My Favorite Trax from STAX – Part 2: 1964-1966

On this episode, we continue our journey from last year through the history of Stax Records, the iconic label that defined Southern Soul music, as I play some of my favorite Stax tracks from 1964 to 1966.

Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Booker T & The MG’s, Albert King, Rufus & Carla Thomas, Eddie Floyd… they’re all here on some of the greatest singles ever released. Let’s dig in, shall we?

TRANSCRIPT:

The night time is the right time for the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast, coming to ya on the Pantheon Podcast Network. I’m Brad Page, host of the show, and on this special edition of the podcast, we’re going to continue our look at Stax Records and some of my personal favorite records released by Stax– this time, from 1964 through 1966.

Last year, back on Episode 163, we looked back at the beginning of Stax Records, when Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton opened their first studio, then called “Satellite”, in 1959, eventually moving to 926 East McLemore Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, and changing their name to Stax Records.

Back on that previous episode, I played a bunch of my favorite Stax tracks from those early years, 1959 to 1963. If you haven’t heard that episode, you might want to go back and listen to it, though you don’t necessarily have to. I’ll try to catch you up on who’s who and what’s what as we pick up the story here at Stax in 1964.

Stax got off to a fine start in January 1964 with the release of another Rufus Thomas classic with “Dog” in the title. This time it was “Can Your Monkey Do The Dog?” It’s hard to top that title.

Rufus returned in April with a duet with his daughter, Carla Thomas. The A-side was a track called “That’s Really Some Good”, but my favorite is actually the B-side; it’s their version of the Ray Charles hit, “The Nighttime Is The Right Time”.

Otis Redding released a handful of singles in 1964. My personal favorites came right at the end of 1964 with a killer A and B side, pairing with one of his all-time classics on the A-side” “That’s How Strong My Love Is”.

And you flip that record over and on the B-side is another great Otis Redding track, “Mister Pitiful”.

In March 1965, Stax released a single called “A Place Nobody Can Find”. Though it was not much of a hit, it was a momentous occasion, as it was the first stack single released by Sam & Dave, the duo that would go on to have some of the biggest hits in Stax history. Sam and Dave were brought to Stax by their partnership with Atlantic Records. They had released six or seven singles for other labels without much success, and their first Stax single didn’t make many waves either. But big things were on the horizon, and it would all begin here with “A Place No One Can Find”.

Another momentous occasion for Stax in ‘65 was the arrival of Al Bell. Al Bell wasn’t a musician, a singer, or a songwriter; he came on board as the head of promotion, but he would go on to become a key figure in Stax history. Soon, he would become Vice President of Stax, and by 1972, he would own the company.

Booker T and the MGs, besides being the core Stax studio band and backing musicians, continued to release instrumental albums. In April 1965, they released their biggest hit since “Green Onions”, a track called “Boot-leg”. A few things make this one notable: It’s the first MG’s track to feature Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass—he had replaced Lewos Steinberg; and though it bears his name, Booker T doesn’t even play on this track. The keyboards were actually played by Isaac Hayes.

May ‘65 saw the release of “Candy” by The Astors, written by Steve Cropper and Isaac Hayes. It was The Astors biggest hit, largely forgotten now, but I think it’s a perfect little confection blending R&B and b with pop.

In August 1965, Otis Redding released a little song he wrote called “Respect”. Of course, Aretha Franklin would release her version a couple years later and totally make it her own. But Otis wrote it, and his original version is pretty damn good, too.

As I said, this is just me picking some of my favorite Stax singles. It’s not a definitive list, these are just songs that I really like. Case in point, this next track: it was not a hit or an important track for Stax, I just like it. It’s another one by The Astors– this one’s called “In The Twilight Zone”.

In November 1965, we were gifted with the first of Sam and Dave’s true classics.  Written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, the songwriting team that would go on to write many iconic tracks, this was their first big hit for Sam & Dave. It’s the brilliant “You Don’t Know Like I Know”.  Dave sings the first verse and they both trade lines on the second verse. It’s well known that Sam and Dave didn’t really like each other very much, but man, they knew how to work a tune.

1966 was a big year for Stax. In February, Otis Redding released his version of the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”, putting his own spin on it. It was Steve Cropper’s idea to cover the Song. Otis had never even heard the song before. What you’re hearing here was done in just a couple of takes; it’s just an inspired go for it performance.

March 8 saw the release of the first Stax single by Eddie Floyd. The song was called “Things Get Better”, and it was inspired by an advertising slogan for Coca-Cola, “Things go better with Coke”. You know, when you’re a songwriter, you take inspiration anywhere you can find it. “Things Get Better” wasn’t a big hit for Eddie Floyd, but it was a start.

One of the overlooked gems from Stax is this track by Ruby Johnson. “I’ll Run Your Hurt Away” was written by David Porter and Isaac Hayes. It was a moderate hit on the R&B chart at the time, but inexplicably, it’s faded into obscurity. But Ruby turns in a fantastic vocal performance, just listen to her phrasing on this track.

March ‘66 also brought us one of the best Sam & Dave tracks. David Porter was in the bathroom, and Isaac Hayes was tired of waiting for him to finish his business… he yelled, “Get a move on”, and Porter yelled back, “Hold on, I’m coming!”. And that, believe it or not, was the birth of one of the greatest R&B songs.

Albert King was one of the great blues guitarists. He was left-handed and played a right- handed Gibson Flying V with the strings upside-down, so the high strings were on top. He played fierce, fiery solos that inspired generations of guitar players, in particular, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Albert King had been making records since 1953, but largely at the insistence of Estelle Axton, Albert King cut his first single for Stax in April 1966, and it became one of his most popular tunes: “Laundromat Blues”.

Skipping ahead to July 1966, Carla Thomas returned to the charts with a hit called Baby, B-A-B-Y”. Written by Hayes and Porter, it originally had a groove better suited for Sam & Dave, but Booker T. Rearranged it to fit Carla’s style, and I think it turned out to be one of her best singles.

Also in July came one of the all-time great R&B songs.  Recorded by Eddie Floyd and written by Floyd and Steve Cropper. It’s “Knock On Wood”. What more do I need to say?

Albert King was back at Stax with another song that would become one of his all-time classics– a song that would be covered many times in the future, including a version by Gary Moore in 1990 that also featured a guest appearance by Albert King. But this is the original version from August 1966, It’s Albert King with “Oh, Pretty Woman”.

And Otis Redding was still on a roll at Stax. In September, he released “Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song), another big hit.

And in November, Stax released my favorite Otis Redding track, “Try A Little Tenderness”. The song had been around for years, both Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra had recorded versions of it. Isaac Hayes initially arranged it, with contributions by drummer Al Jackson Jr. and Booker T. Everybody contributed, but it was really Otis Redding’s vision. He owned it. It’s his masterpiece.

November also included the release of Albert King’s third major contribution, his version of “Crosscut Saw”, another blues classic that would be covered multiple times, including by Eric Clapton. Here’s Albert King with his version of “Crosscut Saw”.

And two Christmas songs came out in November to close out 1966 for Stax: Carla Thomas had “All I Want For Christmas Is You”.  No, not the Mariah Carey Song, this is a melancholy ballad that was originally released in 1963 as the B-side to “Gee Whiz, it’s Christmas”. This time they reissued it as an A-side.

And Booker T. And the MGs had their version of “Jingle Bells” with a great guitar solo by Steve Cropper.

And we’ll wrap up this episode there. We’ll pick up with 1967 sometime next year.

In the meantime, go seek out some of these records, and if you really want to splurge, pick up one of the massive box sets. There are three of them. Most of the facts and figures in this episode come from the fabulous book included in the box sets written by Rob Bowman; some of the best researched and written material you’re ever going to find on Stax. Highly recommended, and of course, I thank Rob for his scholarly work.

Of course, there’s a great Stax documentary on HBO that I’ve mentioned before, released last year, that is well worth watching.

As always, new episodes of this podcast come out twice a month, right here on the Pantheon network, so I’ll see you in about two weeks. All of our past episodes, including the previous episode on Stax, are available on our website, lovethatsongpodcast.com. or just look for them in your favorite Podcast app.

Please, if you enjoyed this episode, tell a friend about it, because your word of mouth and recommendations by people like you, are the best ways for podcasts like this one to grow and thrive. So thanks for supporting the show, and for listening to this episode on some of my favorite tracks from Stax.

RESOURCES:

Stax Records:
Stax Records

Rufus Thomas:
Rufus Thomas

Carla Thomas:
Carla Thomas

Otis Redding:
Otis Redding

Sam & Dave:
Sam and Dave

Al Bell:
Al Bell

Booker T. and the MGs:
Booker T. & the M.G.’s

Isaac Hayes:
Isaac Hayes

Steve Cropper:
Steve Cropper

Albert King:
Albert King

Eddie Floyd:
Eddie Floyd

Ruby Johnson:
Ruby Johnson

Rob Bowman:
Rob Bowman

HBO Max Documentary on Stax Records:
Stax: Soulsville USA | Official Website for the HBO Series | HBO.com

Rob Bowman’s Book on Stax Records:
Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records

Cheap Trick – “Dream Police”

Words & Music by Rick Neilsen Copyright 1979 Screen Gems-EMI Music and Adult Music

What happens when a record label shelves a band’s most ambitious studio work to capitalize on a surprise live hit? On this episode, we explore this unique moment in rock history and analyze “Dream Police” by Cheap Trick — the title track of the album that sat on a shelf for nine months while Cheap Trick at Budokan conquered the world. We’ll step through the song’s complex architecture, revealing how Rick Nielsen combined lyrics of paranoia with a hard-rocking guitar riff and a heavily orchestrated, at times “horror-movie” vibe.

The episode goes beyond the surface, isolating the tricky guitar melodies, the pre-chorus drama, and the disorienting shift in time signatures. You will gain a new appreciation for the technical prowess of Robin Zander’s vocals, Tom Petersson’s 12-string bass, and Bun E. Carlos’s Moon-esque drumming. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or a newcomer to the “hardest working band in show business,” this episode illustrates why “Dream Police” remains an inescapable classic and a testament to the band’s survival and creativity.

Words & Music by Rick Neilsen Copyright 1979 Screen Gems-EMI Music and Adult Music

TRANSCRIPT:

The smallest bones in your body are in your middle ear. Referred to as the hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup—those are some pretty rock and roll names– these three bones are the first bones in your body to fully ossify; they’re done developing by the time you’re born, and they never grow any bigger. Each of these bones is tiny– smaller than a grain of rice; you could fit all of them on the tip of your finger. But from these tiniest of bones comes a whole universe of creativity and imagination.

This is the I’m in Love with that Song podcast, and I’m your host Brad Page. We’re here on the Pantheon Media Network, and on each edition of this show, I pick a favorite song and we dive into it together, exploring all the nuances, the little moments, and special elements that turn a good song into a great one. If you’re not a musician or you don’t know anything about music theory, don’t worry about it, because we don’t get too technical on this show. All you need is a love for music and a little bit of curiosity, and you’ll fit right in here.

On this episode, we’re heading back to 1979, when one of the all-time great bands was at the top of their game. Cheap Trick were coming off the smash hit live At Budokan album, which they followed up with an album that pushed their sound forward. Stick around as we explore the title cut from this album. This is Cheap Trick with “Dream Police”.

[Music plays]

We’ve discussed Cheap Trick a couple of times before on this show, including an overview of their early career leading up to the At Budokan album. On that show, I was joined by Brian Kramp from the Rock and/or Roll podcast, who wrote the definitive book on Cheap Trick’s history. That book is called This Band Has No Past: How Cheap Trick Became Cheap Trick, and if you don’t have it, go get it—it is a great book. And go back and listen to that episode if you haven’t heard it; it’ll catch you up on the origin of Cheap Trick.

So, I’m not going to cover that same ground here. We’ll pick up the story after the release of the At Budokan album, and that’s a pretty famous story all in itself. Cheap Trick were struggling to break through to the masses in the U.S., but they had managed to gain rock star status in Japan. A live album was recorded during their 1978 tour of Japan, and it was intended as a Japanese-only release. But American radio stations started playing it, and word of this killer import-only live album caught on. Epic Records realized that if they released it in the U.S., they could have a hit on their hands—which they certainly did. When that album came out in the U.S. in February 1979, Cheap Trick At Budokan would eventually sell over three million copies.

Which was great, except for one thing: Cheap Trick had already recorded their next studio album, and it was ready to be released when the record company decided to put it back on the shelf and release the live album globally instead. So the new album, the band’s most ambitious record to date, sat unreleased for at least nine months.

This new album was produced by Tom Werman and engineered by Gary Ladinsky. Along with band members Robin Zander on lead vocals and guitar, Rick Nielsen on lead guitar and occasional vocals, Tom Petersson on bass, and Bun E. Carlos on drums, the band was augmented by some additional studio musicians, most notably Jai Winding, who added keyboards and also helped with the string arrangements. The addition of strings on this album really expanded the sound of this album, but there was another technical decision that contributed to this album’s sound. This was one of the first handful of recordings to be made with the 3M Digital Audio Mastering system, a system that offered 32 tracks of digital recording.

The song that opens the album, side one, track one, would also give the album its name: “Dream Police”. The song was written by Rick Nielsen and performed by Nielsen on guitar, mandocello, and vocals; Robin Zander on lead vocals and probably some rhythm guitar; Bun E. Carlos on drums; and Tom Petersson on 12-string bass.[1] Also appearing on the track are Jai Winding on piano and organ, and producer Tom Werman and engineer Gary Ladinsky also chip in with some background vocals.

The song kicks off with two flams on the snare drum, and we’re off and running.

[Music plays]

The track is already sonically full right from the start, but it’s still just guitars, bass, and drums, and the strings. Before we get any further, let’s just take a minute to look at the parts. Along with the drums, there are two guitar parts panned left and right.

[Music plays]

Then there’s the string parts, which are very dramatic. These are not lush, gentle, romantic strings; there’s a lot of energy and power in this string arrangement.

[Music plays]

And then, underneath it all, is Tom Petersson’s bass part, played on his trademark 12-string bass, which is such a part of the Cheap Trick sound. It blends in with the final mix so it doesn’t necessarily stand out any different than a standard bass part, but when you hear it in isolation, then you can really hear all of those strings ringing out and what it adds to the overall sound and feel of the track.

[Music plays]

We will take a closer look at all of these parts as we go through the song, but for now, let’s move on. The song begins with the chorus, though that’s not exactly a rarity; it is a little less common for a rock song to lead off with the chorus.

[Music plays]

That leads immediately into the first verse. And I think what really makes these verses work, besides the great vocal by Robin Zander, is the combination of the organ, which sounds straight out of a horror movie, and Tom Petersson’s bass part. That 12-string bass really delivers something special here

[Music plays]

The guitar basically lays out most of the verse and just adds some accent chords. Let’s go back and listen to those two parts I mentioned before. First, the organ:

[Music plays]

And here’s the bass part:

[Music plays]

The next section—let’s call that the pre-chorus—perfectly builds the drama into the chorus. Let’s break this down bit by bit.

[Music plays]

First, notice how on the second half of that line, “They’re looking for me,” Petersson doubles the vocal melody on his bass.

[Music plays]

Next, all the instruments and the vocals, they all hit the same syncopated beats together.

[Music plays]

Let’s bring up the drums a little bit in the mix here.

[Music plays]

And another nice little touch is how Rick Nielsen is sliding down out of each of those chord hits. Let’s hear that.

[Music plays]

All right, let’s move on to the next bit. Both the guitar and the bass are playing a nice little descending riff there.

[Music plays]

Okay, let’s keep going. And let’s hear Bun E. Carlos one more time with that drum fill that leads us into the chorus.

[Music plays]

All right, now that we’ve heard that all chopped up, let’s go back and play through the whole pre-chorus into the chorus.

[Music plays]

Let’s look at the vocals on the chorus. Sounds to me like Robin Zander has double-tracked his main vocal, with what I assume is Rick, Tom Werman, and Gary Ladinsky providing the falsetto backing vocals.

[Music plays]

And that brings us to the second verse. And this time, let’s bring up Robin Zander’s vocal first.

[Music plays]

Okay, now let’s hear the final mix of that verse.

[Music plays]

Bun E. Carlos plays some nice drum fills coming out of that verse, so let’s hear that for a second.

[Music plays]

And that brings us to another pre-chorus and chorus. Let’s focus on the vocals again.

[Music plays]

And now we’ve reached the bridge, which is a spoken word part by Rick Nielsen. Let’s just hear his vocal.

[Music plays]

And now we’ll listen to it in context.

[Music plays]

And then there’s a really short guitar solo. It’s nothing flashy, just Rick playing this almost woozy melody; it’s a little disorienting, almost like waking up from a dream.

[Music plays]

That little string part there really adds a lot. And that takes us into one final pre-chorus.

[Music plays]

Now, they’re going to stretch out this last line as the song builds. The bass will hold down the root note while Rick Nielsen’s guitar will climb—slowly at first, then faster. They’re just wringing every bit of drama out of this one chord.

[Music plays]

And we’ve reached a new section of the song, a heavily orchestrated part. All the instruments—the drums, the bass, the guitar, and the strings—each have a different part to play. And to make it even more disorienting, the time signature will shift: two measures of four beats, and then one measure of three beats. And that pattern will continue through this section: two measures of 4/4, one measure of 3/4. Let’s break it down starting with the drums. Bun E. Carlos is playing a part that reminds me of Keith Moon, though not as manic—of course, no one was as manic as Keith Moon.

[Music plays]

Next, let’s hear Rick Nielsen’s guitar. He’s playing these crazy arpeggiated chords; they’re almost dissonant in places, which just adds to the disorientation along with those shifting time signatures.

[Music plays]

In contrast, the bass is playing steady, rapidly picking one note at a time, slowly climbing until he hits a plateau alternating between two notes.

[Music plays]

And finally, the strings are playing an intense cinematic part building to their own crescendo.

[Music plays]

Now let’s hear all of that together as it builds until it finally explodes into the last choruses.

[Music plays]

You can hear some handclaps overdubbed here.

[Music plays]

“Dream Police” – Cheap Trick

Though the At Budokan album would remain Cheap Trick’s best-selling album, Dream Police was their biggest studio album. The song “Dream Police” is maybe the perfect example of Rick Nielsen’s one-of-a-kind songwriting: combining a lyric of nightmare and paranoia with a guitar riff that just rocks hard and orchestration that makes the song a cinematic anthem.

A lot has happened since 1979, but Cheap Trick is still making records and touring consistently. They remain one of the hardest-working bands in the business. And though Bun E. Carlos is no longer a member of the band, all four of the original members are still alive and well at the time of this recording. Cheap Trick are true survivors in every sense of the word.

“Dream Police” is one of those songs that’s just ingrained in my life. I was in high school when it came out, and the song was inescapable. A few years later, when I bought my first car—a second-hand Plymouth Satellite Sebring—it had an old eight-track player in it, so I went out and bought a bunch of second-hand eight-tracks to play in the car. I probably owned maybe six albums on eight-track, but one of them was Dream Police.

I hope you enjoyed this episode of the I’m in Love with that Song podcast. Don’t forget to follow the show so that you never miss an episode. New episodes come out on the 1st and the 15th of every month, so there’ll be another episode coming your way soon. And there’s over 200 previous episodes of this show; if you missed any of them, you can find them all on our website, lovethatsongpodcast.com. I always like to hear your thoughts. You can communicate with us on Facebook—just look for the I’m in Love with that Song podcast there—or send an email to lovethatsongpodcast@gmail.com.

It always helps if you leave a positive review wherever you listen to this show, so thanks for that. But the best thing you can do to support us is to tell someone about the show, recommend it to your friends or family. A good word from listeners like you, that is priceless.

I’ll be back here on the Pantheon Podcast Network with a new episode soon. Until then, watch out for the dream police. Sleep tight…

RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

Bands & Artists

Books & Research

Record Labels & Media

Technical References