By: Brad Gallagher

“Wildflowers” is the title track from a 1994 album by the late great Tom Petty. This song brings out very sentimental feelings in many of us when we listen to it, because for many of us it is reminiscent of either ourselves or someone we love dearly. For me, it is a reminder of my beautiful daughter who left everything she ever knew and moved to Alaska to pursue her dreams. And it also reminds me of my niece who left her family on the east coast to travel the country, living season by season and getting every possible joy out of life.

“Wildflowers” is a song about a person with a beautiful heart, a wander lust, and an undying sense of adventure who spends their life freely living out their dreams. But did you know that Tom Petty did not spend the usual hours or days working on the lyrics and melody?

As the story goes:

Tom just started strumming his guitar. He was thinking about the beautiful scenery of Santa Barbara and playing a three chord melody. He reached over to his reel to reel tape recorder and pushed the record button. Then he continued playing those chords and he started singing. No words were written down on paper, he just sang what was in his heart. After a few minutes when he felt that the song was complete, he reached over and pushed the stop button on the tape recorder.

He later told a reporter in an interview that he then sat back and listened to his recording. He couldn’t believe what he had just done. The song was perfect. It was completely ad-libbed, but he never changed a single word. “Wildflowers” as a song went on to hit number 16 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart. And as an album it hit number 8 on the Billboard Top 200 Charts. Then in 2020 the album was rereleased with additional songs and it hit number 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Charts.

What a success for a song that just came to him. So now you know. Please come back and see me real soon right here at As The Story Goes.

By: Brad Gallagher

Getting inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a dream of every rock and roll artist. Not every rock star is inducted however. On the contrary. Only the best of the best ever receive this honor. Years of hard work, sweat, and tears all culminate in that one moment when he or she hears their name announced, and they walk up on stage to accept their award. The crowd all stands and applauds. The artist says a few words and thanks almost everyone they know for helping them get to this point in their carrier. Then they exit the stage as one of the most elite artists in rock and roll. It is truly the highest honor within the rock and roll world.

The first class of inductees was in 1986 when the hall inducted their first 16 artists. Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and the Everly Brothers were among that first class. Since that time there have been more that 300 inductees. Some were inducted as part of a group like the Beach Boys, and the Supremes. Others as solo artists like Elton John, and John Lennon. To be inducted an artist needs to contribute more than 25 years of musical excellence and be voted in by their fans and their peers.

Some artists are so accomplished that they have been inducted into the hall twice. Either once with a group, and once as a solo artist, like Stevie Nicks. She was inducted once with Fleetwood Mac, and again as Stevie Nicks. Or, once each as a member of two different groups, like Stephen Stills. He was inducted once as a member of Buffalo Springfield, and a second time as a member of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. As a matter of fact, he was inducted both times in the same class on the same night in 1997.

One artist, however, and only one, has been inducted three times. What an amazing feat. This artist was inducted as a member of two different groups, and then a third time as a solo artist. Can you guess who it is?

This artist was inducted the first time in the class of 1992 along with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page as a member of the Yardbirds. The second time was in the class of 1993 as a member of Cream. And in the class of 2000 he was inducted a third time for his solo career.

That’s right, the only artist to ever be inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame three times is the great Eric Clapton.

So now you have a new fun fact that you can share at the next party you attend. Please share responsibly, and come back and visit me real soon here at As The Story Goes.

By: Brad Gallagher

A 1979 hit single by Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders. It was in fact their first big hit, landing at number one on the UK Singles Chart and number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US.

As the story goes:

One night in England while having dinner after a show with a group called Strangeways, Chrissie Hynde overheard a conversation. One of the band members from Strangeways asked if anyone had remembered to pick up his trousers from the dry cleaners. When one of the other members said that he picked it up, the first asked jokingly, “Any brass in pocket?”

Chrissie asked them what “Brass in pocket” meant, and they told her it was a British phrase referring to loose change in the pocket. She liked the phrase and used it to name the song.

The song itself, Brass in Pocket is not, however, about loose change. According to Chrissie the concept of the song is about being confident and sure of yourself. Some say that the lyrics refer to a singer that is about to have a sexual encounter and is going into it with confidence. Others say that the lyrics are about the Pretenders first live concert and the confidence they had that night on stage. I tend to think of them as an overall mindset for living life. Ether way, it was a smash hit that is heard to this day on radios across the world.

So be sure to check your trousers for brass in pocket before taking them to the dry cleaners, and come back and visit me here soon at As The Story Goes.

By: Brad Gallagher

Did you know that Lynyrd Skynyrd started out as a cover band playing in clubs and at local events? It wasn’t until Ronnie Van Zant, founder and lead singer of the group, started writing his own songs that the band gained fame.

Ronnie was good friends with Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band. Actually, Gregg Allman was sort of a mentor to Ronnie and one day while Gregg and Ronnie were talking, Gregg suggested to Ronnie that he try writing his own music. That suggestion sparked something in Ronnie’s mind and not long after that Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first song was written.

As the story goes:

One day after the band had finished practicing, Ronnie, Gary, and Allen were driving home when Ronnie pulled over at a bar called The Little Brown Jug. He went inside and after a short time, a girl approached him and asked him to dance. They danced several different dances to a number of songs until a mean looking guy walked into the bar and confronted Ronnie. The guy told Ronnie that that was his girl Ronnie was dancing with. The guy was angry, and after some bantering back and forth, the guy pulled a gun out and pointed it at Ronnie. Ronnie told the guy that he was just having some fun and that he didn’t want any trouble. He turned around and told the guy that if he was going to shoot, he would have to shoot him in the ass. He then walked to the door and ran out to their car and drove away.

As they drove home from that bar, they wrote their first song, “Gimme Three Steps’. Surprisingly, “Gimme Three Steps” never made it onto the billboard charts, but many other Lynyrd Skynyrd songs did like “Sweet Home Alabama”, and “Free Bird”.

That’s all for now. Check back soon for more tales of rock and roll at: AS THE STORY GOES

By: Brad Gallagher

The song “Take It Easy” was the first song on the debut album by the Eagles. It was also their first hit single. It rose to #12 on the billboard hot 100 chart and was a very impressive introduction to a band that went on to become a legendary rock and roll icon.

But do you know who actually wrote the song, Take It Easy?

As the story goes:

One day while Jackson Browne was driving through Arizona, his car broke down right in Winslow. He spent a long day there waiting for the repairs to be completed, and while there he noticed that a lot of Arizona women were driving pick up trucks. That observation made an impression on him and he began formulating a song.

During that time in his life, Jackson Browne and Glen Frey were living in the same building in LA. One day Frey overheard Browne playing the song down in his makeshift studio in the basement, and he went down to ask him about it. Browne told Frey that the song was not complete, and that he had the lines about Winslow Arizona but was stuck on the second verse. He played what he had written of the second verse, and Frey said “It’s a girl, my lord, in a flat bed Ford, slowin’ down to take a look at me.”

According to Glen Frey, that line was his entire contribution to the song, but Jackson Browne saw it differently. You see, according to Browne, he was not able to finish the song, and Frey kept offering to finish it for him. So, one day Browne told him to go ahead and finish the song, and the rest is history.

So, take it easy, and come back and visit me here soon at As The Story Goes.

By Brad Gallagher

As the story goes:

Back in the early 1980’s, Billy Idol was invited to a birthday party for one of the members of the Rolling Stones. At one point during the party he noticed Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ron Wood passing a bottle back and forth and drinking from it.

Billy Idol could not read the label on the bottle from where he stood, so he slowly worked his way closer to the group to see if he could figure out what they were drinking. As the bottle was passed between the men he was finally able to make out what looked like a confederate soldier riding away on a horse. And eventually he was able to read the words on the label; “Rebel Yell”.

He thought that it was a “made up” drink, so he asked the three men if it was. They told him that it was not, and he asked them if they would ever think of using “Rebel Yell” as a song title. They looked back and forth at each other for a moment and simply replied, “no”.

“Rebel Yell” went on to become both a song title and an album title, and one of Billy Idol’s biggest hits.

By: Brad Gallagher

Have you ever heard of a rock group called the Iveys? I’ll bet you have but just don’t know it. Keep reading.

The Iveys were a classic rock band formed in 1961 (the year I was born by the way) in the city of Swansea in Wales. The group was comprised of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans, and Joey Molland. Still doesn’t ring a bell? Read on.

As the story goes, from 1961 through 1968 the Iveys performed as the opening act for several famous British rock groups such as The Spencer Davis Group, The Moody Blues, The Who, and The Yardbirds as well as others. But, they never really made a name for themselves until one night when Beatles’ roadie, Mel Evans, saw them play. Mel liked what he heard and got ahold of some of the Iveys’ demo tapes. He went on to play the demos for the member of the Beatles until he was able to convince all four of them to sign the Iveys to their new Apple Music label. That was in 1968.

The Beatles worked closely with the Iveys, almost like mentors, until the Iveys were ready to release their first album on Apple Music in 1969. Some of the songs on this album were even written by members of the Beatles. The producers at Apple Music, however, were not fond of the name “The Iveys”, so after much discussion with the band it was decided that the name was just a little “too trite” for the music scene of the day. They all decided that the name needed to be changed before the album was released.

At the same time, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were working on a new album of their own. One day while composing one of the songs for this album, John Lennon was playing the piano with so much intensity that he sprained his fore finger. During the healing process he referred to that finger as his bad finger. He even named that song he was composing “The Bad Finger Boogie”. Neil Aspinall, Apple Music’s producer, liked the name Badfinger so much that he proposed it for the Ivey’s new name. And the rest is history.

Badfinger went on to release 10 albums with hits like “Day After Day”, Baby Blue”, “Hold On”, “Maybe Tomorrow”, and of course, “Come And Get It” which was written and produced by Paul McCartney.

So now you know who the Iveys are. And on a side note, “The Bad Finger Boogie” was released on the Beatles “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album. Of course the name was changed before the album was released. You know “The Bad Finger Boogie” as the second song on the album. “I get by With A Little Help From My Friends”.

Thank you for reading my ramblings. Keep an eye out for upcoming editions of “As The Story Goes”.