On the Record, Sept. 24
By Susan Pugh on Sep. 24, 2008
By Bradford Brady and John Maron
Q: Who is the lucky woman immortalized in the classic Allman Brothers Band instrumental, “Jessica”?
A: Considered by many to be one of the finest rock instrumentals ever written and an essential road trip song, “Jessica” was written by guitarist Dickey Betts as a tribute to the great gypsy jazz guitarist, Django Reinhardt, and was named after his young daughter. The song appeared on 1973’s “Sisters and Brothers” along with another classic Betts song, “Ramblin’ Man”. Although the album hit No. 1 on the album charts and “Jessica” became a crowd favorite in concert, the single only managed to rise to No. 65 on the singles chart.
Q: Can you tell me the name of the other song sampled in Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long”? Not “Sweet Home Alabama” but the other song from the ’70s.
A: Kid Rock’s summer smash “All Summer Long” borrows heavily from the piano chords of Warren Zevon’s 1978 hit “Werewolves of London” throughout the song’s verses and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1974 hit “Sweet Home Alabama” in the chorus and the piano solo at the end of the song. “All Summer Long” is one of this year’s most popular songs having been in the Top 40 on the country, pop and modern rock charts. It also reached No. 1 in seven foreign countries.
Q: Can you guys tell me who does the music from the TNT show “The Closer?” It is bluesy with a bad to the bone slide guitar. Is it available on CD?
A: James S. Levine, not to be confused with James L. Levine, the American conductor and pianist, composes the music used in TNT’s hit police drama, “The Closer. “His other credits include music for the FX show “Nip/Tuck”, and the films “Madagascar”, “Pearl Harbor,” and “Something’s Gotta Give.” He has won BMI music awards for his music. We have not been able to find any information about the commercial availability of his music.
Q: Can you tell me the meaning behind the song “Badge”, particularly the title since the word never appears in the song?
A: “Badge” was written by Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in 1968 and was featured on Cream’s last studio album, 1969’s “Goodbye”. In a 1977 interview with Crawdaddy magazine, Harrison stated: “I helped Eric write ‘Badge’ you know. Each of them had to come up with a song for that “Goodbye” album and Eric didn’t have his written. We were working across from each other and I was writing the lyrics down and we came to the middle part so I wrote ‘Bridge.’ Eric read it upside down and cracked up laughing-’What’s “Badge”? he said.” So there you have it. The song’s title is the result of Harrison’s sloppy handwriting.
What’s the name of that song? Where are they now? What does that lyric mean? Send questions to or visit http://www.musicontherecord.com. Brady and Maron are freelance music writers based in Raleigh, N.C.
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