baby come on over,come on over to my side (are you coming or not baby?)well I may not live past twenty-onebut WOO! What a way to die!

The A-Side of the single, I Never Thought You'd Leave Me Baby is a raver in it's own right. Groovy bass line and tight vocals. Yeah Baby!

Enjoy. Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Elektra Records Spotlight: MC5 - Kick Out The Jams

Day five of our Elektra Records love-fest has us traveling to Michigan.

Elektra's PR man, Danny Fields, was visiting the working class city of Detroit in the Summer of 1968 when he took in a show by a Motor City band that had already released two singles on local labels. With The Doors over a year into their legacy, Elektra Records had real skin in the game and could once and for all be considered a real national label. So when Danny Fields came to your show, it was bound to turn some heads. MC5, with their alleged propulsive live shows and radical left political proselytizing had already been lauded by members of Cream and by Rolling Stone Magazine.

Based on one performance, Fields called back to Los Angeles and told Jac Holzman to sign the band on the spot and unheard. Holzman did just that, wiring Fields $15,000 to sign them on the spot. Further, Holzman and producer Paul Rothchild agreed with MC5's and Danny Fields' suggestion to not go into a studio, but rather record their first album entirely live. Over the course of two days -- October 30th and 31st -- MC5 recorded their debut album at the Grand Ballroom in Detroit in front of a live audience.

Individually they were Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith on guitar, Michael Davis on bass, Dennis Thompson on drums and Rob Tyner on vocals. Collectively they were a punch in the face. Elektra picked the second song of their set, Kick Out The Jams, for the band's major label debut released on December 26th, 1968. The release truly marks a seminal moment in rock-n-roll history. MC5 sounded like nobody else. They were creating a brand new sound. A sound that is universally heralded as the father of Punk Rock. The Ramones, The Sex Pistols and, most transparently, The Damned all grew out of the rib that was MC5.

Kick Out The Jams showed just how fast the band evolved from their first recordings dating back to 1966. And it showed how radical Elektra Records was willing to be. The label was already pushing the envelope with the subversive and hard to control, The Doors. Now they were just flat out ripping that envelope up. Despite the label editing the now infamous introduction to Kick Out The Jams for the single release, the record was immediately banned by a major retailer in Detroit who feared MC5's political insurrection would cause a backlash at the department store. MC5 doubled down and took out full page ads denouncing the department store as capitalist pigs. In the end it was too much for Elektra Records and they dropped the band after the first album. But it was too late. The new sound was out - a very Detroit sound, I might add -- and the groundwork for the future of rock-n-roll was set with this simple little release on Elektra Records. So, right now, right now, let's....Kick Out The Jams mother fuckers!

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Mitch Ryder - Baby Jane (Mo Mo Jane)

Mitch Ryder (born Bill Levise Jr.) was full of potential that never seems to have been fully realized. Amazingly powerful voice and a strong presence on the stage never translated into a must-have catalogue of original material. But there is still great stuff out there to be had squirreled away on his records. 

The young Detroit, Michigan native hooked up with producer Bob Crewe in the Summer of 1965 for his first release under the name, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels. But today we feature the Flip-Side of Mitch Ryder's second release. The song is the Crew/Levise Jr. composed Baby Jane (Mo Mo Jane) and it was released on New Voice Records in November, 1965. Baby Jane is the under side of Jenny Take A Ride, perhaps Ryder's most famous number. The understated song tells the tale of Mitch with his first experience smoking marijuana. It starts with a riff reminiscent of Bo Diddley's I'm A Roadrunner, but with the addition of the bopping bass it takes on originality. Great guitar work in this one with a very brief, but charming solo. And a rhythm section fade-out makes fade-outs almost acceptable. 

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Song of the Week: "Six Little Puppies and Twelve Shaggy Hounds", John Lee Hooker

Listen - John Lee Hooker performs Six Little Puppies And Twelve Shaggy Dogs.

Everybody loves John Lee Hooker. The dude had style for days.

I had the chance to see him live on three separate occasions and I can tell you the first performance of his I saw had a huge influence on this impressionable 15 year old flipper. Hooker was around '66 years of age on my virgin foray into the deep, dark growling blues in a live setting. I knew the manager of the venue, The Palms in Davis California, and was escorted back stage after the show. There I saw Hooker seated in the middle of the room on a rusty fold out chair sipping from a beer can. People filtered in with my group and one woman snapped a photo. Hooker snapped back: "You didn't ask to take my picture and I didn't say you could." The shutterbug pushed the camera back into her purse and retreated back into the the plank wood walls that gave away the venue's original purpose as a barn. The person who had escorted me and my older friends back to the room signaled to us to be quiet around the surly figure seated with legs wide apart in the middle of the room. The bassist for the band looked my friend over and said something along the line of "it's time to finish our business", and with that an envelope was passed. Most all the gawkers had left the room and Hooker looked up like a bulldog at the bassist who opened the envelope, looked in and gave Hooker an affirmative nod of the head. Hooker said something about getting a beer in this town and my friend suggested the only bar likely to still be open, The Paragon. Directions began to be given to the bassist and Hooker barked out again, "damn, we're never going to find it like that."

Suddenly I find myself and my friend climbing into the fourth row of Hooker's white Ford Econoline Van and heading off to the bar across the street from the record store at which I worked, Barney's Records. I followed the whole gang into the bar. I was way underage. Hooker and three of his bandmates took a table in the empty bar. Others in his band sat at the next table. My friends and I sat across the aisle in the narrow bar and I stared at John Lee Hooker with awe and fear as he drank from a bottle of Miller High Life.

Hooker had been on the road for about 52 years at this point. He had played many barns, music halls from Germany to California and Juke Joints along Highway 61. He had played festivals and he had played more than one house party. Today's song of the week is from one of those nights. It was recorded in 1949 in a house in Detroit, Michigan. The song is the sublimely titled Six Little Puppies and Twelve Shaggy Dogs. It takes a little bit of time to get going -- like Hooker himself -- but once he gets going it's a song with a great minor chord groove that is as hypnotic as the man himself.

I never did say a single word to Hooker. He never even acknowledged my presence. It was still damn cool.