Rush ~ Summertime Blues ~ R30 Tour ~ [HD 1080p] ~ 9/24/2004 at the Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany

Details

Description

Recorded live on September 24, 2004 at the Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany from Rush's R30: 30th Anniversary Tour. This is from the Blu-ray version of R30, containing the complete concert, which was released on December 8, 2009 in the US, and in late 2013 in Europe. "Summertime Blues" is a song co-written and recorded by American rockabilly artist Eddie Cochran. It was written by Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Explaining the inspiration for this classic, Capehart said, "There had been a lot of songs about summer, but none about the hardships of summer." With that idea and a guitar lick from Cochran, they knocked out the song in 45 minutes. This would turn out to be Eddie Cochran’s highest charting single of his career. He died only two years later at the age of 21 after a road accident. Cochran remains an icon of Rockabilly.
Originally a single B-side, it was recorded on March 28, 1958 at Gold Star Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. Eddie Cochran sang both the vocal and bass vocal (the “work-a-late” portions, Cochran's tribute to the Kingfish character from the Amos and Andy television series), played all the guitar parts, and added the hand clapping with possibly Sharon Sheeley. Connie 'Guybo' Smith played the electric bass and Earl Palmer drums. The song was released on July 21, 1958 and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 29, 1958 and number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. It has been covered by many artists, including being a number-one hit for country music artist Alan Jackson, and scoring notable hits in versions by The Who, Blue Cheer and Brian Setzer, the last of whom recorded his version for the 1987 film La Bamba, where he portrayed Cochran. Jimi Hendrix performed it in concert. The 1958 Liberty Records single by Eddie Cochran was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and the song is ranked number 73 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Canadian rock band Rush released their cover as a single on May 21, 2004. It was later released on their cover EP Feedback released two months later on 29 June. It appears as the first track on the EP. Their version of "Summertime Blues" was also used as an official theme song for WWE's Summerslam PPV event in 2004.

This video is Rush's live recording on September 24, 2004 at the Festhalle Frankfurt, Germany from Rush's R30: 30th Anniversary Tour.

This song describes the “hardships of summer”, as co-writer Jerry Capehart, the manger of Eddie Cochran, puts it.

The young character described in this song struggles to deal with the hardships and duties of work and misses the pleasure and freedom of earlier summers. He exaggerates his problems – jokingly stating to seek help from a congressman and even the United Nations.

The original lyrics by Eddie Cochran & Jerry Capehart differ from the Rush version. The original lyrics are as follows:

Well, I'm-a gonna raise a fuss, I'm-a gonna raise a holler
About a-workin' all summer just-a try ta' pull a dollar
Every time I call my baby, try to get a date,
My boss says, "No dice son, you gotta work late."
Sometimes, I wonder what I'm-a gonna do
But there ain't no cure for the Summertime blues

Oh well, my mom and papa told me, "Son, you gotta make some money,
If you wanna use the car to go a-ridin' next Sunday."
Well, I didn't go to work, told the boss I was sick
"Well, you can't use the car 'cause you didn't work a lick."
Sometimes I wonder what I'm-a gonna do
But there ain't no cure for the Summertime blues

I'm gonna take two weeks, gonna have a fine vacation
I'm gonna take my problem to the United Nations
Well, I called my congressman and he said quote:
"I'd like to help you son but you're too young to vote."
Sometimes I wonder what I'm-a gonna do
But there ain't no cure for the Summertime blues


Geddy Lee - Bass , Synthesizers, Vocals
Alex Lifeson - Guitar, Bass Pedal Synth
Neil Peart – Drums, Percussion

#MysticRhythmsLive