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One night I was walking Sparki and the Everly Brothers song “When Will I Be Loved” popped into my head. I thought about how it’s an uptempo song but the lyrics are really quite depressing. The opposite of the old Irving Berlin song “Blue Skies” in which the lyrics are very positive but the music is sad. All this was enough to get the juices flowing and out came this simple little song which I like to think is about a sad situation with a positive outlook of the future.

Credits:
Ish Ferguson- drums
Demont Crawford- bass
Marty Rifkin- pedal steel
Michael Monagan- guitars and vocals

Tony Phillips- mix
Hank Fischer- photo
©2019 Sossity Music

Someday (Love Will Find Me)

Someday, love will find me, someway love will find me
I have faith and hope that someday love will find me

Plantin seeds but they won’t come up,
Drinkin water from an empty cup
I wanna eat but my supper plate is bare
I made a wish at a wishing well, all I got was a fond farewell
Now there’s no one left to care for, but

All I got is this dusty road, trudging down with a heavy load
Trying to keep exploding thoughts at bay
My walkin shoes are wearin thing, I can’t say if shape I’m in will let me see the light of day

It’s very hard losing a friend too soon. We songwriters and artists are, in a way, lucky in that we can express our grief through our art. I knew Penny Nichols (yes, her given name) for almost 40 years. We played lots of music together during that time and shared many laughs along the way. When her cancer came back after being dormant for 10 years and killed her I was devastated and this song is a cathartic tribute to a wonderful friend, talented and prolific songwriter, magnetic teacher, and just all around great human being. This song is being released during Thanksgiving week and I am indeed thankful for knowing this extraordinary woman.

Credits:
Ish Ferguson- drums
Demont Crawford- bass and vocals
Joe Turano- keys and vocals
Kevin Ricard- Percussion
Michael Monagan- guitars and vocals

Tony Phillips- mix
Hank Fischer- photo
©2019 Sossity Music

Gone

Can you hear that distant bell, wishing her a fond farewell
Gone, gone, gone, Penny’s gone

The nightingale has sung her song, memories will linger on
Gone, gone, gone, Penny’s gone

Tears, pain, fallin down like rain, but now she’s free

Though we’ll lead our lives apart, I will hold her in my heart

Ready to boogie?

If you write songs it’s only a matter of time before you write one for your kids. Our eldest, Kylie, as our pediatrician put it, impacted her environment, which, in layman’s terms means she was a handful. She was in constant motion, willful, clever, and cute as all getout. While chasing her around, answering endless questions, and engaging in marathon efforts to calm her down, I was inspired to take an old Joe Turner song, “Boogie Woogie Country Girl” and re-write the lyrics with Kylie in mind.

Keys, saxes, and vocals- Joe Turano
Bass and vocals- Demont Crawford
Drums- Ish Ferguson
Trombone- Roch Bordenave
Trumpet- Ryck Jane
Guitar and vocals- Michael Monagan
Horn line- Bordenave and Turano

Mix- Tony Phillips
Photo- Hank Fischer
©1956 Pomus/Ashby-Unichapell Music/One Spirit Music
Used with permission

Boogie Woogie Baby Girl

She’s just a little thing at 5 pounds 9
But she’s got her daddy working overtime

She’s my boogie woogie, boogie woogie,
Boogie woogie baby girl
What I mean, what I mean my boogie woogie baby girl

She goes through diapers like a wolf through sheep
And never lets her mom and dad get any sleep

She’s small as a peanut and sometimes calm
But when she gets goin she’s an atom bomb

She’s cute as a button everybody agrees
That cute little girl looks just like me
(Horns)

She wakes up every morning about half past 5
Loves mother’s milk cause it keeps her alive

She’ll get her way if she has to shout
She may be a devil but she knocks me out

A rock and roll song about retirement?!? Damn right (as Isaac Hayes sang in Shaft- as a matter of fact, listen for The Sound’s answer to Isaac Hayes (Demont) during the tag). When you’ve worked the same job for 30 years it’s quite an adjustment to suddenly stop. Lots of inescapable questions big and small. Few answers.

Drums- Ishmael Ferguson
Keys and vocals- Joe Turano
Bass and vocals- Demont Crawford
Guitars and vocals- Michael Monagan

Mix- Tony Phillips
Photo- Hank Fischer

Where You Gonna Go?

Take it from me I’ve been around
Ain’t no place you can’t be found
You could be a banker or a soda jerK
But runnin’ from your troubles just won’t work

Where you gonna go?

I live my life as I see fit
Sometimes it’s gold sometimes it’s shit
I make my choices as I make my bed
And one of these days I’ll end up dead

Where you gonna go?

I’ve worked this job for 30 long years
There’s been happiness, there’s been tears
It’s about time that I cashed in
And did a little runnin’ with the wind

Where you gonna go? Go, go, go, go,,,

They say that freedom is a very fine thing
It makes the bells of liberty ring
I try to find meaning in the things I do
But nothin’ ever brings me back to you

Where you gonna go?

I wrote "Fly Away With Me" when Penny Nichols, Deb McColl and I had a fledgling band called Lake of Pearls*. We had recorded the vocals but when Deb moved away and Penny was taken away forever by cancer I put the song on the back shelf. Eventually I had a new band, The Sound, and at first I thought it wouldn’t make sense to finish the song but giving it a little more thought I decided, what the hell, I love the song and I love the voices and I decided to finish it. Ish played drums, Joe added accordion and harmonies, and Marty Rifkin played some wonderful pedal steel. This release is dedicated to the incomparable Penny Nichols.

These streaming services flip out when you change anything but the proper credit should read "Fly Away With Me" by Michael Monagan and The Sound with Lake of Pearls.

*- We happened on the name for the band one summer night when Penny, her brother Rory, who lives with special needs, and I were at the Griffith Observatory looking over the shining city of Los Angeles. After a moment of silence Rory spoke up and said, “It looks like a lake of pearls!”

Drums- Ishmael Ferguson
Accordion/ harmony- Joe Turano
Pedal Steel- Marty Rifkin
Harmony- Penny Nichols
Harmony- Deborah McColl
Guitars, key bass, percussion, vocal- Michael Monagan

Mix- Tony Phillips
Photo- Hank Fischer

Fly Away With Me

Fly away with me, fly away with me, away with me
If there’s a wind, we’ll catch it
If there are wings, we’ll fly it
If there’s a chance, we’ll take it together

Run away with me, run away with me, away with me
If there’s a road, we’ll walk it
If there’s a hill, we’ll climb it
If there’s a ford, we’ll cross it together

Sail away with me, sail away with me, away with me
If there’s a wave, we’ll ride it
If there’s a tide, we’ll run it
If there’s a storm we’ll weather it together

But if I stumble, stumble and fall
Carry on and follow the call
To freedom

Not long after recorded it, we performed “River’s Dry” at a local club but since we had a short set I didn’t introduce the song or the fact that it was inspired by an African famine. After the set a guy came up to me and said, “You know that song “River’s Dry”? I know just how you feel.” Hmmmm. That “misunderstanding” illustrated to me that it’s often best to keep your trap shut (as Sister Mary Christopher used to tell me all the time in 4th grade…) and let people interpret the song as they will.

The whole tune is a one chord workout with a brief but furious half step modulation during with Joe shows why he’s one of the best. He also took my original horn arrangement and reworked it turning it into a tour de force.

Ish Ferguson- drums
Joe Turano- keys, saxes, vocals
Demont Crawford- bass, vocals
Roch Bordenave- trombone
Jon Papenbrook- trumpet
Paul Salvo- trumpet
Michael Monagan- guitar and vocals
Kevin Ricard- percussion

Monagan/Turano- horn arrangement

Mixed by Tony Phillips

Photo by Hank Fischer

River’s Dry

River's dry, river's dry, river's dry
And there's nowhere left to go

I can't, I can't, I can't get any sleep
I can't, I can't, I can't get any sleep

I pray, I pray, I pray but nothing comes
I pray, I pray, I pray but nothing comes

I’m weak, I’m weak, I’m weaker day by day
I’m weak, I’m weak, I’m weaker day by day

I wrote this while a friend was dying as a song she (or I) might take comfort in. It is a long distance hug. In this instance my friend was fighting cancer but in any relationship there has to be a determination on both sides to make it work and a willingness to fight FOR the love. Even with all that give and take, there is always the simple beauty of just taking your loved one in your arms.

Ish Ferguson- drums
Demont Crawford- bass and vocals
Joe Turano- keys and vocals
Michael Monagan- guitars and vocals

Mixed by Tony Phillips
Photo by Hank Fischer

Surround Me

Surround me, throw your arms around me
Surround me, with your light, and we will fight
For our love

No one ever said living would be easy
No one ever said loving won’t be hard
But when the world’s turned topsy turvy
That’s when I need you to drop your guard

I can hear a siren in the distance
Danger’s behind every door
I want you because you’re lovely
But what I really need you for, is to

I don’t know about you but my forgetting is getting more often. I’ve found that I need to do something as soon as I think of it cause if I put it off, it won’t happen. “I Shoulda Done It (When I Thought of It)” was born from this.

The genesis was that I put off putting something on my bike thinking I would remember to do it when I left. Guess what. I’m on the bike, helmet, sunglasses, etc heading down the driveway when I remember what I forgot. Doggone it! “I shoulda done It when I thought of it”, I say to myself. Bingo! A lightbulb flashes and I head back to the studio, grab the guitar and start writing, still in my helmet and sunglasses. As you can hear, I hope, we had a blast recording it. Roch had the great idea of making the recording a party.

Credits:
Ish Ferguson- drums
Demont Crawford- bass and vocals
Joe Turano- keys, sax, vocals
Roch Bordenave- trombone
Ryck Jane- trumpet
Michael Monagan- guitar, vocal

Kevin Ricard- percussion

Mixed by Tony Phillips

Photo by Hank Fischer

Horn Arrangment by Monagan/Turano

I Shoulda Done It

I should have done it when I thought of it
Not wait till there’s a better time
Cause time will pass and I’ll forget
And what I wanted will slip my mind

I’ll do it later is what I say
And go and leave it for another day
Sure that I’ll remember, easy as pie
But then walk in the room and don’t know why

When there’s a pitter patter in your chest
But you hang back cause you think it’s “best”
And then watch someone else step in
Well there you’ve gone and done it again

You gotta strike while the irons hot
Take your chance and shoot your shot
You might regret but what the hell
Like Chuck Berry says “You Never Can Tell”

If Romeo had said, “I’ll be right back.”
And left Juliet in the lurch
She might have angered and from her perch, said
”I’m gonna be a nun and join the church!”

We’ve all been on the wrong end of this particular stick, hoping against hope that things will work out but deep down knowing that they won’t.

Credits:
Demont Crawford- bass and vocals
Ish Ferguson- drums
Joe Turano- keys, sax, vocals
Roch Bordenave- trombone
Paul Salvo- trumpet
Michael Monagan- guitar, vocal

Kevin Ricard- percussion

Mixed by Tony Phillips

Photos by Hank Fischer

Horn Arrangment by Roch Bordenave

Never Coming’ Back

My mind’s a mess, and no one needs to tell me why
My aching chest’s been trying to conceal a lie
I’ve told myself forever, that you love just me, however,
I finally see, you’re never coming back no

Never, never, you’re never coming back no
Never, never, you’re never coming back to me

My foolish blues have strung along a wounded heart
Made an excuse when things began to fall apart
But as the truth is nearing, I can feel my mind is clearing
I finally see, you’re never coming back no

Good-bye blue sky, there’s dark clouds rolling in

When your heart is touched by another, space and time can stand still, years can pass, but those feelings never die. Way Down Deep celebrates in a modern ska-like style the profound effect we can have on one another.

Credits:
Demont Crawford- bass and vocals
Ish Ferguson- drums
Joe Turano- keys, sax, vocals
Roch Bordenave- trombone
Ryck Jane- trumpet
Michael Monagan- guitar, vocal

Kevin Ricard- percussion

Mixed by Tony Phillips

Photos by Hank Fischer

Horns arranged by Monagan and Turano

Way Down Deep

I don't care how far you travel or how much you know
Your dreams follow you wherever you go
It may have been years since I've seen you
I thought that things had changed
But the moment our eyes met I felt exactly the same

Way down deep Way down deep
Way down deep the flame still burns, the flame still burns

If I could relive just one moment I know what it would be
That cold December night when you walked out on me
Rather than stand there bewildered beneath the falling snow
I'd take you in my arms and never let you go

I can hear the words you said echo in my mind
Why would someone want to be so cruel?
The heart's a slow learner, it turns down the burner
But never lets the flame of passion cool