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Song Stories

“Suzie Q”

Dale Hawkins | 1957

A hypnotic cowbell sets the mood for Dale Hawkins's bluesy strutting rockabilly ode to "Suzie Q," fired by a wild solo by teenaged guitarist James Burton, soon to become one of the top Hollywood rock & roll session musicians. About 10 years later, Creedence Clearwater Revival's version would become their first big hit. "You can really hear that we were havin' a good time cuttin' that record," Hawkins said. "Man, me and the vocal group were actually doin' steps during the guitar breaks!"

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“Take the Skinheads Bowling”
Camper Van Beethoven | 1985
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“He Will Break Your Heart”
Jerry Butler | 1960

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Song Stories

“He Will Break Your Heart”

Jerry Butler | 1960

A lightly swinging Latin-influenced, almost cha-cha groove and close harmonies decorated Jerry Butler's early soul hit "He Will Break Your Heart," delivering a stately warning that his rival would never love his girl like he did. The melody came to Butler as he was driving on the highway from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Philadelphia with Curtis Mayfield, and as Butler told Rolling Stone, "I just sang the melody and Curtis put the chords to it." The song's premise, Butler added, "was something that I'd lived ...The lyric was an experience rather than a revelation. Whereas music is usually a revelation."

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