Songs About Birds (MMM7)

Welcome to another edition of Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and the story of my life revolves around the wonderful relationship that I had with my soul mate and the love of my life:  Sally Lehman McDermott.  Had I never met Sally, I would neither have enjoyed our fifty years together, nor the lives of our daughters or of our granddaughters.  Music has the mysterious power to trigger deep emotions and re-awaken memories.  The My Musical Memories series here on Rock and Roll Flashback Podcasts explores the various ways that music was an integral part of my life with Sally.  I'm calling today's podcast, Songs About Birds.  It is Part 7 of the My Musical Memories series here on Rock and Roll Flashback podcasts.  

During my first 21 years of life I was vaguely aware of birds and bird calls, but I never really paid close attention.  However, that all changed on October 16th, 1971 when I met Sally Lehman.  You see, Sally loved birds - and, as her best friend and partner, I naturally caught her bird fever!  From that wonderful October evening onward, I learned quite a lot about birds from Sally - and also later from our daughter Molly and son-in-law Matthew.  

So, in honor of Sally, this podcast is simply about nine popular rock songs whose titles and/or lyrics just happen to mention birds.  My choice of songs is not meant to be a "best of" songs about birds.  Rather, I have simply chosen nine songs that Sally and I happened to enjoy.  The nine songs appear in chronological order by the year that they were released.  I will briefly describe each song and then play the song in its entirety.  So here goes…

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott. The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John. It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then.
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Thank you for listening to Rock and Roll Flashback Podcasts!
Until next time...
Rock On!

Transcript

Thank you for that introduction and welcome to another edition of Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and the story of my life revolves around the wonderful relationship that I had with my soul mate and the love of my life:  Sally Lehman McDermott.  Had I never met Sally, I would neither have enjoyed our fifty years together, nor the lives of our daughters or of our granddaughters.  Music has the mysterious power to trigger deep emotions and re-awaken memories.  The My Musical Memories series here on Rock and Roll Flashback Podcasts explores the various ways that music was an integral part of my life with Sally.  I'm calling today's podcast, Songs About Birds.  It is Part 7 of the My Musical Memories series here on Rock and Roll Flashback podcasts.  

 [Northern Cardinal song sounds]

During my first 21 years of life I was vaguely aware of birds and bird calls, but I never really paid close attention.  However, that all changed on October 16th, 1971 when I met Sally Lehman.  You see, Sally loved birds - and, as her best friend and partner, I naturally caught her bird fever!  From that wonderful October evening onward, I learned quite a lot about birds from Sally - and also later from our daughter Molly and son-in-law Matthew.  

Birds are amazing creatures, able to travel great distances with seemingly little effort.  They come in all sizes and colors.  To us land-locked humans, birds have often come to symbolize many things.  By observing birds in flight and in their natural habitats, we can associate them with new beginnings, hope, freedom, peace, prosperity, joy, grace, strength, and courage.  Numerous poems and songs have resulted from these observations.  

 After retirement, Sally and I would regularly take early morning walks, enjoying nature and observing and listening to birds.  We also had this routine where occasionally we would split up early on our walk and then reconnect on the half mile stretch of road approaching our home.  I would often have to jog to catch back up to Sally and - so as not to alarm her - I would signal my approach by imitating a Northern Cardinal song.  

[John's imitation of a Northern Cardinal call].  

Of course, Sally would always know that it was me and not an actual bird call.

So, in honor of Sally, this podcast is simply about nine popular rock songs whose titles and/or lyrics just happen to mention birds.  There are several significant songs that I am not including in this podcast.  For example, I am not including such songs with titles like 1963's "Surfin' Bird" by the Trashmen, 1966's "And Your Bird Can Sing" by John Lennon & the Beatles, 1967's "Blue Jay Way" by George Harrison & the Beatles, 1969's "Bird On A Wire" by Leonard Cohen, 1973's "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1977's "Songbird"  by Fleetwood Mac, or 1984's "When Doves Cry" by Prince.

My choice of songs is not meant to be a "best of" songs about birds.  Rather, I have simply chosen nine songs that Sally and I happened to enjoy.  The nine songs appear in chronological order by the year that they were released.  I will briefly describe each song and then play the song in its entirety.  So here goes…

•From 1958:  "Rockin' Robin" is a song written by Leon René under the pseudonym Jimmie Thomas.  Bobby Day recorded it in 1958 with the great Earl Palmer on drums.  "Rockin' Robin"  was Day's biggest hit single, spending one week at #1 on the R&B sales chart, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and hitting #3 in Canada.  Fourteen years later, in 1972, Michael Jackson released his own single version of "Rockin' Robin".  That single was the biggest hit from Jackson's solo album titled Got to Be There, hitting #1 on the Cash Box singles chart, #2 the Billboard Hot 100,  and #2 on the Billboard soul singles chart.

[Here is "Rockin' Robin" by Bobby Day]

•From 1967:  "Bluebird" by Buffalo Springfield.  Written and produced by Stephen Stills, with co-production by Ahmet Ertegun, "Bluebird" reflects various influences and musical approaches.  Stephen Stills conceived of it as a multi-part song, which developed over time  incorporating hard rock and country elements.  A key feature is the contrasting solos, which alternate between Stills's finger picked acoustic and Neil Young's distorted electric guitars.  Three different studio versions have been released, and you will hear the album version featured on the Buffalo Springfield Again LP.  Atco issued a shorter, two-minute single version of "Bluebird" on June 15th, 1967.  It spent seven weeks on the Hot 100, but only reached #58.  The song was a feature of Buffalo Springfield's live performances, usually as their closing number. 

[Here is "Bluebird" by Buffalo Springfield]

•From 1968:  "Voices in the Sky" by the Moody Blues.  "Voices in the Sky" was written and sung by their lead guitarist Justin Hayward.  It was released as a UK single in June 1968, reaching #27 on the UK charts.  It was later released on their 1968 album In Search of the Lost Chord.  The first word in the "Voices in the Sky" lyrics is "Bluebird."  It is interesting to note that in 1975 Justin Hayward would produce an album called "Blue Jays" with his Moody Blues band mate John Lodge.  Hayward also wrote and recorded the song "The Swallow" that appears on the Moodies 1999 Strange Times album.

[Here is "Voices in the Sky" by the Moody Blues]

•From 1968:  “Blackbird” by The Beatles. "Blackbird" is credited as being written by Lennon-McCartney, but it was actually written by Paul McCartney.  In fact, McCartney recorded the entire track by himself.  The song appeared on The Beatles’ 1968 double album, The Beatles (also known as the White Album). Lyrically, the song is written from the perspective of a blackbird who is dreaming of flying to a better place, although McCartney has said that the deeper meaning of the song references the struggle for racial equality within the United States during the 1960s.  "Blackbird" has been covered by several artists, including  Judy Collins, Neil Diamond, Billy Preston, Sarah McLachlan, and Beyoncé.

[Here is “Blackbird” by The Beatles]

•From 1968:  "Bye Bye Blackbird" by Joe Cocker.  Joe Cocker was fascinated by the emotional depth and lyrical simplicity of the pop standard song "Bye Bye Blackbird".  Inspired to create his own rendition, he recorded a cover of "Bye Bye Blackbird" that was included on his 1969 album With a Little Help From My Friends.  Unlike many previous versions of the song, which leaned heavily into jazz or pop elements, Cocker's rendition features a blues-rock arrangement.  Known for his passionate and often physically intense live performances, Cocker brought "Bye Bye Blackbird" to life on stage in ways that captivated audiences, particularly during his performance at 1969's Woodstock Festival.  His live renditions of "Bye Bye Blackbird" often included moments of spontaneous emotional expression, with Cocker's voice soaring above the instrumentation to deliver an unforgettable experience.  Joe Cocker's version of "Bye Bye Blackbird" was part of the soundtrack to the 1993 film "Sleepless in Seattle".

[Here is "Bye Bye Blackbird" by Joe Cocker]

•From 1973:  "Hummingbird" by Seals & Crofts.  Warner Brothers released the Seals & Crofts single "Hummingbird" in January 1973.  It was the second single from their fourth studio album, Summer Breeze, and the follow-up to the LP's title track.  The “hummingbird” in the song’s lyrics is a metaphor for Baha'u'llah, Prophet of the Baha'i Faith. The album version contains a prologue that is omitted from the shorter radio edit.  The song reached #20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #15 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #3 in Canada.  "Hummingbird" was a bigger Adult Contemporary hit, reaching #12 on the U.S. chart.  

[Here is "Hummingbird" by Seals & Crofts]

•From 1974:  "Mockingbird" by Carly Simon and James Taylor.  It was James Taylor's idea to remake "Mockingbird", which he knew from seeing a live performance by Inez and Charlie Foxx at the Apollo Theater in 1965.  Simon and Taylor recorded a remake of "Mockingbird" in the autumn of 1973, and the track was released as the lead single from Carly Simon's 1974 studio album entitled Hotcakes.  The song features a considerable lyrical adjustment by Taylor and keyboard work from Dr. John, Robbie Robertson's rhythm guitar, and a tenor saxophone solo by Michael Brecker.  "Mockingbird" became an instant hit, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Pop singles chart and #10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and was certified Gold by the RIAA.  The single reached#3 in Canada and #34 in the UK.

[Here is "Mockingbird" by Carly Simon and James Taylor]

•From 1976:  "Fly Like An Eagle" by the Steve Miller Band.  The song “Fly Like an Eagle” is reportedly about the elation that comes from helping others.   It was written by Steve Miller for his band's 1976 album of the same name.  The “Fly Like an Eagle” single peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, at #3 on Cash Box, and at #2 in Canada.  The bald eagle, of course, is the national bird of the United States.  Eagles often have come to symbolize strength, courage, freedom, and immortality.  In 1998, the United States Postal Service used the song “Fly Like an Eagle” in television commercials.

[Here is "Fly Like An Eagle" by the Steve Miller Band]

•From 1995:  "Free as a Bird" by the Beatles. The song was originally written and recorded in 1977 as a home demo by John Lennon.  For the The Beatles Anthology project, Paul McCartney asked Lennon's widow Yoko Ono for unreleased material by Lennon to which the three remaining ex-Beatles could contribute.  "Free as a Bird" was one of three such songs.  So in 1995, 25 years after their break-up and 15 years after Lennon's murder, the surviving band mates Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr released a studio version incorporating Lennon's demo.  Jeff Lynne co-produced, with McCartney, Harrison, and Starr contributing additional instrumentation, vocals, and arrangements.  The song peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart and #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also became a top-ten hit in at least 10 other countries, including Australia and Canada.  It won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.  It was the Beatles' 34th top-ten single in the United States, giving the group at least one Top 40 hit in four different decades.

[Here is "Free as a Bird" by the Beatles]

Thank you for listening to the Rock and Roll Flashback podcasts.  In this podcast episode, Songs About Birds, My Musical Memories, Part 7, I highlighted nine rock songs that mentioned birds.   This podcast, as are all of those in the My Musical Memories series, is dedicated to the memory of my favorite birder, Sally Lehman McDermott.  In 2016 Sally sponsored two pages in the second Ohio Bird Breeding Atlas, making donations in the names of our two granddaughters.  One of the pages she sponsored concerned the brilliant blue beauty of the male Indigo Bunting bird species.  Sally's favorite color was blue.  So, as a podcast bonus, I will close out this podcast with the 1959 instrumental version of "Hello, Bluebird" by guitarist Chet Atkins.  I'm Jumpin' John McDermott, and until next time….Rock On!

["Hello, Bluebird" by Chet Atkins]