Celebrity Jukebox #97: Arthur Lee

Sometimes I have an obvious idea for the Celebrity Jukebox and think, "this'll be a quick one, there won't be that many other songs". And then I learn my lesson.

Arthur Lee was born in Memphis in 1945. He first recorded with The LAGS when he was 18. He wrote the almost-hit My Diary for Rosa Lee Brooks, featuring a young Jimi Hendrix on guitar. Then he formed The American Four and wrote for Ronnie and the Pomona Casuals, a band who liked to make records about the dance craze known as The Jerk. And then he fell in Love, and everything changed... forever.

Here are some songs that mention Arthur, starting with Robyn Hitchcock...

The wreck of the Arthur Lee
Will never return again
The captain and all his men
Went up and jumped overboard
"Jesus is Lord" they cried
Believe in love!
Believe in Love
And I'll believe in you

Robyn Hitchcock - The Wreck of the Arthur Lee

In 1996, Arthur Lee was sent to prison "for a crime he did not commit". He spent five and a half years before someone else confessed to the crime, the original prosecutor was found guilty of misconduct, and the charges against him were reversed on appeal. While he was inside, two of his former bandmates died, so a proposed Love reunion was never to be.

Arthur lying down dreaming a dream
Woke up to realise life wasn't as it seems
Four walls a bed and a wonderful view
But he's feeling lonely without the rest of his crew
The prison's going down

Hugh Cornwell - The Prison's Going Down

The man responsible for firing the handgun that Arthur was convicted of was a visiting fan. At the time, he denied all involvement. 

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - The Fan Who Wasn't There

Think you lie before decieving
All the people that believe in me
Somewhere Arthur Lee is bleeding
Somewhere Arthur Lee is bleeding

The Format - Dear Boy

Walter Schreifels was the frontman of a bunch of New York bands starting in the mid-80s, including Rival Schools, Quicksand and Walking Concert. And here he is on his own...

Walter Schreifels  - Arthur Lee's Lullaby

"Tactics were one of the most celebrated acts on Australia's new wave scene," says their bandcamp page. But that also tells me they're from France, so what do I know?

Tactics - Arthur Lee At Houston Airport

Of all the celebrities I've featured here, very few have as many songs named after them as Arthur Lee. Don't believe me?

Try these...

The Woggles - Arthur Lee

Honeyburst - Arthur Lee

Marlon Cherry - Arthur Lee

The Bordellos - Arthur Lee

Make-Up - Free Arthur Lee

The Dackel 5 - Arthur Lee, Belmondo, Du & Ich

Mark McDowell & Friends -  De facto (Ode To Arthur Lee)

The Pillbugs - Make Like Arthur Lee

And those were just the ones I could find links to. Plenty more where they came from... but let's pause to consider a few more well known names. Like Shack. Did you know that in the 90s, Shack were Arthur Lee's backing band? Well, you do now.

How can you shine so bright and still you shine for me?
Travelling through the night a million miles with me
Listening to Wild Mountain Thyme, The Byrds and Arthur Lee

Shack - Byrds Turn To Stone

And what about this famous group of solicitors?

David Bowie was Hunky Dory
Aladdin quite insane
Give the sound of Arthur Lee with
Forever Changes, I'll remember
And more again, don't leave me ever
Buddy Holly said, "Baby, please be mine"
All the time.

Barclay James Harvest - A Tale Of Two Sixties

Meanwhile, it appears Fleet Foxes are joining us in a Mid-Life Crisis...

I could dress as Arthur Lee
Scrape my shoes the right way
Maybe read Ulysses
But it's a young man's game

Fleet Foxes - Young Man's Game

Speaking of grumpy old men...

Beware of the man who only shows you the best bits
Beware of the band who type out their set lists
Sometimes instead of Arthur Lee
I’d much prefer some Arthur Lowe
And with you by my side
I would aspire to ascend
Such heights where we’d find
Tears and laughter cease to matter
And we’d be pleasantly surprised
By our annual water bill

Half Man Half Biscuit - Mate Of The Bloke

The young uns though, they do still dream of being like Arthur...

What do we?
Want to be?
Arthur Lee?
In a party motel on 5th street

Eeeks - Party Motel

All of which brings us to the inevitable. Unarguably the greatest tune ever to name-drop the Love frontman, it's also a highlight of one of the greatest albums of the 80s... 

Looking like a born again, living like a heretic
Listening to Arthur Lee records, making all your friends feel so guilty
About their cynicism and the rest of their generation
Not even the government are gonna stop you now
But are you ready to be heartbroken ?
Are you ready to be heartbroken ?

Saturday Snapshots #8 - The Answers

Far too easy this week.

We went to Manchester today for a special VIP screening of Paddington 2, arranged by Louise's former employers. By the time we got back, the answers were all but sorted...


10. Political liars give Muffet top marks.

Spin Doctors are political liars.

If Little Miss Muffet got top marks, she would be Little Miss Can't Be Wrong.

One of those bands the musos always turn their noses up at, but I always loved this one - more than their bigger hit, Two Princes. At least Martin has no shame.

The Spin Doctors - Little Miss Can't Be Wrong

9. Hank and Lucinda go Scottish in search of Cockney King Tracy's diary.

Hank & Lucinda = Williams.

Scottish would make them McWilliams.

A Cockney King would be Pearly.

Spencer Tracy.

A diary is full of days.

David McWilliams - The Days of Pearly Spencer

I probably over-egged the clue on this one, but I wasn't sure you'd remember it otherwise. Charity Chic probably recognised the picture and didn't even read the clue...

8. Crazy clerics on the road to narcissism.

Way too easy, but I couldn't resist this picture. I'll give this one to Rigid Digit just to stop Martin hoovering up all this week's points.

Manic Street Preachers - You Love Us

7. 64 Captains: well built - no shit!

A Captain in the Navy is one rank below a Commodore (or something... go look it up yourself).

Children of the 80s will remember the Commodore 64 (although I myself had a Spectrum 48K - keeping it British... and crap).

There is a colloquial expression "built like a brick shithouse"... I'm not sure whether they say this in America, but Brian seemed to know what I was talking about.

The Commodores - Brick House

It would probably have been harder if I'd put my thumb over the top right of the camera when I snapped this picture.

6. The tin is on... you'll only get this if you collaborate.

The HEAT is on (R.I.P. Glenn)

Tin = Can

Collaborate = work together.

Canned Heat - Let's Work Together

5. Spector girl in a storm... hope she doesn't lose her coloured contacts.

One of Phil Spector's many era-defining girl groups was The Crystals.

A storm is a gale.

Brian stayed up till 1am to be first in line to guess this one. Now that's what I call dedication!

Lynchie snoozed and losed.

Crystal Gayle - Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

4. Touch-typing jumpers visit a windy island.

I never learned to touch type. In fact, though I can type pretty damned fast, I only do it with one finger (two if you count the one on the shift key). If I was learning to touch type though, I might use this pangram...

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Mykonos is "The island of the winds" (according to Iffypedia, anyway).

Fleet Foxes - Mykonos

(Conicidentally, I bought the new Fleet Foxes album yesterday. I suspect it may be pretentious bullshit, but the harmonies are still glorious.)

Another one for Martin, I guess.

3. Them stained songs go Welsh... will end up in a comfy prison.

Them sang Gloria.

Jones is originally a Welsh surname.

A stained song would be tainted.

"Will end up in a comfy prison" - this was, of course, more famously covered by Soft Cell.

Gloria Jones - Tainted Love

I didn't know that Gloria Jones was also Marc Bolan's girlfriend until I researched this post.

2. Russian landmark turns 3D because of the U.S.

Red Square is a famous Russian landmark... which would become Red Cube... or Red Box in 3D.

Martin got that too... but couldn't work out the rather obvious song "because of the U.S.". Really Martin? They only had two hits! Luckily, RD came to the rescue.

Red Box - For America

Gloriously naff 80s video ahoy!

1. Resignation In Lieu Of an old Neighbour. Serving up food for #4.

Really difficult to come up with a clue for this band. I have no idea what Rilo is: the internet tells me it related to the above acronym, but I don't know if that's anything to do with the name of Jenny Lewis's former band... or if Miss Minogue was an inspiration either. But I do love this song, it has one of the best guitar hooks I've ever heard (specifically the bit after she sings "And then there is no mystery left" about 45 seconds in... and it crops up again later). I don't know why it affects me so much; I don't normally get hung up on guitar riffs.

Well done to CC, anyway.


Thank you all for taking part, as always. I'm glad you try to guess them before clicking on the comments section and reading everybody else's answers.

My Top Ten Hymns

This week, I give thanks for ten fine examples of pop praise.

Specials mentions to Hymns and The Verve's classic album Urban Hymns.


10. The Charlatans - I'll Sing A Hymn (You Came To Me)

I came across a good haul of Charlatans CDs in a local charity shop recently and was able to stock up my collection beyond the obvious titles. This is from their 2004 album Up At The Lake, apparently the only Charlies album never to receive an American release (not sure why, but whenever they do release records in the US they have to stick a UK on the end of their name because of an obscure American band from the 60s). Iffypedia tells me this particular song was only available on the UK release of the album - again, not sure why, it's a perfectly decent laid-back, Stonesy groove.

9. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Cannibal's Hymn

But if you're gonna dine with them cannibals
Sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten

The above might seem like a statement of the bleeding obvious, but Nick still makes it sound bad-ass. 

8. Don Henley - She Sang Hymns Out Of Tune

I originally came across this song on Harry Nilsson's album Pandemonium Shadow Show but I hadn't listened to that in years, so it took me a while when I heard Don Henley's version (on last year's Cass County) to work out where I knew it from. It was originally written by Jesse Lee Kincaid, a member of 60s folk-rock band Rising Sons along with Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal.

I've listened to the lyrics of this song a lot trying to work out what they're all about... there's a spooky, otherworldly quality to them. The People Who Are strike me as the sort you don't want to mess with.

7. The Decemberists - January Hymn / June Hymn

Two contrasting hymns from The King Is Dead album (Colin Meloy was always a huge Smiths fan). The first is an ode to shovelling snow, the second a celebration of pegging out your washing. Ironically, it's the latter which appears to steal its chords from Simon & Garfunkel's I Am A Rock (y'know, the one that begins 'A winter's day, In a deep and dark December...')

6. Roddy Frame - Hymn To Grace

Aztec Camera were a brilliant band, but I sometimes feel Roddy Frame has done better work since he packed in his famous job and turned solo. In the one-man-and-a-guitar stakes, he takes some beating.

5. The Magic Numbers - Hymn To Her

Kill all hippies.

No, I like The Magic Numbers. This is from their first album, when they showed the most promise. You have to wonder if, in our looks-obsessed culture, lead singer Romeo Stoddard's Steven Toast meets Giant Haystacks image prevented the band from getting on any magazine covers. Shame...

Of course, this wasn't the most famous song with that awful pun-title. I'm presuming Romeo stole it from the band at #3.

4. Hefner - The Hymn For Cigarettes

Hefner have written more hymns than Charles Wesley or Isaac Watts (look: if I can google them, you can). See also The Hymn For Alcohol, The Hymn For Coffee, The Hymn For The Things We Didn't Do, etc. etc. This one's my favourite. Although I've never been a smoker, I like the way Darren Hayman pays tribute to all his favourite cigarette brands, but mostly I like it because it contains one of the greastest questions in the history of pop...

How can she love me 

If she doesn't even love 

The cinema that I love?

3. The Pretenders - Hymn To Her

Written by Chrissie's old school pal, Meg Keene, this is as close as The Pretenders ever got to becoming Fleetwood Mac. Apparently there are pagan themes to the lyrics, which would have fit the White Witch, Stevie Nicks, very well. Chrissie even sounds like Stevie on this.

Before she became famous, Chrissie Hynde worked for the NME. Among others, she interviewed Brian Eno, Tim Buckley and David Cassidy. Not Nicks though... I wonder if she was a Mac fan?

2. James - Hymn From A Village

From their second EP, released in 1985 (their first record was out in '83!). It's still a pretty powerful mission statement from a band just starting out...

This song's made up, made second rate
Cosmetic music, powderpuff
Pop tunes, false rhymes, all lightweight bluffs
Second-hand ideas, no soul, no hate
Wasn't mean to be
Built on complacency
The nightmares ride away
When you refuse to play
Oh go and read a book
It's so much more worth while
Being a song-smith crook
Study death in style
Death in style

And thirty years later, they're still at it. Their 14th album, Girl At The End of the World, will be out in March.

1. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

I bang on a lot on this site about how much I love storytelling songs and how important lyrics are to me, but I have to confess I've never really paid much attention to the lyrics of White Winter Hymnal. I know it's about something, and there's some wonderful imagery, but the effect the song has on me is purely down to the sound: the harmonies and the canon effect work together to make this a mesmerising piece of music. When something sounds this good, I don't need to know what it's all about.

As we move house next week, I'd be thankful if the white winter can stay away this year, please.




Which is your Lord of the Dance?

My Top Ten (Specific) Mountain Songs

There are hundreds of songs that feature the word "mountain" in their title, and climbing mountains as a way of demonstrating your love is one of the biggest songwriting clichés going. But these are my favourite songs about specific mountains, ones you could actually go climb... if you so wished.  


10. Tribes - Himalaya

A suitably epic sounding guitarathon. 

9. Beth Orton - Mount Washington

Turns out there are dozens of Mount Washingtons in North America - 15 in the USA alone, plus one in Canada. They'd all have to go some to be as beautiful as Beth Orton's song though.

8. Don McLean - Mountains O'Mourne

Originally written by Percy French back in 1896, perfectly suited to McClean's storytelling singing style.  

7. Doves - Snowden

Doves might have climbed higher had they spelled Snowdon correctly. As it is, I'm not actually sure this has anything to do with Wales's highest peak. 

6. Joe Walsh - Rocky Mountain Way

This is one mountain where you're guaranteed to see an Eagle. Badum-tish.

See also John Denver - Rocky Mountain High.

5. Half Man Half Biscuit - Lord Hereford’s Knob

Another Welsh mountain, otherwise known as Twmpa (hence "Could this be heaven, would that be the Severn? Twmpa, Twmpa, you’re gonna need a jumper"), inspires one of Nigel Blackwell's many songs about hill-walking and mountain-climbing... with a smattering of innuendo to warm the cockles.

Ever since the chattering classes invaded Hebden Bridge
And priced the likes of me and mine
To the pots of the Pennine Ridge
To South East Wales I was forced to flee
And now I have no job
That’s why tonight I’m sitting on top of Lord Hereford’s Knob

4. Fleet Foxes - Blue Ridge Mountains

Like the ghost of a song heard on an impossible radio. Gorgeous.

Of course, the Blue Ridge Mountains were also popular with Laurel & Hardy fans.

3. Babyshambles - Killamangiro

A terrible pun, but a great song. 

See also Kilimanjaro by the Teardrop Explodes which is a classic album, although the title track wasn't on the original track listing and isn't available to link to anywhere on t'internet.

2. Modest Mussorgsky - A Night On Bare (Bald) Mountain

And now for something even older than The Mountains of Mourne - a truly majestic piece of Classical music, though there's some debate over whether the Russian translation of the title should be 'bare' or 'bald'... or, indeed, whether the version we're all familiar with owes slightly more to Rimsky-Korsakov than Mussorgsky. I don't claim to be an expert. 

1. The Supernaturals - Everest

The world's biggest mountain... and one of the best songs the Supernaturals ever recorded, gently mocking the whole "my love is bigger than a mountain" metaphor mentioned earlier.

I bought a goldfish to keep me company
In these dark days when you're not here with me
I walk round Safeway on my own
Look in the freezer cabinet, see my reflection and I'm all alone

You dropped me like a waitress drops a tray...

Those were my SPECIFIC mountain songs... remember, Ain't No Mountain High Enough doesn't count.

Which will you be climbing tonight?