Midnight Rider

1970/1973

Gregg Allman/Allman Brothers Band

The other week when I posted the first One Hit Wonder to crack the Billboard Hot 100's Top 20 in each year of The Seventies, I said that there were a couple of acts on the list that just were not one hit wonders...No way, No how. So this week, I'm going to take a look the 'One Hit Wonder' artists that, well, aren't.

The first one's Gregg Allman. My brother noted when we were talking about it that The Allman Brothers was more of 'a Jam Band' that a hit-maker...they had hit albums, but only a couple of hit singles. But even only two hit singles is more that one...and both of The Allman Brothers singles that come immediately to mind were biggies.. Now if you want to get technical...and I'm talking really, really technical...both songs could have been considered One Hit Wonders. But when you do a little digging and analyzing, you realize neither of them were.

Ok, first to understand my opinion on why neither The Allman Brothers/Ramblin Man or Gregg Allman/Midnight Rider are One Hit Wonders you have to forget that The Hot 100 exists for just a paragraph or so. I know, that's kind of like saying 'Forget That The Sun Exists, but ...well just do it. Just for a paragraph or two.

The first one...Midnight Rider...was never actually released as a single by the Allman Brothers even though it was and is a must-play staple at their concerts,and was one of their millions of fans' favorite songs. It didn't chart until it was released as Gregg Allman's only charting solo release. Gregg Allman's version is actually listed as one of 1973's One Hot Wonders...but it couldn't have been a true One Hit Wonder because (This is purely my opinion, BTW) he performed in both versions of the song, and was still a member of the Allman Brothers when he released the single. And even though The Allman Brothers never actually released it as a single, their fans' devotion to and love of the song makes their version of it a hit in anybody's book.

The second, and even better known Non-OHW of the two...Rambling Man...was the only charting single for the band, and it was a huge hit for them. But it actually wasn't a One Hit Wonder because ...again...'The Brothers' version of Midnight Rider was a hit everywhere, as they say, but the scoreboard. The only thing that kept it from being a platinum-selling record was not being released as a single. That makes 'Ramblin' Man their second hit in my book...and gives them two major hits. Not just one.

And Gregg Allman couldn't have been a one hit wonder because he performed in all three songs if you count his solo cover of 'Midnight Rider. so, IMHO, neither 'The Brothers or Gregg Allman were OHWs. OK...you can now allow The Hot 100 to exist again! Lets take a look at both songs...Midnight Rider first.

Gregg Allman didn't just cover 'Midnight Rider' as a solo artist...he also wrote it for The Allman Brothers (With writing credit also going to Kim Payne), penning the song as a take on how he dealt with setbacks and adversity. And it was a classic just about from the minute it was recorded. It was included as the third track on side 1 of their second album, 'Idlewild South', and got good coverage on the 'Rock' stations in the land (All AM back in '70).

Midnight Rider blended about four separate genres of music together seamlessly...you can hear elements of Country, Blues, Southern Rock, and Rock in the arrangement, music, and lyrics. If The Allman Brother's had released it as a single it would have probably shot up the charts like a rocket, and it's signature guitar riff (Courtesy of Duane Allman) would have been added to the list of 'Most Recognized Hit Song Intros Of  All Time'. But they didn't, and it wasn't, though it was and in fact sill is band's signature song at concerts,.

But it was Gregg Allman who made a top twenty hit out of it four years later when he released it as a solo artist. He went up-tempo with it, changed the guitar arrangement, added an electric piano and horns, and made it his signature song. So the version we all know, love, and hear most often is actually Gregg Allman's solo cover of his own song. He released it in late 1973, and it immediately started chart-climbing and cracked the Top 20 on The Billboard Hot 100 when it peaked at #19 on January 19^th, 1974. (Within-in two months of 40 years ago as I type this, hard as it is to believe.)

If you asked a thousand 'Seventies Kids; what their favorite of the two versions was, a pretty fair percentage would tell you they preferred 'The Allman Brothers' version, with Duane's vocals in the mix. The band had, and still has a huge fan base who'd quickly tell you that, as far as they're concerned, 'Midnight Rider's an Allman Brother's hit as well as a hit for Gregg Allman despite it not being released as a single by the band.

I still have a sneakin' suspicion that the majority would vote for Gregg Allman's solo version simply because it was a Billboard Hot 100 Top 20 single and as such was heard on the air far more frequently than 'The Brothers' version. Of course, you can still hear both versions on classic rock stations and Oldies stations (And I've heard both with-in the past month or so, both on Richmond's Classic Rock, WKLR, 96.5). Back in The Day, you were more likely to hear 'The Brothers' version of Midnight Rider on the Rock Stations rather than the 'Top 40' stations, but Gregg's solo version was in pretty regular rotation on WLEE, Pre-FM, as well as WRVQ (Q-94) when they took over Richmond's Top-40 duties.

And both versions' ll be around for decades after we're gone. They're certified, bona fide classics from the Decade Of The Most Awesome Music That Ever Existed, and our grand kids grandkids'll be hearing 'em long after we've gotten our seats at the Big Concert Venue In The Sky...

so Enjoy! Midnight Rider by Gregg Allman...

 

...and The Allman Brothers!

An interesting little factiod...Kim Payne managed to get writing credit on Midnight Rider despite the fact that he was actually a roadie...the line 'The Road Goes On Forever' ? That was his contribution. But it wasn't his wasn't his only contribution. The night that Gregg Allman wrote it he had in mind exactly how he wanted a couple of tracks to sound. Payne was guarding the band's equipment when Gregg found him and said, basically, 'You're going to help me get inside this place (The studio.) SO the two of them, using undisclosed techniques and procedures, got inside, fired the equipment up, and got the tracks down while they were still fresh in Gregg Allman's mind.

Ramblin' Man

1973

The Allman Brothers

When you hear 'Ramblin' Man's distinctive opening riff ya know you're getting ready to jam to one of the best loved Southern Rock tunes that's ever hit the airwaves. The tune was penned by Dickie Betts who, By The Way, also sang lead on it.

Betts based it on a Hank Williams tune from 1951, but it's definitely not a cover...the absolute only features the two songs share are the basic premise and the title. Otherwise there's not a lyric, riff, or musical movement even vaguely common to 'em. The Hank Williams song from two decades and change earlier was old school country and didn't have a Rock or Pop half note or up-tempo beat anywhere within miles of it, while 'The Brothers' song was a up-tempo near-stereotype of good old Southern Rock with just a touch of Country thrown into the mix, featuring some of the best guitar-playing to ever be pressed into vinyl as well as one of the best known choruses in Rock or Pop history. It also had a couple of interesting connections with a couple of the band's founding members, both of whom were tragically killed thirteen months apart in eerily similar accidents.

Ramblin' Man was included as the second track on Side one of their chart-topping fifth album, Brothers and Sisters, and was released as a single on August 25^th, 1973, just shy of two years after Allman Brothers founder Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident in October of '71. In the eyes and minds of many of the band's fans, the song served as proof that the Allman Brothers Band could still find a sound without Duane's near-legendary talents at the helm.

Duane wasn't the only founding member of The Allman Brothers to die the same way, sadly. Bass player Berry Oakley was killed in a motorcycle accident on November 11^th 1972, just more than a year after...and only three blocks away from the site of...Duane's fatal crash. It was also just a week after they performed 'Ramblin' Man' as a sample from their upcoming fifth album on the premiere of ABC's 'In Concert'. Ramblin Man would be both the last song he recorded and performed. Oh...if the fact that the two crash sites are less than a mile apart isn't eerie enough, when Duane Allman crashed his bike, he'd just left Berry Oakley's house, where he'd been helping the Oakleys celebrate Linda Oakley's birthday.

We loved 'Ramblin' Man' when it hit the airwaves, and showed that love by sending it almost all the way to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. It cracked the top 20 just shy of a month after it's release, on September 22^nd, and peaked at #2 on The Hot 100 on October 13^th. It'd hang around the Hot 100 for a total of 16 weeks. Oh...The song that kept it from finding the top spot on The Hot 100? Cher's 'Half-Breed. Gregg Allman must have taken notice of this on a couple of different levels. He and the taller, better looking half of 'Sonny and Cher' married in1975, just a week after Cher's divorce from Sonny became a done deal.

During the late Summer and early fall of '73 Ramblin' Man was in constant rotation on both the Top 40 and Rock stations, and you could hear that guitar riff leading off the story of the man who was 'Born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus rollin' down Highway 41...' multiple times in any given day..

Interestingly enough, even though Ramblin' Man is the only song that the Allman Brothers cracked the Billboard top 10, 20, or even Top 40 with, it's is seldom if ever played at concerts, and hasn't been played at all since Betts left the group. When asked about why it was played so infrequently, Dickey Betts said that it didn't lend itself to improvising all that well...and anyone who's ever been lucky enough to be at one of their concerts knows that they are all about improvising and sweetening their music for their fans.

It is still around on the Oldies stations and classic rock stations though...you're just about guaranteed to hear on any given day., and it's just as well loved now as it was forty years ago. I have been known to sing along with it...not where anyone can hear though...I wouldn't subject anyone to the horror that's my attempts at singing!

And 'The Allman Brothers?' Still playin', and Gregg Allman's still singing and playing keyboards...they just finished up a late Summer tour a couple of months back, in fact. And they still Rock!

So Enjoy! 'Ramblin' Man by The Allman Brothers! And ya know ya sang along with it!

And as a pair of bonuses on this one...two live performances of Ramblin Man.  The first, from Back In The Day. Dickie Betts really rocks it in this one...the man could flat out play a six string!!

And the, second, Live at "OHNE FILTER SHOW" on German TV, broadcasted on July 5, 1991 from SWF Studio in Baden Baden. They pretty much kick serious ass in this one, too!

We Gotta Get You A Woman

1970

Todd Rundgren and Runt

The next One Hit Wonder who's not a One Hit Wonder is a dude who those of us around in the 70s may remember by the name of Todd Rundgren. Ok, gang, listen closely...Todd Rundgren is most definitively not a One Hit Wonder...not even close.

But 'We Gotta Get You A Woman' is listed as a One Hit Wonder because it's the only hit scored by his backing band, 'Runt' during their tenure with Todd Rundgren, which was basically during the making of his first album. After he finished that first album he cast Runt off and tried his luck as a solo artist. As those of us who, again, were around during the Seventies may recall, he did a pretty decent job with it.

We Gotta Get You A Woman Is Todd R.'s piano-driven Pop classic about a conversation between two friends as one tries to find his lonely, girlfriend-challenged bud a girl (I always picture it taking place at one of their bachelor pads as beers are consumed) and while it may have been Runt's only hit, it's still Todd Rundgren's song, lock, stock, and barrel. He wrote, arranged, produced. played, and sang lead on it. (He did not, however, 'Bang On The Drum ;) ) Just ask anyone from that era who recorded and sang 'We Gotta Get You A Woman'. Bet their answer will not be 'Runt'

It was written as a lighthearted, fun tune, and was released on November 11^th 1970 to become a much heard staple on stations like WGH in the Tidewater area (The station I heard it on first) and WLEE in Richmond...two of Virginia's AM Top 40 powerhouses back during the 60s and early 70s. It debuted at # 82 on The Hot 100, jumped to #68 in it's first two weeks on the charts, and began a steady climb to it's peak of #20 on the Hot 100, where it stayed for three weeks after just cracking the Top 20 on February 6^th, 1971

We Gotta Get You A Woman was...and is...catchy and addictive. I mean really. Listen to it and see if it doesn't get stuck in your head for the rest of the day. It also had that fun little hook at the very end (And when we're through with you....we'll find me one tooo...') and it Todd Rundgren's piano playing talents which is pretty much to die for. He can seriously tickle the ol' Ivories!

Of course it also had 'The Line' in it...the one that had feminists all but putting a price on his head (...They May Be Stupid But They Sure Are Fun). Feminists saw every shade of red known, and criticism was so intense that he wrote 'Chain Letter' a year later in an effort to defuse...and sort of laugh off...the issue. He did earn his lesson well, though...he didn't broach that sensitive issue ever again.

I well remember hearing it on both a transistor radio that I believe was made by an upstart company named 'Sony', and the then-high end RDF radio that my dad, who had his pilot's license, bought me for my (I believe) 13^th birthday. (Wish I could remember the make of that beast...heck, wish I still had it...that thing could pull signals in that other radios wouldn't even admit existed). We Gotta Get You A Woman still shows up on the Oldies stations pretty regularly today, and that's the way it should definitely be. It's just a fun, catchy hit.

And as for Todd Rundgren? He's still writing new music and performing, and in fact performed with the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Akron Youth Symphony at The Akron (Ohio) civic center in August . He and his music will be remembered long after we're gone.

So Enjoy...Todd Rundgren's One Hit Wonder that's not a One Hit Wonder, We Gotta Get You a Woman' and, yes... Ya know ya sang along with it!

I Saw The Light

1972

Todd Rundgren

'I Saw The Light' is one of Todd Rundgren's best known, best loved hits, is till listened to and cherished by millions...and he was never really satisfied with it. He knocked this musical tale of the musings of a young man in the midst of his first affair out in about 15 minutes, and felt it was nothing but a sting of cliches...as he put it, anything written in fifteen minutes has gotta be nothing but a string of cliches', and nothing was much more disappointing to him than being able to enjoy listening to his own music.

He may have been disappointed with it, but several million of his fans loved it enough to send it to #16 on the Billboard 100 ten weeks after it's April 8^th 1972 debut on The Hot 100, to keep it there for three weeks, and to keep it on the charts for 14 weeks. And as disappointed as he may have been with it, he was sure enough it'd be a hit that he took a cue from Motown and made it the first track on his 1972 double album 'Something, Anything' ...and it in fact did end up being one of the album's two big hits...but not the biggest one by about 11 chart positions, More on that in a bit.

Another interesting little bit about the song (And the majority of the album) was the fact that he wrote, arranged, and produced it, then played all of the instruments. At the time this album was recorded he had become unimpressed with the quality of the session musicians he'd drawn, and as the old saying goes, if you want something done right, do it yourself.

The song was all over the radio during the Spring of '72 (But again, not as much so as the next song I'm going to cover.) and when I heard 'Turn that DOWN!! You're supposed to be doing homework!!' it was often Todd Rundgren crooning 'In Yo-our E-ee-eyes! In Yo-our E-ee-eyes!' on 'Big Lee'...WLEE that busted me. The song's remembered by many as one of the best Pop songs of the early seventies as well as one of Todd Rundgren's best vocal efforts. Not too shabby for a tune that he was not impressed with when he finished it!

Still shows up on the Oldies stations, though not as often as I'd like. Then again all of Todd Rundgren's music can still be found on Oldies station play lists, and we're all the better off for it. It's always nice when you hear that piano-heavy intro and get to listen to The Hit That Todd Was Not Impressed With...but that we were. I hope it stays around forever...Seventies Music will never die!

So enjoy! 'I saw the light' by Todd Rundgren. And ya know ya sang along with it!

Hello It's Me

1973

Todd Rundgren

This was Something/Anything's sleeper hit...not only was it a sleeper hit, but it blew the doors off of 'I Saw The Light', the song that was supposed to be the album's biggest hit. Todd Rundgren led 'Hello It's Me' off with another piano heavy intro that became a constant presence on Top 40 stations through-out the land.

He also slowed it down a good bit in comparison to, say, 'I Saw The Light and 'We Gotta Get You A Woman, and much of his other music. Not in comparison to the original version of the song, however, which wasn't exactly a hit, sleeper or otherwise.

Huh??' you ask. 'What do you mean 'Original Version??”

Hello I's Me was actually Todd Rundgren's first original song, written several years pre-Something/Anything, back when he was a member of a band called 'The Nazz'. They recorded it as an almost dirge-like ballad and released it in 1968 as the 'B' side of that group's debut single ( 'Open My Eyes') . It got airplay when it was played rather than the A-side by a DJ on Boston station WMEX who heard it and liked it bigtime. It became WMEX's most requested song, but...it didn't do so hot in the rest of the country. Oh. It cracked The Hot 100...but only made it to #66....so after a short run on big-number end of the Hot 100, it sort of ended up in the file-drawer so to speak, until 1972 and its rebirth for 'Something/Anything.' Well, actually until well over a year after 'Something/Anything' was released.

That's right...it kind of languished for over a year...Something /Anything was released in February of 1972, radio stations didn't start playing the single until late Summer or fall of 1973, and it didn't debut on the Hot 100 until the sixth of October of that same year...barely cracking the Hot 100 at #97 on it's debut date. Once it did make it to the Hot 100, it took 12 weeks to peak at #5 just eight days before Christmas. It'd hang around The Hot 100 for another 8 weeks for a total run of twenty weeks.

Todd Rundgren went 'up tempo with 'Hello It's Me' when he decided to rerecord it for 'Something/Anything', and while it's definitely lighter and more , well, 'pop' than the dirge-like original, it's still one of his slower songs, especially compared to, say, 'We Gotta Get You A Woman' and 'Bang The Drum All Day'. It's about a telephone call made to a girl by the guy who's telling her that he's ending their relationship for her own good, and that he only asks that she remember him well (And let him sleep over occasionally). So it has a sort of introspective feel to it, as if the guy's examining his own thoughts about their relationship even as he breaks up with her. It's also one of those songs that everyone can identify with, because everyone's had one of those relationships. This common thread's what drove it's popularity and drove it to the # 5 spot on The Hot 100, again,almost two years after the album was released.

The song's late blooming was especially awkward for Rundgren on a couple of occasions when he was obligated to perform it...after all it was his biggest hit...because his style and direction had changed completely at that point. But perform it he did., even if it was far removed form his songwriting and singing style by then.

When it did finally get released that Fall of '73, it was another song that became a constant presence on WLEE, and that piano intro and the song's melody and lyrics had a way of sticking in your head when you heard it while on the way to school and re-emerging a couple of hours later to have you mouthing 'Hello, it's Me silently to the music in your head as you tried to figure out just what 'X' did equal.

Hello It's Me became the song that Todd Rundgren is most identified with, even today, though he's moved on from that style of music almost immediately after Something/Anything and it's pair of hit singles was released. He left the love songs behind after that album, and wrote songs about deeper subjects.

And we, The Seventies Kids, still remember Todd Rundgren's late-blooming...and biggest...hit fondly. It's one of those songs that hearing the intro to can transport you back to a time when kicking your biggest rivals' ass in football, getting a date for the weekend, and hating Geometry Proofs were the biggest concerns you had.. You'll hear this one off and on on the Oldies stations...it'll go a month or two in fairly constant rotation, then disappear for awhile, it seems. But it always comes back. And this is a good thing!

So Enjoy...Todd Rundgren's late-blooming hit,Hello It's Me. An ya know ya sang along with it!.

And as a bonus...The original version of 'Hello It's Me' by Todd Rundgren and The Nazz

Bang On The Drum All Day

1983

Todd Rundgren

This one, as they say, was just for fun. ...and that's pretty much the reason I included 'Bang On The Drum All Day as well...well, that and the fact that it's probably the most played, most heard Todd Rundgren single. Note I didn't say his biggest hit. It's just the one that the most people have heard. It's played at parties endlessly, and Afternoon Drive Time DJs have played it since time eternal...well, at least since mid-1983...on Friday Afternoon at quittin' time or thereabouts to kick off the weekend. It's also been used in more than a couple of TV commercials over the years, as well as appearing in the odd movie here and there. It's heard at sporting events throughout this great country of ours...The Green Bay Packers have it played after every home-game touchdown.

Todd Said that the idea for the song came to him over-night one night so he got up and knocked it out...music and lyrics...and then recorded it. It's the story of a guy whose goal in life, indeed his entire reason for being, the key to his very existence...is to 'Bang On The Drum All Day'. His label (Bearsville at the time) really didn't take it seriously, and I don't really think Todd did either...he just recorded it because it was, well, fun, You can sense that in the high energy, almost manic electric organ intro, And when you hear that intro, you know nothing serious can follow it.

It was recorded and released in the spring of 1983, debuted on The Hot 100 on the seventh of May, and peaked at #63 half way through it's five week stay on The Hot 100. SO it wasn't exactly a run-away. But it got everyone's attention. Probably 75 percent of the people who hear it have no idea who wrote or sang it or where it came from, and they probably wouldn't have bought the single, but they know it's still loads of fun to listen to. When ya hear it you're gonna move something to that manic, catchy beat. So I'll include Todd Rundgren's 3:48 worth of of head boppin' fun even if it's not a Seventies song!

It's possible that this one's played so much, in so many venues for so many reasons, that it may never gain actual 'Oldie' status. But it'll always be fun!

So enjoy! Bang The Drum All Day' By Todd Rundgren.