05.01 vinyl podcast - Fanny
On this show I play a cover of The Beatles’ “Hey Bulldog” by Fanny. This is an absolutely raucous version of the track, with fantastic drum work and some really raw guitar sounds. Fanny is often referred to as the first all-female rock and roll groups signed to a major label. That title is certainly open for debate, but Fanny played their own instruments, wrote the vast majority of their own songs, and rocked really, really hard. This track was recorded in 1971, and still sounds urgent and powerful today, I have to imagine that it blew minds when it was originally released.
The core of Fanny were the Millington sisters, June and Jean. Born in Manila, Phillipines to a U.S. serviceman, the girls moved to California at 10 or 11. In high school they started playing gigs together, soon after forming a quartet called The Svelts. The Svelts played Motown and other contemporary hits, and worked clubs in California extensively for a couple of years. In 1968 the sisters Millington decided to do music full-time, and changed the name of the group to Wild Honey. The next year they auditioned for producer Richard Perry, who secured a deal for them with Reprise Records.
“Hey Bulldog” is from Fanny’s third album, Fanny Hill, which features a great range of songs, from tender, piano-driven ballads to raunchy rock. This track represents a bit of a diversion from my typical format, in that it is currently commercially available. None of Fanny’s five albums are available on their own, but Rhino Records recently collected them all, plus other exclusive tracks in one of their limited-edition handmade box sets. It’s a bit of an investment, but it’s a great collection of an oft-overlooked group who deserves as much attention for their musicianship and songwriting as they do for their pioneering role in rock.
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May 8th, 2005 at 8:05 pm
I hestitate to say this because maybe it’s obvious but… if you’re going to remake a Beatles song, it better be very different from the original. Because otherwise, the original is going to be better and the copy is going to suffer by comparison.
This is one of my very favorite obscure Beatles songs. It’s a great rocker, with a terrific riff, and most casual rock fans (and even casual Beatles fans) don’t know it. It’s practically the only reason to own the original Yellow Submarine soundtrack, which only had 4 original Beatles tunes and a bunch of orchestral music (as opposed to the 1999 remake).
The Fanny Hill verison just isn’t all that different. Girls voices are substituted for John Lennon’s. There’s a nice guitar solo. Otherwise, it’s the same song, but not quite as good.
Sorry. I’m a big fan of women rockers — Chrissie Hynde is among my all-time favorites — but this just didn’t float my boat.
May 11th, 2005 at 9:49 pm
wow! i dig