Only You ...Another Platters Song

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 24 Mar 2005 5:21 am

This is a very pretty song which I arranged for the Leavitt tuning.
Low to High:C#--E--G--Bb--C--D.
Quick change from C6th and even quicker from
C6th/A7
Here's the link: http://members.cox.net/loveridehd/ONLYYOU2.mp3

Roger Kelly · Post by **Roger Kelly** » 24 Mar 2005 5:37 am

Great Job Roy....very nicely done.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 24 Mar 2005 5:49 am

Very nice Roy. Good, soulful playing.

The pop tunes of the 1950's and early 60's offer a treasure chest of material for non-pedal steel guitarists. This is probably due to the fact that the music of that era still had an emphasis on the melody line as opposed to the geometric chordal based music that has dominated the world since the mid 1960's.

There's a lot of great material out there folks, just dig a little.

MAKE A CD ROY!!!!!

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 24 March 2005 at 05:50 AM.]

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 24 Mar 2005 5:53 am

Beautiful. You made my morning.
Charlie

Brian Doyle · Post by **Brian Doyle** » 24 Mar 2005 6:25 am

roy sounds great and thank you got all my
tunes

c c johnson · Post by **c c johnson** » 24 Mar 2005 8:17 am

Great song. I have been playing it for yrs using A6. The Mills Bros also cut this song. CC

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 24 Mar 2005 8:24 am

I really enjoy listening to the Platters (Tony Williams is one of my favorite singers) ... and you play the steel guitar.

Put 'em together ...

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Aiello's House of Gauss


My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield

Jeff Strouse · Post by **Jeff Strouse** » 24 Mar 2005 8:39 am

Beautiful playing, Roy! Nice arrangement. Is it true that the Leavitt tuning eliminates slants?

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 24 Mar 2005 8:55 am

With the advent of Elvis and the Beatles
the old standards and Pop Songs of the day
left the limelight. I agree with you Gerald
it's nice music for Lap, non pedal and pedal steel.
Jeff, Ian McLatchie writes bar slants in
his Leavitt Arrangements and so do I.
I thank you all for "listening in" and your
feedback and ideas.

Roy

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 24 Mar 2005 9:53 am

The Beatles, Roy? I'll have to disagree with you on this one. Listen to many of the Beatles tunes and you will hear very strong melodic lines. Examples: Something, Here Comes The Sun, Here There And Everywhere, Penny Lane, In My Life, Eleanor Rigby, Things We Said Today, She's Leaving Home... the list goes on.

My feeling is that the mid 1960's singer-songwriter (i.e. Bob Dylan-ish) compeletely changed pop music for the worse. For the most part, their lyrics were not melodically tied to their simple chord progressions. The guitarist may as well been playing a washboard.

The poetic, social and/or political message of the lyric became the focus, not the marriage of lyric and the melody.

The classic American pop songwriters put much thought into the sound of their lyrics and how they rhythmically rolled off the tongue. A good example, the song "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". The song's lyricist E.Y. Harburg struggled with the first line of the song for days. At first the lyrics were "Somewhere on the other side of the Rainbow"... doesn't flow does it? But it's good enough for a singer-songwriter because it get's the same point across. Harburg's simple change to the word OVER smooths out the rhythm, melody and feel.

It's rare to find lyrics these days that phonetically and melodically weave seamlessly with the underlying chord progression.

Enough... I'm tired.

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 24 March 2005 at 09:58 AM.]

Bill Leff · Post by **Bill Leff** » 24 Mar 2005 10:11 am

Oh boy, here we go....

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 24 Mar 2005 10:51 am

Gerald, I did not mean to give the impression
of knockin' the Beatles or Elvis' music.
All I meant was,,,the focus changed and music took a new direction.
I was one of Elvis' biggest fans and much of the Beatles music I love also. Yesterday,
Somthin' in the way she walks ...
Like you say the list goes on.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 24 Mar 2005 10:54 am

I understand where you were coming from Roy.

I just saw your posting as another opportunity for me to bash Bob Dylan.

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 24 Mar 2005 11:09 am

If you don't mind me askin': Why bash Bob Dylan? I think he influenced Lennon.

Roy: I used to play guitar for the Platters (some form of Platters, not Tony Williams') when they were in NYC in the late 80s. They were one of the bands I loved as a kid listening to my parents' 45s.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 24 Mar 2005 11:31 am

Bashing Dylan...

I just see him as a pivot point in the decline of melodies in American popular music. After Dylan influenced the scene it was OK to solely focus on the message of the lyrics and completely ignore the music. Yes, there were and are still musicians who actually play music but Dylan's influence is pervasive.

I remember English class in 11th grade where we "dissected" Bob Dylan's lyrics like they were the Rosetta Stone.

What did Dylan really mean when he wrote?

Genghis Khan he could not keep
All his kings supplied with sleep
We'll climb that hill no matter how steep
When we get up to it 

We didn't dissect this Johnny Mercer standard:

Zip a dee doo-dah, zip a dee ay
My, oh my, what a wonderful day.
Plenty of sunshine headed my way.
Zip a dee doo-dah, zip a dee ay.

Go ahead, sing both songs to yourself (in your head if you're at work). Which has a stronger melodic line? Which lyric emphasizes the melody? Which melody emphasizes the lyric? Which song was more fun and easier to sing? Come on, be honest.

Melodically, rhythmically and lyrically Mercer's song beats Dylan's by a mile.

Frankly I understand the message better and would rather sing Zip A Dee Do Dah.
(the melody and lyrics work together seamlessly)

I guess I'm just a simpleton.

------------------
Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 24 March 2005 at 12:01 PM.]

Mike D · Post by **Mike D** » 24 Mar 2005 1:59 pm

Didn't 'ol Bob introduce the Beatles to weed?

Roy, that's just sweet, your tone and phrasing is superb!

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Half-assed bottleneck and lap slide player. Full-assed Builder of resonator instruments.

Don Joslin · Post by **Don Joslin** » 25 Mar 2005 9:41 am

Gerald - Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy hearing your hands. I sure have to agree with you regarding lyrics. As an amateur songwriter/lyricist, it's my pet peeve. I have many songs that would be finsihed save for that one line that either is not written or doesn't sound musical. In music school they always taught me that it is the details and simplicity that make it music. Too bad they don't follow that same thought process when it comes to lyrics. Guess that's the difference between rhyme and poetry.

Don

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Country Music - (kun'tree myoo'zik) n. - Three chords and the
--------- truth.

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 25 Mar 2005 9:53 am

Dylan,

this reminds me of when I used to study guitar with Dave Van Ronk, the guy who helped Dylan when he first started out and from whom Dylan stole his arrangement of House of the Rising Son.

Dylan had recently come to Dave's apartment and was lamenting the sad state of today's (singer/songwriter) music. Dave laughed and said, "Bob, you have nobody to blame but yourself. You started all this. "

That being said, I love Bob Dylan and I always have. To me his best songs are some of the best America has ever produced.

Post by **b0b** » 25 Mar 2005 10:34 am

And this relates to Roy's post how?

Come on, folks. Roy has posted another beautiful steel guitar instrumental he just recorded and you are arguing about lyrics Bob Dylan wrote 40 years ago. Talk about topic drift! Let's get this train back on the track.

Roy, I really loved the high notes at the beginning of the second time through. It reminded me of Jerry Byrd. Beautiful arranging! Thanks for sharing it.

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<img align=left src="http://b0b.com/b0bxicon.gif" border="0"> Bobby Lee
-b0b- quasar@b0b.com 
System Administrator

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 25 Mar 2005 11:19 am

Your right Bob,

I just ordered the Tab from Roy and started working on it last night. It is a great arrangement and it provided me with my first exposure to the Leavitt tuning. Thanks Roy!

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 25 Mar 2005 12:45 pm

Agree.

Back to Roy...

I'll say it again. RECORD A CD ROY!

Your free samples over the last few months have guaranteed the future sales of your CD.

As we all know, there is little instructional material available for the non-pedal guitar. Including the tab with the CD may make the package a standard issue item for any beginning non-peddler or veteran wanting to learn more.

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 25 March 2005 at 12:46 PM.]

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 25 Mar 2005 7:00 pm

And this relates to Roy's post how?

by b0b Dylan

And how does this relate to Roy's post?

by Howard Mercer

I'll tell you how it relates.....Roy, as always, your shared music and your instruction are a treasure chest of gems, and well appreciated.