by Madeline Bocaro
© Madeline Bocaro, 2024. No part of this text may be reproduced or re-blogged in whole or in part in any manner without permission of the copyright owner.
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HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO THE DADS WHO LOVED US…
OR LEFT US.
‘My Heart Belongs to Daddy’ was written by Cole Porter in 1938 for the musical Leave It to Me! In the play, it was performed by Mary Martin. The “daddy” in the song is a sugar-daddy!
WATCH – Marilyn Monroe (from the 1960 musical comedy Let’s Make Love): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEJKZAApbf0
‘Daddy Rolling Stone’ was a single by Otis Blackwell in 1953.
Blackwell wrote many of Elvis Presley’s hit songs, (and others). He actually taught Elvis how to sing, by having him refer to the demos that Blackwell sang himself.
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAoc2zDTwDo
LISTEN: The New York Dolls – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnNd38ox_P4
WATCH: The Who – Popside 1966. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgbrSe6lXtk
WATCH: Otis Blackwell video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao_aXy52rWg
‘Daddy’s Home’ is an old doo-wop song by Shep and the Limelites. This was a hit in 1961.
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIGla91-qmk
“I’ve Written a Letter to Daddy” is sung by the aging former child star Baby Jane (Bette Davis) to her dad in heaven, in a poignant scene from the classic film Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKqPCXLQOac
‘Best Friend’ was the theme song from the popular American television show, ‘The Courtship of Eddie’s Father’ (1969-1972). It was composed and sung by the great Harry Nilsson who adapted his song ‘Girlfriend’ with new lyrics. The show starred Bill Bixby as the father and Brandon Cruz as Eddie, who plays matchmaker to his widowed dad. My favorite character on the show was their housekeeper, Mrs. Livingston (played by Miyoshi Umeki) who consistently gave wise advice in a sing-song Asian accent. It’s particularly strange that she didn’t have an Asian name in the show, and it was charming whenever she addressed Bill as “Mista Eddie’s Fatha.” The show was based upon the 1963 film of the same name.
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGu0m08Etm8
WATCH – WITH INTRO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwxxY0yfQKU
Can released ‘Father Cannot Yell’ on their debut album under the band’s first incarnation, titled Monster Movie, released in summer 1969. They had previously made an album which nobody wanted to release. This one (although still a bit strange by most standards) was considered to be more commercial.
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xh6hECCots
The Cat Stevens song ‘Father and Son’ appears on his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman. He sings the parts of the father in a lower voice. It’s about a boy who wants to seek his own path despite his father’s wishes that he keep his life simple.
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6zaCV4niKk
‘Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone’ was first a single by the Undisputed Truth, released in 1972. The more popular version was a 12-minute orchestrated version with ‘Shaft’ (1971) style guitar riffs by The Temptations, a single edit of which became a hit in 1973. David Bowie lifted this style on his Orwellian song ‘1984’ from the album Diamond Dogs in 1974.
In this case, Papa was not a good guy.
Papa was a rollin’ stone / wherever he laid his hat was his home
and when he died, all he left us was alone”\
LISTEN: The Undisputed Truth – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s6W4FR39qQ
LISTEN: The Temptations – Single Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLMOaiHUzHo
LISTEN: The Temptations – Long Version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq02Hhx3Tts
‘Daddy Don’t You Walk so Fast’ was recorded by Wayne Newton in 1972. On his way to leaving his wife forever, the singer’s heartstrings are torn by his young daughter, turning him around to work things out.
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh8hviz6iaU
‘Cool Mac Daddy’ was released in 1973 on the self-titled album by Warhol superstar Ultra Violet (French artist and author Isabelle Dufresne). It was always fun to bump into Ultra around NYC and at events, driving up in her purple car with her violet clothing and hair. This cool song has a sort of Yoko Ono vibe to it. “Mac Daddy” is a French-derivative term used to describe a man with an unusual power over women – which translates as “top pimp.”
Ultra’s album is super rare. It was never released, and only a few promo copies exist. Todd Rundgren played guitar on the album. Andy Warhol took the photo of Ultra on the album cover.
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COZwuPKDBME
There is also a Marky Mark hip-hop song called ‘Super Cool Mack Daddy’, which
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuE52Ju2d6c
‘Father to Son’ appears on Queen II – the band’s second album, released in 1974. This album has more of the heavy hitting complexity of their debut from 1972! This followings the introductory “Procession”. ‘Father to Son’ (written by Brian May) is on “Side White” of the black and white-sided album, representing good and evil. It is sung from the father’s perspective, giving his son advice in carrying the torch of family and country. I love the fake fade-out and come-back at the end.
WATCH – LIVE AT THE RAINBOW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRDzU5hTNpI
LISTEN – album track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG6mXohWEf8
Also see my story – White Queen / Black Queen
https://madelinex.com/2019/01/01/white-queen-black-queen/
‘Cat’s in the Cradle’ by Harry Chapin was released as a single in late 1974. It was his only No. 1 hit – from his fourth album, Verities & Balderdash. At first it is the father who doesn’t have time for his son, although the kid aspires to be just like his dad. In the end, it’s the son who has no time for his dad – fulfilling that prophecy.
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmhoOp2fUzg
‘Fool to Cry’ is on The Rolling Stones’ 1976 album Black and Blue. The album spotlighted the Stones’ love of black music – R&B, Soul, Reggae, Funk and the blues. In this beautiful song, a daughter tries to comfort her crying father.
WATCH: Official promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-2MenrnR2U
‘We’re a Happy Family’ by the Ramones is on their album Rocket to Russia, released in 1977. In this song, over a family dinner in Queens (eating refried beans) daddy’s telling lies / selling dope (and he likes men). Sounds exactly like someone who could have fathered the Ramones, if they were really brothers!
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjOnQU1N_zQ
‘Father Christmas’ is a great punk rock Christmas song by The Kinks, released in 1977. The lyrics suggest turning the tables on Santa….
…the last time I played Father Christmas
I stood outside a department store
A gang of kids came over and mugged me
And knocked my reindeer to the floor
Father Christmas, give us some money
Don’t mess around with those silly toys
We’ll beat you up if you don’t hand it over
We want your bread so don’t make us annoyed
Give all the toys to the little rich boys
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPPCPqDINEk
Lou Reed’s song ‘My Old Man’ appears on his 1980 album Growing Up in Public. Reed had a complicated relationship with his father. The lyrics illustrate that as a kid, Lou wants to be just like his dad, but as an adult, his loathing of his father becomes sadly evident.
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP1QU_IDps8
Decades later (in 2011) Lou included his opus ‘Junior Dad’ as the final track on his controversial collaborative double album with Metallica, Lulu. This is perhaps one of his saddest and most poignant songs.
LISTEN and read my full story about the song: https://madelinex.com/2018/08/19/lou-reeds-sad-song/
‘Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)’ is one of John Lennon’s final songs. It appears on Double Fantasy, the album released mere weeks before his murder in 1980. Whenever Paul McCartney is asked what is his favorite song by John, he cites this one. It has a lovely Asian-style melody, complemented by Yoko’s haunting ‘Beautiful Boys’ – later written about John and Sean, by Yoko.
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt3IOdDE5iA
‘This World Needs a Father’ is a fabulous song by Suede. This was the B-side of their seventh single, ‘The Wild Ones’, released in 1994. The gorgeous song with an amazing guitar solo and Brett Anderson’s occasional falsetto should have been a hit!
LISTEN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8UFNZnqB_o
“The Man in My Little Girl’s Life” by American talk show host Mike Douglas. It appears on his 1966 album of the same title, and Mike also performed it on his show.
It chronologically mentions the male characters in a girl’s life – from the boy who wants to play, to the guy she marries, to an image of her son being held by her dad. This is a sappy song – just like Douglas, who sqeamishly endured a week of John and Yoko co-hosting his show in 1972 with their radical friends!
WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qavJ91jRPfU
LET’S NOT FORGET OUR TV DADS…
WARD CLEAVER, RICKY RICARDO, GEORGE JETSON, FRED FLINTSTONE, GOMEZ ADDAMS, HERMAN MUNSTER, ROB PETRIE MIKE BRADY, TOM CORBETT, GEORGE JEFFERSON, ARCHIE BUNKER, JAMES EVANS, AL BUNDY, HOMER SIMPSON
and many more…
Sherman Hemsley (George Jefferson) was a jazz keyboardist and a huge prog-rock fan. He liked Gong, Yes, Gentle Giant, and he especially loved the band Nektar!
Watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKHY3pMEUJs
In 1989, Hemsley released a single, ‘Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.’ In 1992 he released an R&B album, and appeared on Soul Train.
© Madeline Bocaro 2024. No part of the text by Madeline Bocaro may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, re-blogged or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form, in whole or in part, without written consent. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. All text on this site is protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without prior written permission from Madeline Bocaro.
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Related:
Eat to the Beat
https://madelinex.com/2019/06/25/eat-to-the-beat/
Orange Sunshine
https://madelinex.com/2019/05/29/orange-hangover/
**
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In Your Mind – The Infinite Universe of Yoko Ono
The true story of the woman John Lennon loved.
The first extensive exploration of the artist’s amazing life, struggles, art, activism, films and music in stunning detail.
This is not only a biography – it is the ultimate reference guide to Ono’s life and work.
Now in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Library & Archives
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Honorable Mention in The Beatles Gift Guide
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