Ten Patriotic Songs I Like

There are tons of patriotic songs out there, good and bad, that we’ll all hear way too many times this week, as the United States celebrates the July 4th holiday. I, for one, don’t care if I ever hear, “God Bless The USA,” ever again. Here, then, is a personal list of some patriotic songs I like–some traditionally so, some not so traditional but still, in my mind, in keeping with our nation’s history of freedom.

In America—Charlie Daniels Band

He has become more of a patriotic caricature in this post-9/11 world, but there’s not much that can top 1980’s “In America,” for patriotic fervor and general pissed-off American loyalty. Toby Keith’s an icon of tact compared to Daniels’ matter-of-fact statement of purpose in this song—which also scores points for being a stellar example of Dixie-fried southern rock. Here’s the first verse:

Well the eagle’s been flying slow and the flag’s been flying low
And a lot of people are saying that America’s fixing to fall
But speaking just for me and some people from Tennessee
We got a thing or two to tell you all
This lady may have stumbled but she ain’t never fell
And if the Russians don’t believe that they can all go straight to hell
We’re gonna put her feet back on the path of righteousness
And then God bless America again

Become America—The Call

Lately it seems that anyone who questions the country’s direction, or the leadership in charge, is branded ‘unpatriotic.’ Well, I’d venture to guess that freedom of speech is one aspect of being an American that allows us to raise those questions, and in this song from Christian rock band The Call, originally recorded for a solo album by its lead singer Michael Been, the question is posed from a faith-based perspective, “When will America become America?” Given how far we’ve come from the constitutional basis of the founding fathers, it’s a valid question.

Livin’ In America—Aztec Two-Step

As folk-rock duos go, Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman fall somewhere between the exquisite harmonies of Simon & Garfunkel and the hippie freedoms of Brewer & Shipley. This is one of their best songs, a laundry list of all things American, mostly from a not-surprisingly liberal viewpoint. “Here’s to the gentle souls, fighting for gun control, in America,” goes one line, for example. It scores points for being a heartfelt recitation of what the writers see as the diverse strengths of our nation, whatever the political affiliation.

Living In America—James Brown

The last big hit the Godfather of Soul would have, even the 80’s production couldn’t mask the funky core of Brown’s still hot soul. I’m pretty sure this was on the soundtrack to a Rocky movie, too, which earns it extra patriotic points.

Darlington County—Bruce Springsteen

“Born in the USA,” may get all the attention, but this road trip anthem is a more joyful celebration of Springsteen’s home country. “Drivin’ in to Darlington County, me and Wayne on the Fourth of July,” is the opening line, for pete’s sake. Doesn’t get more American than that. Extra points for a guy from New Jersey referencing a county in South Carolina.

This Land Is Your Land –Woody Guthrie

I’m not sure that the protest singer in Woody Guthrie would be entirely pleased that this protest song would end up being co-opted by nearly everyone into becoming a patriotic song sung by schoolchildren and others, with the key last verses almost always left off. Here, then, is the whole song:

Chorus:
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

I’ve roamed and rambled and I’ve followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

As I was walkin’ – I saw a sign there
And that sign said – no tress passin’
But on the other side …. it didn’t say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

Chorus

In the squares of the city – In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office – I see my people
And some are grumblin’ and some are wonderin’
If this land’s still made for you and me.

Chorus (2x)

©1956 (renewed 1984), 1958 (renewed 1986) and 1970 TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (
BMI)

Todd Snider –This Land is Our Land

A modern interpolation of Guthrie’s song into a new protest anthem that tackles injustice to American Indians, Manifest Destiny, slavery and consumerism, Snider may be all over the map but his way with a lyrical turn of phrase saves this from being just another jingoistic exercise. Extra patriotic points, too, for it being one of the harder rocking tunes on his debut, Songs From the Daily Planet.

Battle of New Orleans—Johnny Horton

It’s a little specific for this list, dealing with a single battle that was fought at the close of the War of 1812, but this was a song that I had the lyrics memorized to even before we studied the history behind it in middle school. In the rare case it comes on the radio, on the classic country station, I can still sing along to the best musical history lesson outside of a Schoolhouse Rock video.

Battle Hymn of the Republic—Julia Ward Howe

I can get away with including this since I’m only a first-generation southerner, otherwise my Confederate Army re-enactor friends would be stringing up a rope for me in a nearby tree. It’s a fine example of the collision of religion and patriotism, forever intertwined in American history for better and for worse. Here’s an excerpt, usually the last verse you’ll see printed in a church hymnal:

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

Stars and Stripes Forever—John Philip Sousa

I can’t hear this perennial concert band favorite without singing the “Be Kind to your web-footed friends, for a duck may be somebody’s mother,” lyrics, but there are real, patriotic words to this tune, and they’re pretty good as anthems go:

Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May it wave as our standard forever,
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with mighty endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray
That by their might and by their right
it waves forever.

Fourth Of July–X, Dave Alvin

This one doesn’t really have anything patriotic in it other than the song title, which is also the chorus, “Hey, Baby, it’s the Fourth of July,”, so that’s why this is the eleventh song on this top ten list. It is one, however, that I always manage to pull out and play every July 4th.

Cruel Summer

Every time the summer heat starts getting to me this time of year, there are a couple of songs that come to the jukebox of the mind. Through the magic of YouTube, here’s one of them, something I’d probably now call a “guilty pleasure,” but which during its heyday was a pretty cool tune. Plus, the girls weren’t hard to look at, either. Dig the 80’s hair, too.

Hope your hot, cruel summer is going well.

Springsteen Returns to South Carolina

If you haven’t heard yet, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be coming to the North Charleston Coliseum on Saturday, August 16th. This will be his first appearance in the Charleston area since 1978, though he has played Columbia a few times since then.

Tickets are $30, $66 and $96, pretty reasonable by today’s ticket pricing standards for a major act. Two types of tickets will be offered for the show. There will be $96 general admission tickets to stand on the arena floor. The $30 and $66 reserved arena seating will be around the perimeter of the coliseum in the lower and upper bowls.

Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com and aeglive.com. Tickets can be charged by phone at 843-554-6060 or can be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets, including select Publix grocery stores or the coliseum advance ticket office. For more information, go to brucespringsteen.net.

Springsteen lost one of the longest-serving members of his band earlier this year with the passing of organist and accordianist Danny Federici, but the tour only paused briefly. Through the magic of the internet, here’s a clip of Bruce’s “Out In The Street,” an old favorite from The River, from a show in Europe this week. Enjoy–and see you in North Charleston.

RIP Mike Scott of FOX 102

With all the talk of the “death of terrestrial radio” amid the internet and satellite inroads, etc, what’s being lost in the fuss is that there are still some real personalities out there in radio land who love the music, what little of it they still get to play. Here in Columbia, SC, we lost one of those people today when Mike Scott of our local classic rock station FOX 102 passed away suddenly from a heart attack.

Mike was a contemporary of mine, and though we knew of each other and our respective roles in the local music and radio business scene, we never got to interact much on a personal level. As a former DJ myself, however, I’ve always had the greatest respect for Mike and his enthusiasm for the music, which one couldn’t help but hear every time he opened up a microphone and that instantly recognizable voice came out over the air. He’ll definitely be missed by this listener who still tunes in the car radio to any station playing a good song–more often than not these days it’s FOX 102. Check out the pictures and tributes to Mike at http://www.FOX102.com–here’s my own via the video below:

Boston Rocks

With my beloved Boston Celtics back in the NBA Finals for the first time in a long time, it seems like a good time to remember that Beantown is almost as good a rock ‘n’ roll town as is is a basketball town. In my perfect sports world, Boston would sweep the Lakers in four games (though I’m enough of a realist to know that they probably will take at least five games). Here, then, are four quick reasons that Boston rocks.

1. Aerosmith — Not the watered-down, Diane Warren infected version of the later period, but the early years of drugs and debauchery when they seemed just a little nasty, not like parents of other famous people. “Toys in the Attic” is a classic in anyone’s book, and even their Run DMC collaboration on “Walk This Way” is pretty cool, though it did usher in the unfortunate phenomenon of rap-rock.

2. The Neighborhoods — The greatest band to not quite make it out of Boston, I’ve commented on this band’s legendary live performances before, so I’ll just leave it at this:

3. Boston — If they’d stopped at the first album, Boston would still be remembered fondly by a generation of teenagers raised on what we now call “Classic Rock.” It’s not cool as a music critic to like this band, but the original band, and that debut, rocked. Check out this clip from 1979 for proof:

4. Mission Of Burma — One of those, “influential” bands that not many people heard when they were together but tons of bands list as a primary influence, Mission of Burma harnessed the energy of punk with machine-like precision and some great, great songs. They are also one of the few bands to get back together after a long, long hiatus and not make albums that suck.

We All Know Diddley

The passing of rock ‘n’ roll originator Bo Diddley today marks the loss of one of the artists who defined what the music would sound like. His trademark, primal rhythm, that went, “Bomp—Bomp—Bomp—Bomp-Bomp,” was one of the building blocks of early rock, and it has remained an influential beat. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987, you can read his entry on the Hall’s website here. Here, then, is a list of ten songs I like that use the “Bo Diddley Beat.” There are thousands out there (Just check out Diddley’s Wikipedia entry for a few dozen of them), so leave a comment with your own favorites.

“Not Fade Away,” Buddy Holly – Covered by everyone from the Grateful Dead to Springsteen, this is probably the best known non-Diddley use of his beat.

“She’s The One,” Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Bruce’s finest album is arguably Born To Run, on which he combined his love for 50’s rock with an equal affection for the grand 60’s production style of Phil Spector. This song steals unapologetically from Diddley.

“Willie & The Hand Jive,” Johnny Otis, Eric Clapton, others – This tune recognized the playful nature of the beat and gave it lyrics to match.

“Magic Carpet Ride,” Steppenwolf – John Kay and company were a garage band gone wild, and this swirling masterpiece of Hammond organ gets its energy from Diddley’s beat.

“Magic Bus,” The Who – The British were ahead of the curve when it came to recognizing the potency of the early rock ‘n’ roll pioneers (See the Rolling Stones’ take on “Not Fade Away” ), this is a great example of that potency put to psychedelic use.

“I Want Candy,” Bow Wow Wow (originally done by the Strangeloves)– One of the unforgettable one-hit wonders on the border of punk and New Wave, even a supposedly ‘hip’ MTV-era act had to borrow from the best.

“Faith,” George Michael – Say what you will about Wham! and Michael’s well documented offstage escapades, this hit was the best thing he ever did.

“Desire,” U2 – Their Rattle and Hum album was a tribute to American rock and blues, and who better to honor than Bo Diddley, with this Bono-ization of the beat?

“Love Is A Battlefield,” Pat Benetar – The beat’s a little buried in the mix, but it surfaces at all the right places on this 80’s hit from pop queen Benetar. I once had an extended 12” single of this song on which one side was just the beat, over and over again.

“How Soon Is Now,” The Smiths – Ubiquitous on the college radio airwaves of the mid-1980s, this Smiths song slows the beat down, but even at half speed it dominates the track.

Ten Words Not To Use In Your Band’s Name

1. Project – this not only makes it sound like a school assignment, it’s also oddly popular with anything remotely related to prog rock. Example: Alan Parsons Project

2. Group – if you have to explain that the small ensemble of people you have on stage with you is called a “group,” then your fans aren’t very smart and neither are you. Example: Michael Schenker Group

3. Experience – Only Jimi Hendrix is badass enough to use this, sorry. Once somebody that good takes on a descriptive name like that, nobody else should even think of ‘borrowing’ it.
Example: Jimi Hendrix Experience

4. Band – As in, “The Joe Smith Band,” and so on. If you’re good enough to put your name on the band, just pitch it as a solo act and let the other guys be your backing band without having to explain that you are a band. Example: The Dave Matthews Band

5. Having a person’s name when that person isn’t in the band – If I go see the Joe Smith band, there better be a guy named Joe Smith in the band. If there isn’t, whoever the lead singer is will forever be referred to as Joe Smith anyway, regardless of his real name. See Darius Rucker, who’s forever getting referred to as, “Hootie.” Example: Marshall Tucker Band, Freddy Jones Band

6. Numbers – It was Bob Seger who sang, “Feel Like a Number,” but there are too many bands with only numerals for names, and even more that use numbers in part of their names. If you can’t think of a good enough sequence of words to name yourselves, throwing in a number seems like a good idea, I guess. Examples: 112, Sum 41, Matchbox 20

7. Geographical destinations – If you name your band after a continent, country, state, or city, chances are you suck. One look at the track record is all you need. Examples: Asia, Atlanta, Boston, Europe, etc.

8. Sentences – not the word “sentences,” but a name that is actually a sentence. This is most common in the irony-riddled world of indie rock. Save the prose for your songs, not the clear, concise front that you want people to remember after the gig. Example: When People Were Shorter and Lived Near The Water, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, …And They Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead.

9. Crew – Unless you’re in a rowboat or on a naval vessel, you and your garage band are not a “Crew.” Usually this is used by rappers, however, not rock bands. Example: The Rocksteady Crew, 2 Live Crew.

10. Any Color – Like numbers, colors can be used as a crutch to make the band sound more interesting than they are—it’s also a conceit that’s been used way too much over the years. This one’s tougher to judge, but about half the time if there’s a color in the name, the band sucks. Examples: Blue Murder, Green Day, etc.