The Evolution of Man

1954 – Hoochie Koochie Man: Muddy Waters, from the album Chess

1965 – Mr Tambourine Man: Bob Dylan, from the album Bringing It All Back Home

1970 – Southern Man: Neil Young, from the album After the Gold Rush

1971 – I’m a Man: Chicago, from the album Questions 67 and 68

1972 – The Guitar Man: Bread, from the album Guitar Man,

1972 – Old Man: Neil Young, from the album Harvest

1972 – Pusherman: Curtis Mayfield, from the album Superfly

1973 – Ramblin’ Man: The Allman Brothers Band, from the album Brothers and Sisters

1973 – Piano Man: Billy Joel, from the album Piano Man

1990 – Preacher Man: Bananarama, from the album Pop Life

1997 – Man! I Feel Like a Woman!: Shania Twain, from the album Come on Over

It’s so easy to get carried away. We’ll show you how.

See us backstage at Tuck Shop this Friday from

8.30 pm and celebrate XXXmas with our friends from DIVVVE and Soulfood.

And if you’re wondering what this song is leading to

"Make It With You" is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by Bread, the 1970s Soft Rock band from Los Angeles, California, that Gates was a member of. The song first appeared on Bread's 1970 album "On the Waters", and would become the group's first top ten and only #1 single on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, spending the week of August 22, 1970 at the top spot. The single also reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart, and was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of over one million copies. Among the many varied musicians who first recorded cover versions of the song were American singer, songwriter, pianist and "The Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin, 1970s Funk and Disco old boys Earth, Wind & Fire, and the popular 1960s British singer Dusty Springfield.

Gates eventually became well-known as an industrious songwriter, producer, arranger, music copyist and studio musician, and many of his other hit songs were later also recorded by artistes including British new romantic singer-songwriter and club DJ, Boy George, who took Bread's chart single "Everything I Own," to #1 on the UK charts in 1987 (a feat which Bread themselves failed to achieve in the 70s). You know what they said about a rolling stone gathers no…

See you backstage at Tuck Shop on Wednesday from 9.00 pm.

School's out

Jon: Hey bro, how do you say “Bandit” in Chinese ah?

Don: 王八蛋?

- May 2007, Suntec City, Singapore


Welcome back, Don.

See you backstage at Tuck Shop this Wednesday from 8.30 pm.

As each moment has unfurled

"Doctor My Eyes" is a 1972 song written and performed by Jackson Browne and included on his debut album Jackson Browne. Featuring a combination of an upbeat piano riff — accidentally found courtesy of an instrument with a broken action that Browne was writing songs on — together with Browne's trademark big poetic vision, it was a surprise hit, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in spring 1972. "Doctor My Eyes" became a concert mainstay for Browne, and was included on both his later compilation albums. However, Browne would incidentally not see the Top 10 again until 1982's soundtrack hit "Somebody's Baby", another favourite of The Bandits.

Other musicians who have covered the song include The Jackson 5, who recorded "Doctor My Eyes" on their 1972 Lookin' Through the Windows album, and also released the song as a single in Europe, where it became a Top 10 hit for them.

In 2004, twenty two years after Browne’s version was first released, Wilson Phillips, the American singing group consisting of Carnie and Wendy Wilson and Chynna Phillips – Carnie and Wendy are the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, while Chynna's parents are fellow Laurel Canyon residents John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas – recorded a cover of Doctor My Eyes on their comeback album, California, which subsequently reached #35 in the US charts. Oh, to be back in the Canyon.

See you backstage at Tuck Shop on Wednesday, from 8.30 pm, for the last instalment of the month long Quiet Set.

*Ps. The full band returns next Wednesday, 5 Dec.

Say that you'll be true

"Susie Q" is a song originally written and performed by Louisiana-born pioneer American Rock singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist and the architect of the swamp rock boogie, Dale Hawkins, and reached #27 in the US Pop charts in 1957.

Although the Rolling Stones covered it on their albums, 12 X 5, released in 1964 in the US, and The Rolling Stones No. 2, released in 1965 in the U.K, the most immensely well-known version of the song is by Creedence Clearwater Revival on their 1968 debut album. This song was one of their first big hits, and was the band's only Top 40 hit that was not written by John Fogerty. The riff that John plays during the second solo is from Howlin' Wolf's 1956 blues classic "Smokestack Lightning".

Dale’s cousin was fellow rockabilly pioneer Ronnie Hawkins (also known as "Rompin' Ronnie" Hawkins or "The Hawk"), the equally legendary rock and roll musician who was a key player in the 1960s rock scene in Toronto, Canada, together with his back-up band “The Hawks”, which was later to become the band simply known as, The Band. Beautiful.

See you backstage tomorrow night at Tuck Shop from 8.30 pm.

Mellow down in to my soul

"Crazy Love" is a timeless ballad written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1970 album, Moondance. Released as a single in May 1970 with "Come Running" as the A side, the cover of the single shows Morrison with his then-wife, Janet "Planet" Rigsbee. The photograph was taken by Elliot Landy, the official photographer of the 1969 Woodstock festival. Ooh.

Van Morrison and Bob Dylan performed a duet of "Crazy Love" on the BBC film, One Irish Rover in 1991, with Morrison on guitar and Dylan on the harmonica. Ooh.

Much later on, Ray Charles introduced Van Morrison by starting the first verse before Van's appearance when he was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2003; Morrison and Charles then finished with a duet of "Crazy Love". Ooh.

"Crazy Love" was listed as No. 198 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by WXPN from listener's votes, and has been covered by numerous recording artistes to date, including Scottish rock singer Rod Stewart, English reggae singer and songwriter Maxi Priest as well as Bryan Ferry, singer, musician, songwriter and occasional actor famed for his suave visual and vocal style who came to public prominence in the 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with English art rock group, Roxy Music. Oh.

See you backstage this Wednesday at Tuck Shop from 8.30 pm till late.

Remembering our elders

We only learn from the best... Sonny Boy Williamson II (harmonica, vocals), Houston Stackhouse (guitar, vocals) and Peck Curtis (drummer, soon-to-be-heard-vocals). Every Wed/Thur at you know where.