I'm Alive (Tommy James and the Shondells song)

Last updated

"I'm Alive"
Single by Johnny Thunder
B-side "Verbal Expressions of T.V."
Released1968
Genre Blues rock, R&B, psychedelic rock [1]
Length2:30
Label Calia
Songwriter(s) Tommy James, Peter Lucia

"I'm Alive" is a song written by Tommy James and first recorded and released in 1968 by American singer Johnny Thunder.

Contents

Thunder's recording of "I'm Alive" was a "raucous" rock single, featuring "Verbal Expressions of T.V." as its B-side. [2] Bob Dylan, who had heard "I'm Alive" on the radio, was asked by Rolling Stone 's Jann Wenner in 1969 if he was impressed by anything in the rock music scene and pointed to the song: "Never heard it either, huh? Well, I can't believe it. Everyone I've talked to, I've asked them if they've heard that record. It was one of the most powerful records I've ever heard. It's called 'I'm Alive.' By Johnny Thunder. Well, it was that sentiment, truly expressed. That's the most I can say ... if you heard the record, you'd know what I mean." [3]

James recorded and released his version in 1969 with his band the Shondells as part of their album Crimson & Clover . It was released as a B-side for the single "Crystal Blue Persuasion".

Thunders' version was later used by Samsung in their advertisement of the Galaxy S6 Edge in 2015. [4] That version was also used in the soundtrack for the 2018 film American Animals. [5] [6]

Don Fardon version

"I'm Alive"
Single by Don Fardon
B-side "Keep on Loving Me"
ReleasedAugust 1969
Genre Psychedelic soul
Length2:26; 3:24 (extended version)
Label Young Blood
Songwriter(s) Tommy James, Peter Lucia
Producer(s) Miki Dallon

English singer Don Fardon released a cover as a single also in 1969. [7] His recording has been featured in a UK television advertisement for Five Alive fruit drinks, and a Dutch Vodafone commercial.

On the back of the success of the latter, "I'm Alive" was reissued in the Netherlands and in March 2011 it reached the Top 20 of the Dutch singles chart. Don Fardon's version has been remixed and released as a single by English DJ Ashley Beedle.

Other versions

In 1975, Swedish band Blue Swede recorded a mash-up which combined verses of I'm Alive with others borrowed from Hush , by Deep Purple.
The song was also recorded by Tom Jones. The track appeared on his 2008 album 24 Hours.

Canadian garage-punk band, UIC, from Toronto, Ontario, recorded their version of I'm Alive on their 1986 album Our Garage.

Related Research Articles

Street Fighting Man 1968 single by the Rolling Stones

"Street Fighting Man" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet. Called the band's "most political song", Rolling Stone ranked the song number 301 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Jann Simon Wenner is an American magazine magnate who is the co-founder and publisher of the popular culture magazine Rolling Stone, and former owner of Men's Journal magazine. He participated in the Free Speech Movement while attending the University of California, Berkeley. Wenner, with his mentor Ralph J. Gleason, co-founded Rolling Stone in 1967.

"Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released as the first track of the acoustic side of his March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The song's popularity led to Dylan recording it live many times, and it has been included in multiple compilation albums. It has been translated into other languages, and has been used or referenced in television shows, films, and books.

Tom Wilson (record producer) American record producer

Thomas Blanchard Wilson Jr. was an American record producer best known for his work in the 1960s with Bob Dylan, the Mothers of Invention, Simon & Garfunkel, the Velvet Underground, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Eddie Harris, Nico, Eric Burdon and the Animals, the Blues Project, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, and others.

<i>Bayou Country</i> (album) 1969 studio album by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Bayou Country is the second studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records in January 1969, and was the first of three albums CCR released in that year.

Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones song) 1971 single by The Rolling Stones

"Brown Sugar" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written primarily by Mick Jagger, it is the opening track and lead single from their album Sticky Fingers (1971). It became a number one hit in both the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it charted at number two. In the United States, Billboard ranked it as the number 18 song for 1971. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 495 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and at number five on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.

Like a Rolling Stone 1965 single by Bob Dylan

"Like a Rolling Stone" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on July 20, 1965 by Columbia Records. Its confrontational lyrics originated in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England. Dylan distilled this draft into four verses and a chorus. "Like a Rolling Stone" was recorded a few weeks later as part of the sessions for the forthcoming album Highway 61 Revisited.

Ruby Tuesday (song) Song by the Rolling Stones

"Ruby Tuesday" is a song recorded by the Rolling Stones in 1966, released in January 1967. The song became the band's fourth number-one hit in the United States and reached number three in the United Kingdom as a double A-side with "Let's Spend the Night Together". The song was included in the American version of Between the Buttons.

Dave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on rock music. He is also a committee member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Lay Lady Lay 1969 song by Bob Dylan

"Lay Lady Lay", sometimes rendered "Lay, Lady, Lay", is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released in 1969 on his Nashville Skyline album. Like many of the tracks on the album, Dylan sings the song in a low croon, rather than in the high nasal singing style associated with his earlier recordings. The song has become a standard and has been covered by numerous bands and artists over the years.

Proud Mary 1969 single by Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Proud Mary" is a song written by John Fogerty and first recorded by his band Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was released by Fantasy Records as a single from the band's second studio album, Bayou Country, which was issued by the same record company and is generally considered to have been released in early January 1969, although one source states that it came out just before Christmas 1968. The song became a major hit in the United States, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1969, the first of five singles to peak at No. 2 for the group.

"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his Bringing It All Back Home album, released on March 22, 1965, by Columbia Records. The song was recorded on January 15, 1965, with Dylan's acoustic guitar and harmonica and William E. Lee's bass guitar the only instrumentation. The lyrics were heavily influenced by Symbolist poetry and bid farewell to the titular "Baby Blue". There has been much speculation about the real life identity of "Baby Blue", with possibilities including Joan Baez, David Blue, Paul Clayton, Dylan's folk music audience, and even Dylan himself.

<i>Boz Scaggs</i> (album) 1969 studio album by Boz Scaggs

Boz Scaggs is the second studio album by American musician Boz Scaggs, released in 1969 by Atlantic Records. A stylistically diverse album, Boz Scaggs incorporates several genres, including Americana, blue-eyed soul, country, and rhythm and blues. The lyrics are about typical themes found in blues songs, such as love, regret, guilt, and loss. Scaggs recorded the album at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio with producer Jann Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section heavily contributed to the album, which included a young Duane Allman, before his rise to fame with the Allman Brothers Band.

"I Shall Be Released" is a 1967 song written by Bob Dylan.

<i>The Basement Tapes</i> 1975 studio album by Bob Dylan and the Band

The Basement Tapes is the 16th album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and his second with the Band. It was released on June 26, 1975, by Columbia Records. Two-thirds of the album's 24 tracks feature Dylan on lead vocals backed by the Band, and were recorded in 1967, eight years before the album's release, in the lapse between the recording and subsequent release of Blonde on Blonde and John Wesley Harding, during sessions that began at Dylan's house in Woodstock, New York, then moved to the basement of Big Pink. While most of these had appeared on bootleg albums, The Basement Tapes marked their first official release. The remaining eight songs, all previously unavailable, feature the Band without Dylan and were recorded between 1967 and 1975.

Jagger–Richards Songwriting, music production partnership

Jagger–Richards is the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, a musical collaboration whose output has produced the majority of the catalogue of the Rolling Stones. They are one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in history. In addition to Jagger and Richards' songwriting partnership, they have also produced or co-produced numerous Rolling Stones albums under the pseudonym The Glimmer Twins.

Don Fardon is an English pop singer.

"Road Runner" is a 12-bar blues song performed by American rock and roll performer Bo Diddley, originally released as a single by Checker Records in January 1960, and later released on the LP record Bo Diddley in the Spotlight. The song reached #20 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart, and #75 on the Hot 100. The song has since been recorded by many artists.

Watching the River Flow Song by Bob Dylan

"Watching the River Flow" is a blues rock song by American singer Bob Dylan. Produced by Leon Russell, it was written and recorded during a session in March 1971 at the Blue Rock Studio in New York City. The collaboration with Russell formed in part through Dylan's desire for a new sound—after a period of immersion in country rock music—and for a change from his previous producer. The song was praised by critics for its energy and distinctive vocals, guitar, and piano. It has been interpreted as Dylan's account of his writer's block in the early 1970s, and his wish to deliver less politically engaged material and find a new balance between public and private life.

Johnny Thunder (singer) Musical artist

Gil Hamilton, known as Johnny Thunder, is an American R&B and pop singer, whose biggest hit was "Loop de Loop" in 1963.

References

  1. "Spotlight Singles". Billboard . March 15, 1969. p. 70.
  2. "Spotlight Singles". Billboard . March 15, 1969. p. 70.
  3. Wenner, Jann S. (November 29, 1969). "Bob Dylan: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone .
  4. “I’m Alive”, il “lato B” tornato famoso 47 anni dopo grazie a Samsung (in Italian)
  5. Anne Nikitin, American Animals , retrieved September 12, 2018
  6. American Animals (2018) , retrieved September 12, 2018
  7. Discogs: Don Fardon's version