"You're a Better Man Than I" | ||||
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Single by the Yardbirds | ||||
from the album Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds | ||||
A-side | "Shapes of Things" (UK) | |||
Released |
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Recorded | September 1965 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 3:15 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Giorgio Gomelsky | |||
Yardbirds UKsingles chronology | ||||
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"You're a Better Man Than I", alternately listed as "Mr. You're a Better Man Than I" or "Better Man Than I", is a song first recorded by the English rock band the Yardbirds. It was written by brothers Mike and Brian Hugg, and became the opening track to the group's second American album, Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds (1965). [1] Three months later in February 1966, it was released in the UK as the B-side to the "Shapes of Things" single. [1]
With its politically conscientious lyrics and catchy melody, "You're a Better Man Than I" has been covered several times. A version by American garage rock band Terry Knight and the Pack appeared on Billboard magazine's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
In a song review for AllMusic, Matthew Greenwald writes:
The song was the Yardbirds' first of several stabs at a contemporary folk-rock type of song, and this recording succeeds without compromising the band's dark, threatening lyrics. The lyrics are striking, taking accurate aim at the hypocrites of society and politics, and the fact that men cannot judge each other, despite race, creed, or religion. [2]
Besides the lyrics, he adds that "Jeff Beck's sinewy electric guitar solo is the most identifiable ingredient in the brilliant arrangement". [2]
In February 1966, Terry Knight and the Pack recorded their version of "You're a Better Man Than I" after hearing the Yardbirds perform the song at a gig in Michigan. [3] Writing on the musical career of Terry Knight, music historian Barry Stroller described the Pack's rendition as a "bona-fide classic", before commending its "surprisingly subtle delivery, basic electric guitar chords supported gently with organ and rhythm section, Knight brilliantly finds (admittedly in lyrics he did not write) a perfect narrative in which to grow from teeniebopper heartthrob to social voice of conscience". [4] The song was the first recording by the group to chart nationally, bubbling under the Billboard charts at number 125. Regionally, "Better Man Than I" also reached the Top 10 of several radio charts, and overall sold approximately 150,000 copies. [3]
Also in 1966, Chicago-based garage rock band New Colony Six included the song on their debut album Breakthrough. [5] AllMusic critic Richie Unterberger described it as one of the "routine, dispensible covers" on the album. [5] In 1969, Manfred Mann Chapter Three, with Mike Hugg on lead vocals, released the song on their self-titled debut album. [6]
English punk band, Sham 69, covered the song for a 1979 single and it also appeared on their 3rd album The Adventures of the Hersham Boys .
South Florida roots/country rock act Charlie Pickett & the Eggs covered the song on their 1982 album Live at the Button.
"Dazed and Confused" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jake Holmes in 1967. Performed in a folk rock-style, he recorded it for his debut album "The Above Ground Sound" of Jake Holmes. Although some concluded that it was about a bad acid trip, Holmes insists the lyrics refer to the effects of a girl's indecision on ending a relationship.
Five Live Yardbirds is the live debut album by English rock band the Yardbirds. It features the group's interpretations of ten American blues and rhythm and blues songs, including their most popular live number, Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning". The album contains some of the earliest recordings with guitarist Eric Clapton.
Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds, or simply Having a Rave Up, is the second American album by English rock group the Yardbirds. It was released in November 1965, eight months after Jeff Beck replaced Eric Clapton on guitar. It includes songs with both guitarists and reflects the group's blues rock roots and their early experimentations with psychedelic and hard rock. The title refers to the driving "rave up" arrangement the band used in several of their songs.
Terry Knight was an American rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter and radio personality, who enjoyed some success in radio, modest success as a singer, but considerable success as the original manager-producer for Grand Funk Railroad and the producer for Bloodrock.
Terry Knight and the Pack was an American garage rock band formed in Flint, Michigan in 1965. The band was signed to the Lucky Eleven label through most of its brief recording career. They produced one national hit with their cover version of the song, "I ". Despite their inability to replicate their success, the band was a frequent attraction in the Michigan rock scene. The Pack was fronted by singer Terry Knight. In 1969 the group disbanded but two members, drummer/vocalist Don Brewer and guitarist Mark Farner, would go on to form another band, Grand Funk Railroad.
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"I Wish You Would" is a song recorded by Chicago blues musician Billy Boy Arnold in 1955. It was developed while Arnold was performing with Bo Diddley and incorporates a Diddley-style rhythm. Called "a timeless Chicago blues classic", "I Wish You Would" is Arnold's best-known song and has been recorded by several artists, including the Yardbirds, who recorded it for their debut single in 1964.
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"Heart Full of Soul" is a song recorded by English rock group the Yardbirds in 1965. Written by Graham Gouldman, it was the Yardbirds' first single after Jeff Beck replaced Eric Clapton as lead guitarist. Released only three months after "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul" reached the Top 10 on the singles charts in the UK, US, and several other countries.
Michael John Hugg is a British musician who was a founding member of the 1960s group Manfred Mann.
The Adventures of the Hersham Boys is an album by punk band Sham 69, released in 1979. It is their most successful album, peaking at No. 8 in the UK.
"Good Morning, School Girl" is a blues standard that has been identified as an influential part of the blues canon. Pre-war Chicago blues vocalist and harmonica pioneer John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson first recorded it in 1937. Subsequently, a variety of artists have recorded versions of the song, usually calling it "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl".
Terry Knight and the Pack is the debut studio album for the American garage rock band, Terry Knight and the Pack. On this record, future Grand Funk Railroad alumni such as Mark Farner, appear. Vocalist Terry Knight wrote the bulk of the 12 tracks, barring the four cover versions.
Mark, Don & Terry: 1966–67 is a November 1972 2-LP set compilation album by the American garage rock band Terry Knight and the Pack released on ABKCO Records in an effort to cash in on the March 1972 Capitol Records double album Mark, Don & Mel: 1969–71 by Grand Funk Railroad. The album has a plain blue cover with green lettering similar to that of the plain black cover with red lettering of the earlier Grand Funk Railroad release. Mark Farner and Don Brewer from Grand Funk had been in Terry Knight and The Pack with Terry Knight, who then managed them until 1972. Knight also managed the Ft. Worth Texas group Bloodrock until mid 1971.
The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarists. The band's other members during 1963–1968 were vocalist/harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja, and bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, with Dreja switching to bass when Samwell-Smith departed in 1966. The band had a string of hits throughout the mid-1960s, including "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul", "Shapes of Things", and "Over Under Sideways Down".
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"I Knew I'd Want You" is a song by the folk rock band the Byrds, written by band member Gene Clark, and first released as the B-side to their 1965 debut single, "Mr. Tambourine Man". It was also later included on their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man.
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