I’ll Slip Away, produced by Harry Balk, was released as a single by Impact Records in the USA in August 1967. It was credited to Rod Riguez. This track was re-recorded in Detroit in 1972. The b-side was You Got To Admit It.
SugarMan.org
And you can keep your symbols of success Then I’ll pursue my own happiness And you can keep your clocks and routines Then I’ll go mend all my shattered dreams
Rod Riguez, August 1967
Rod Riguez could make a name for himself with this bluesy, mid-tempo rock ballad. Keep it in sight.
Cashbox, 23 September 1967
The 1967 single features more upfront Byrds-type jangly guitar, vocal harmonies and a subdued organ in the background, when compared to the early ’70s version. The strings that are so prominent on the later version are absent on the 1967 version.
Brian Currin
I’ll Slip Away
And I’ll forget about the girl that said no Then I’ll tell who I want where to go And I’ll forget about your lies and deceit And your attempts to be so discreet
Maybe today, yeah I’ll slip away
And you can keep your symbols of success Then I’ll pursue my own happiness And you can keep your clocks and routines Then I’ll go mend all my shattered dreams
Maybe today, yeah I’ll slip away
Cause you’ve been down on me for too long And for too long I just put you on Now I’m tired of lying and I’m sick of trying Cause I’m losing who I really am And I’m not choosing to be like them
And if you get bored or got loneliness Or it’s dislike for me you express I won’t care if you’re right or you’re wrong I won’t care cause you see I’ll be gone
I’ll Slip Away / You’d Like To Admit It (Impact 1031) August 1967 (USA)
Cash Box, September 23, 1967 Rod Riguez could make a name for himself with this bluesy, mid-tempo rock ballad. Keep it in sight. Flip: “You’d Like To Admit It”.
These 2 songs were released as a single in 1967 and credited to Rod Riguez. The lyrics for ‘You’d Like To Admit It’ were transcribed by Glenn Coggin in January 2005.
The 1967 version of I’ll Slip Away was released on The Best Of Impact Records CD (Collectables COL-5883) in November 1997. Also released as a bonus track on Sugar Man: The Best Of Rodriguez (South Africa) in September 2005.
The 1967 single features more upfront Byrds-type jangly guitar, vocal harmonies and a subdued organ in the background, when compared to the early 70’s version. The strings that are so prominent on the later version are absent on the 1967 version.
I’ll Slip Away: As far as the Rodriguez Impact single, “I’ll Slip Away” is concerned, I would highly suspect that both sides of that single were probably recorded at Terra Shirma Studios, since most of all of the later Impact records were recorded there. But it is possible that it may have been recorded at United Sound Studios in Detroit, since Harry Balk recorded many of his artists there as well.
The “B” side of the Impact 45, “I’ll Slip Away” is a song titled, “You’d Like To Admit It”. Both sides were produced by Harry Balk (the owner of Impact). To my knowledge, the record was only issued as a “promotional” 45, and not sold commercially to the public (see note below). The record is “near-impossible” to find, due to the fact that few copies were pressed, and Impact records went out of business shortly after the record was released. By the way, the song, “You’d Like To Admit It” was also written by Rodriguez.
I’m afraid that I can’t help you out with the lyrics to the song (read them here),”You’d Like To Admit It”, because I don’t own a copy of the single. In my many years of collecting records, I have only seen ONE copy of that record for sale, and it was much too expensive for me to buy. (IT WAS ABOUT $175.00 U.S. DOLLARS!)…
— Jerry Schollenberger, “Best of Impact Records” CD producer, May 1999
I can confirm that a regular (NOT a promo) release of Impact #1031 does exist. A speculation to the contrary exists on your Sixto R. page. Thanx for the info on this artist that you supplied; you have added to my enjoyment of record collecting, and listening.
— Steve Jones, Canada, August 2003
I’LL SLIP AWAY
And I’ll forget about the girl that said no Then I’ll tell who I want where to go And I’ll forget about your lies and deceit And your attempts to be so discreet
Maybe today, yeah I’ll slip away
And you can keep your symbols of success Then I’ll pursue my own happiness And you can keep your clocks and routines Then I’ll go mend all my shattered dreams
Maybe today, yeah I’ll slip away
Cause you’ve been down on me for too long And for too long I just put you on Now I’m tired of lying and I’m sick of trying Cause I’m losing who I really am And I’m not choosing to be like them
And if you get bored or got loneliness Or it’s dislike for me you express I won’t care if you’re right or you’re wrong I won’t care cause you see I’ll be gone
You were the girl that laughed when I tried You were the one that smiled when I sighed You didn’t like my style or my songs Now tables turned and you find you were wrong
So when I see you again I’ll just grin Cos’ I’m glad that you had better sense than to mess up my life.
You haven’t changed and I know that you won’t You stare at my back, then pretend that you don’t You were too cute and correct to be mine Now I’m kinda glad that we didn’t find time
So when I see you again I’ll just grin And you know why it is, cos’ I’m glad that you’re his and not mine
I’m in the mood to reveal how I feel You weren’t that sharp, but you had some appeal Now there’s a hint of regret in your eyes But you won’t tell me, and your smile’s your disguise
So when I see you again I’ll just grin Cos’ I’m happy I’m here and that you’re way the heck over there!
1. Bus Station – Fly Paper Jet
2. Hammerhead Hotel – Falling Mirror
3. Alison – Dolly Rockers
4. Getting Better – Scabby Annie
5. Shock Time For Rock – The Popguns
6. Morrison Hotel – Jack Hammer
7. Werewolf In The House – Falling Mirror
8. Kamikasi – McCully Workshop
9. Mucking About In The Dungeons All Day – Radio Rats
10. Monster From The Bog – Psycho Reptiles
11. Bellville Rock City – New World Inside
12. Psycho Bitch – Toxic Shame
13. Boxstar Kitty – Three Bored White Guys
14. Blue Eyed Devil – Th’ Damned Crows
15. Psycho-Babble – Lancaster Band
16. Britney Spears – Tweak
17. Babydoll Blues – The Ragdolls
18. Psycho – Them Tornados
19. Woo Hoo! – Fire Through The Window
20. Baby Girl You’re Gonna Burn! – Peachy Keen
21. Drakilla – The Psykotix
22. Surfin’ With The Goth Gang – Martin Rocka And The Sick Shop
23. Krokodil – Retro Dizzy
24. Buccaneer – Moyawetu
25. Beethoven Is Dying – Koos Kombuis En Die Warmblankes
26. Only Yesterday – Sharkbrother
27. Boomtown Hotel – Valiant Swart
28. Kitchener – Piet Botha
29. Praha Paradise (2007 version) – Ernestine Deane feat Tim Parr
30. Die Gipsy In Jou Oë – Anna Davel
31. Farewell To Gypsy – Bonekey
Join me on my Vagabond Blues show on www.AllJazzRadio.co.za every Thursday afternoon from 4pm to 6pm (SA time). I play a broad spectrum of music in the blues genre, with a special focus on South African blues. – Brian Currin
Extract from an article I wrote in February 2007
I was born in South Africa 4 days after “The Day The Music Died” according to Don McLean (you work it out!). I was born and bred in a home filled with music (mainly Church Hymns and Showtunes) but soon discovered in my pre-teen years that I had absolutely no talent for singing or playing an instrument. I do play a mean air guitar solo though – I usually play a Black Fender Stratocaster Original Air Guitar. I also play Air Organ – a Hammond B3 of course – and recently I’ve started learning to play Air Harmonica.
Since I had this overwhelming passion for music, but not the skills to perform it, I started collecting music as well as information about music and also statistics and lists. Finding musical information in Apartheid-era South Africa was difficult to say the least, but my passion knew no bounds and I persevered.
In 1973 I heard the ‘Made in Japan’ version of ‘Smoke Of The Water’ by Deep Purple and my fate as a Rock Fan was sealed. I always thought that when I grew up I would lose my love of Rock and get into Classical and Jazz as “older” people did. Never happened! What did happen is that I just added and added more styles, types and genres to my musical tastes, though Classic Rock is still my first love and Deep Purple is still my favourite group. After listening to Purple and Zeppelin and Tull and Clapton and such-like I wanted to hear the original blues that inspired them … and a whole new world of discovering the Blues masters opened up for me.
Blues From The Deep South (Of Africa)
Because of South Africa’s unique geographical position and cosmopolitan population, there is really no such thing as a single defining style of “South African Music”. We seem to have everything here on the Southern Tip of Africa including African Tribal music, Zulu Township Jazz, Country and Western, Death Metal, Electronica and so much more, all with their own clearly-defined (and sometimes overlapping) niche markets. However the blues seems to be very popular in South Africa amongst most population groups, though I’ve never seen any research to support this theory of mine.
Blues in South Africa includes a wide variety of genres including Jazz Blues, Folk Blues, Traditional Blues, Blues Rock, Acoustic Blues and even blues sung in the language of Afrikaans which for want of a better name we will call Afrikaans Blues. So really South African Blues is just a term to mean Blues played by South African musicians. Cover versions of old blues classics abound, but there are also a large number of original compositions written in a variety of blues styles. Very few South African Blues musicians actually concentrate on playing the Blues exclusively, but rather play a mix of Blues, Rock, Blues-Rock and Country Rock.
Join me on my Vagabond Blues show on www.AllJazzRadio.co.za every Thursday afternoon from 4pm to 6pm (SA time). I play a broad spectrum of music in the blues genre, with a special focus on South African blues. – Brian Currin
It was reported by many reviewers and re-issue liner note writers that the real name of the artist known as Ramases (who recorded the cult classic album Space Hymns in 1971) was Martin Raphael.
However in May 2012, Dorothy, better known to Ramases fans as Sel (or Selket), advised that her late husband, Ramases (real name Barrington Frost) and Martin Raphael were not the same person.
I would like to clear up the confusion between Ramases (Barrington Frost), born in Sheffield, and Martin Raphael who played the sitar on Space Hymns. I do not know where he was born or where he lived. I wish to confirm that Ramases and Martin Raphael were not the same person. I do not know how this misunderstanding has come about. I would be interested to hear any comments. Love and light from Selket. (Dorothy Frost, wife of Ramases)
Dorothy’s message was posted on the Space Hymns website and Facebook Page, and actor and musician, Peter Stormare responded with some information after listening to the studio out-take tapes.
Martin Raphael’s nickname was Ralph to start with….
On one of the out-takes the engineer… (Gouldman, I think) talks over the intercom to the guy on the floor … you think it’s to Ram but actually Ram isn’t even there … it’s an overdub… (track is obviously Molecular Delusion, Mr Raphael’s only contribution).
“Hey Ralph” And it sounds as if Ram is replying, but that’s a previous take…
It’s very clear on our out-take…
“Ralph” Martin Raphael is then the only one talking…
Ram did show and sing him the chord-changes, but when the sitar is laid down on the next take Ram has left.
Also the famous “Fuck” heard on Molecular Delusions is clearly not Ram but Martin Raphael … he thought the chorus was coming and plays that note but there is still 8 bars of verse to go … he goes back to the verse after a bar.
In 2006 Swedish film producer Malik Bendjelloul visited Cape Town, South Africa as part of a world-spanning journey searching for inspiration for a new film. What he found was a story that was so unbelievable that if a scriptwriter had written it as a piece of fiction, it would have been rejected as being too far-fetched.
‘Searching For Sugar Man’ took three years to complete and was filmed in Cape Town and Detroit, and other South African and US locations. The film had its international premiere on Thursday 19th January 2012, at the Sundance Film Festival held in Park City, Utah, USA as a representative of the World Documentary section.
“Rodriguez was the greatest ’70s U.S. rock icon who never was. His albums [Cold Fact and Coming From Reality] were critically well-received, but sales bombed, and he faded away into obscurity among rumors of a gruesome death. However, as fate would have it, a bootleg copy of his record made its way to South Africa, where his music became a phenomenal success. In a country suppressed by apartheid, his anti-establishment message connected with the people.
When his second album finally gets released on CD in South Africa, two fans take it as a sign, deciding to look into the mystery of how Rodriguez died and what happened to all of the profits from his album sales. Since very little information about the singer exists, they meet many obstacles until they uncover a shocking revelation that sets off a wild chain of events that has to be seen to be believed. ‘Searching For Sugar Man’ is a story of hope, inspiration, and the resonating power of music”.
After the initial screening, Chris Lee from the Daily Beast wrote: “Following the rise, seeming demise, and re-emergence of an obscure but influential Mexican-American folk singer named Rodriguez, the movie premiered Thursday to tears, cheers, and a standing ovation from festival attendees”.
‘Searching For Sugar Man’ garnered two awards, The ‘World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary’ and ‘World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize for its Celebration of the Artistic Spirit’. To receive both an audience award and a critics award is a very rare occurrence indeed and had only happened once before since Sundance was founded in 1981 by Robert Redford. It was also one the first films sold at the Festival, being snapped up by Sony Pictures Classics.
Rodriguez (who turns 70 this year in July) attended the festival and appeared with Malik Bendjelloul and Sugarman.org’s Stephen “Sugar” Segerman, after every screening. He also performed at the packed-out Sundance ASCAP Music Café. (see video below)
The Sundance Film Festival success of ‘Searching For Sugarman’ is another milestone in the strange and wonderful story of the man known, to his ever increasing fan base around the world, simply as Rodriguez.
As a teenager in the 70’s I compiled cassette tapes of my favourite songs. Much later on I compiled CD-Rs, and even later iTunes playlists on my computer.
And now YouTube videos on a WordPress blog.
So I am still doing the same thing I always loved, making my own compilations, just the technology has changed.
Greetings Brian, I am a fan of SA music, particularly 60’s & 70’s. Over the years I have collected a lot of MP3’s but am still missing some classics i.e
The Staccatos
Billy Forrest
The Peanut Butter Conspiracy
The Gonks
The Dealians
Omega Limited
Bernie Brown
Neville Whitmill
The A-Cads
I would dearly love to obtain the music above and have no problem about purchasing these MP3’s but would like you to advise me how I can do this? Please help!
Thanks
Gary
Brian wrote:
Most of this music is very hard to find on CD and even more difficult as legal MP3 downloads.
Original vinyl albums can often be found at Mabu Vinyl.
More info on most of these artists can be found on the SA Rock Encyclopedia website:
Music Fan, Anton van Staden, has scanned this booklet issued by LM Radio reflecting their top hits of 1973.
The back cover was dedicated to an advert for a famous cigarette brand, but since I am not sure of the legalities of advertising tobacco products, I decided to omit it.
Extracts below are taken from sleeve notes for the Hits Of LM Radio 2CD set released by PT Music in 2009.
Do you remember a time in South Africa when there was no TV and no internet? Hard to believe that there ever was such a time, and that listening to the radio was actually one of the best ways to discover the latest and greatest music. The DJ’s cared about the music and they even had theme tunes. Springbok Radio was OK, but the station that teenagers really embraced with enthusiasm was LM Radio, based out of Lourenco Marques in neighbouring Mozambique.
LM Radio was privately owned and operated, and served a vast audience of young people by transmitting pop and rock music which was not heard on the state-controlled SABC stations. The music was everything and DJs like David Gresham, Darryl Jooste, Long John Berks, Peter De Nobrega (and many, many more), were real personalities who played music that they really liked and the fans appreciated it.
The radio station in Lourenco Marques first started broadcasting in the 1930s, but it was in the late 1950s that it underwent a major format change to cater for the younger generation.
The LMRadio.org website says it best; “LM Radio, as it was popularly known, was renowned for its Top Twenty chart show, the LM Hit Parade, and played a major role in promoting South African artists and their music.”
In 1975 LM Radio became Radio 5, and then 5FM, but the spark of independence was no longer there and whole generations have grown up in South Africa without hearing music radio at its best. – Brian Currin
Message: Hi Brian – We have been searching for 25 odd years for the John Ireland Thinking Aloud and John Ireland albums!!
Then I stumbled across your site quite by chance – fantastic website!!!!
Brian do you know where I can buy these two albums – We named my daughter Nicole after the one song and she is 21 and has never heard it!!!!!
I would really appreciate your help
Warm regards
Keith
Brian wrote:
John Ireland albums have not been released on CD, but old records can be found at shops such as Mabu Vinyl in Cape Town.
He was born John Griffith on the 24th August 1954 in Ireland (some sources say Boksburg). He attended Boksburg High School in the mid-70s. In 1977 he and Jonathan Handley formed the band Slither and were based in Springs. He studied medicine with Jonathan at Wits University and they both became doctors. Slither later became Radio Rats. John has musical training in classical piano to an advanced level and also plays guitar and drums. – SA Rock Encyclopedia
Message: Hello Brian … I am trying to find out who wrote the Joanna Field song “DON’T FLY TOO HIGH” … and i believe you may be able to help? If so … I would really be obliged as I have just recorded this song and require the writers details. I hope you can help. JADE HURLEY OAM … You can reference me here … Website: www.jadehurley.net
Brian wrote:
“Don’t Fly Too High” was written by J. Frankfurter and R. Jung with English lyrics by T & J Möhring. Published by Gallo / GEMA.
SugarMan.org 