NO DEPOSIT/NO RETURN
anonymous
March 21 2006, 06:10:00 UTC
NOTE: The song of mine that you refer to as coming from the "race records" was "No Deposit/No Return", not "I Still Think About You". "No Deposit/No Return", recorded by a Martha Davis in the late 40s or very early 50s, was in that stack of old, scratchy and dusty 78s that I actually did find in a derelict shack on the outskirts of Houston. I remember thinking I had just won the lottery (except, come to think of it, I don't think there were lotteries back then). Risking ruining my record needle by playing them, I listened to all of them repeatedly. "No Deposit/No Return" was the best in my humble opinion, but I thought it somewhat incomplete. I decided to make it mine. My song takes her verses, changes them around some, and adds an original chorus, plus a little bit faster and different tempo. This was always my very favorite song to perform live, partly because I knew that it came from somewhere really soulful, a place that I, a spoiled white middle class kid, could never have ventured without a guide. It's my "Elvis" song in more ways than one; in style and vocal approach, but most importantly in the sense of allowing me to become an emissary into the wonderful world of black rock and blues. When I included this song on my CD NWXSW, I tried desperately to find out who had actually written the older version of the song. It turns out there have been quite a number of "No Deposit/No Return" songs, but, alas, I did not find this particular one. So I simply gave co-writer credit to M. Davis. If the song ever earned any royalties, which it hasn't, I was determined to put half aside in hopes of eventually providing a monetary thank-you to the original writer... if not Martha herself, maybe some unknown black musician from way-back-when. Whoever you are, thank you for a song I KNOW is cool.
NOTE: The song of mine that you refer to as coming from the "race records" was "No Deposit/No Return", not "I Still Think About You". "No Deposit/No Return", recorded by a Martha Davis in the late 40s or very early 50s, was in that stack of old, scratchy and dusty 78s that I actually did find in a derelict shack on the outskirts of Houston. I remember thinking I had just won the lottery (except, come to think of it, I don't think there were lotteries back then). Risking ruining my record needle by playing them, I listened to all of them repeatedly. "No Deposit/No Return" was the best in my humble opinion, but I thought it somewhat incomplete. I decided to make it mine. My song takes her verses, changes them around some, and adds an original chorus, plus a little bit faster and different tempo. This was always my very favorite song to perform live, partly because I knew that it came from somewhere really soulful, a place that I, a spoiled white middle class kid, could never have ventured without a guide. It's my "Elvis" song in more ways than one; in style and vocal approach, but most importantly in the sense of allowing me to become an emissary into the wonderful world of black rock and blues. When I included this song on my CD NWXSW, I tried desperately to find out who had actually written the older version of the song. It turns out there have been quite a number of "No Deposit/No Return" songs, but, alas, I did not find this particular one. So I simply gave co-writer credit to M. Davis. If the song ever earned any royalties, which it hasn't, I was determined to put half aside in hopes of eventually providing a monetary thank-you to the original writer... if not Martha herself, maybe some unknown black musician from way-back-when. Whoever you are, thank you for a song I KNOW is cool.
Rusty
Reply
Leave a comment