“Greetings from Groovesboro” by The Groove
credits and liner notes from Rich Lerner
Mellow Down Easy
John Hammond Jr. has recorded a lot of albums that I really love. One of his early ones is called “Southern Fried” and it includes a blistering version of this tune written by Willie Dixon. We changed the rhythm and worked up our own arrangement and it has been in our rotation ever since. I came up with a new third verse for our recorded version.
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums-Sam Seawell
Piano-Craig Pannell
Freaky Scary
This tune began as a spontaneous riff I started playing to kick off rehearsal one night. The band fell right in. Craig came up with the chord changes and I eventually nailed down the lyrics. The song goes over great at our gigs. I must stress that the song is not autobiographical as I have no ex-wife. You will have to guess who this song is about just like Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain”
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell, Sammy Smith
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums-Sam Seawell
Organ-Craig Pannell
Viboraytahh
Driving in the car one day, it occurred to me that ‘greater’ rhymes with ‘vibrator’ and I thought ‘now there is an idea for a song’. I got home and picked up the guitar and the song just totally came to me all at once. All bravado and braggadocio. We really lean into it live!
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith, Bob Sykes
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums-Sam Seawell
Piano-Craig Pannell
You Got A Rocker
More bravado, a rockin’ little love song to the old ball and chain.
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell, Terry Vun Cannon
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums-Sam Seawell
Harmony (For Humanity)
The song was written collectively by the whole band. The seed of the song was just a spontaneous warm-up jam that developed into an instrumental performance piece. It only blossomed into a real song when the lyrics, a bridge and a variation were added. This song was inspired by the slogan for Daniel Pearl Music Days. It is dedicated to the memory of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was murdered in Pakistan and to the idea that music has the power to cross cultural boundaries and bring people together.
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell, Sammy Smith, Mandy Lerner
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith, Bob Sykes
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums-Sam Seawell
Piano-Craig Pannell
We Bid You Goodnight
We’ve been ending our shows with this forever. I first heard it from the Grateful Dead who heard it from a recording of a Bahamian folk song. I adopted and adapted it for my own use many, many years ago. Sammy and I used to sing it to end our acoustic coffee house shows. The Groove always close our shows with this so it seemed appropriate to put it at the end of this disc.
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell, Sammy Smith
Shakedown Street
This tune has become one of our signature songs. We always look forward to playing it live and it always gets people dancing. We usually stretch it out beyond 10 or 11 minutes.
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell, Sammy Smith, Dave Talley
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith, Bob Sykes
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums-Sam Seawell
Keyboard-Craig Pannell
Juke Joint Jumpin
I came up with the guitar figure just playing around on the acoustic guitar. The next night we had a rehearsal and I started playing the riff on electric as a warm up jam that stretched out about ten minutes. Upon hearing playback of the jam, I could see where some lyrics could fit nicely within the music and the recurring title refrain chorus popped right into my head. The verses soon followed. Craig came up with the bridge and we started performing the song at our shows where it has become a real crowd pleaser. It really sums up a lot of our weekend nights: roll in-set up-play late-pack it up. Months later I went back and listened to the recording of that original jam and found that it really bears little resemblance to the song that developed from it.
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell, Sammy Smith
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith, Bob Sykes, Craig Pannell
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums, Percussion-Sam Seawell
Organ-Sam Seawell
Piano-Craig Pannell
Lap Steel-Terry Vun Cannon
Lord Have Mercy (On My Soul)
I was fooling around on a strange and unique instrument we call the “Banana Bass”, hand made by our old buddy “Wish”, when I came up with this bass line and song title to fit it. I wanted to record it as an experiment just for fun and give it a real gone Tom Waits feel. I really did not think the band would ever play it live but the guys liked it and wanted to work it up. Little did I know that it would become a mainstay of our live repertoire and another new crowd favorite.
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith
Acoustic Bass- Rich Lerner
Drums, Percussion-Sam Seawell
Shaker-Dave Talley
Piano-Craig Pannell
Hey Bobby Dobo
To my ear, the name Bobby Dobo has a very rhythmic quality that reminded me of Bo Diddley. I decided to make up a song about our buddy and give it that Bo Diddley beat. There is still a lot of gold to be mined in those classic rock and roll rhythms and riffs. I think of this one as a sister song to “Willie and the Hand Jive”
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell, Sammy Smith
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums, Percussion-Sam Seawell
Piano-Craig Pannell
Lap Steel-Terry Vun Cannon
Done Got Old
There is an album Sam turned us onto by Buddy Guy that we all just love called “Sweet Tea”. It starts with this great solo acoustic song written by Junior Kimbrough and then goes very heavy hard drivin’ electric for the rest of the disc. My idea was to come up with a heavy electric arrangement of the acoustic song. Our version blends a little Muddy Waters/Howlin’ Wolf with a pinch of good old Grateful Dead.
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith, Terry Vun Cannon
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums-Sam Seawell
Piano- Craig Pannell
Crazy Lover
Craig wrote this song a long time ago. We used to do it a lot in the early 90’s when he played guitar with us. It was always one of Dave’s favorites and a real crowd pleaser. When Craig rejoined in 04 on keyboards, Dave demanded that we work it back up. We’ve been hittin’ it hard ever since.
Vocals-Craig Pannell
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith, Craig Pannell
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums-Sam Seawell
Piano-Craig Pannell
Play With Fire
We really got the idea for this from Gov’t Mule but our version does not sound much like theirs. I suggested the delayed phrasing between lines of the chorus. This was recorded live at rehearsal with only the vocal doubles added later. We get very very spacey on this one with Sammy channeling his best Jerry G all the way home.
Vocals-Rich Lerner, Craig Pannell
Guitars- Rich Lerner, Sammy Smith, Bob Sykes
Bass-Dave Talley
Drums-Sam Seawell
Organ-Craig Pannell
Greetings from Groovesboro Lyrics
Juke Joint Jumpin
R.Lerner
Juke Joint Jumpin -Lights On Tonight
Juke Joint Jumpin -All Night Long to The Broad Daylight (2)
Well it’s about 12 miles, Down on Route 8
They got a neon sign, It says “Open Late”
The beer’s ice cold, And the girls red hot
It’ a funky little place, That time forgot
……………..CH
Well we pull on in, Set up again
Then we rock the house, ‘Til who knows when
Raise the Roof, Put on the Dog
Skin the Cat, Smoke that Hog
……………..CH
Well it don’t take long, To work up a sweat
Now it’s 3 am, And we aint done yet
Well you can free your soul, When you move your feet
We gonna take ya higher. Ridin’ on that beat
……………..CH
Lord Have Mercy (On My Soul)
R.Lerner
Oh baby it’s been too long
Tell me where did I go wrong
Feel like I’m losing control
Lord Have Mercy (On My Soul)
A sweet chaquita in a little black dress
Lord help me I’m such a mess
I gotta rock I gotta roll
Lord Have Mercy (On My Soul)
All my plans are up in smoke
Might as well have another toke
Three leaf salad in a nut brown bowl
Lord Have Mercy (On My Soul)
I’m goin’ downtown getting’ all liquored up
Hold up the bar gonna drink down my cup
That’s my baby dancin’ on that pole
Lord Have Mercy (On My Soul)
I’m a junkie and she’s my habit
I take her home cause I just gots to have it
I wanna taste that sweet jelly roll
Lord Have Mercy (On My Soul)
Left her a message on her mobile phone
I never meant to get so stoned
When I wake up the sky’s black as coal
Lord Have Mercy (On My Soul)
Freaky Scary
R.Lerner
Well I have to look around, At every face I see
There’s a killer on the loose, And she’s comin’ after me
I had to leave the city, Now I’m livin’ on the lam
Hopin’ that woman, Won’t find where I am
She got mean streak, As wide as the Nile
And her memory’s longer, Than a country mile
That crazy woman- She got me runnin’ for my life
She’s freaky scary- She’s my ex-wife
I never saw it comin’, She hit me from behind
I was lucky to escape, With my life last time
So I got a new location, And I’m layin’ low
And I’m lookin’ out now, Everywhere I go
That crazy woman- She got me runnin’ for my life
She’s freaky scary – She’s my ex-wife
Well they let her out of prison, And she started drinkin’ wine
Now she’s all wound up, Got trouble in mind
She can drink like a fish, And she’s mean as a snake
And I won’t last long, If I hesitate
That crazy woman- She got me runnin’ for my life
She’s freaky scary –
Hello honey please put down that knife
Viboraytahh
R.Lerner
I can hum all day
I can buzz all night
Give me half a chance
I will treat you right
If you try me once
You won’t leave me alone
I give you what you want
And I’m flesh and bone…..CH
CH:
My love is greater than your viboraytahh (twice)
When you turn me on
I won’t run low
Baby all night long
I’m a go go go
I got the velvet touch
And I got high speed
I can love you much
And give you what you need…..CH
(repeat first verse)
My love is greater than your viboraytahh
I’ll see ya later bring your viboraytahh
You Got A Rocker
R.Lerner
Well you coulda had a lawyer, You coulda married a doctor
Or you coulda had a banker, But instead You Got A Rocker
Hey Hey You Got A Rocker, Yeah Yeah Yeah You Got A Rocker
Well I don’t need a briefcase, Just an amplifier
And I don’t need an airplane, To take you higher
Hey Hey You Got A Rocker, Yeah Yeah Yeah You Got A Rocker
You Got A Rocker baby, Lets head for the show
Rockin’ and Rollin’ honey, It’s good for the soul
Well I don’t need a necktie, Just a strong backbeat
Cuz I know what it takes, To knock you off your feet
Hey Hey You Got A Rocker, Yeah Yeah Yeah You Got A Rocker
So when my baby can’t sleep, And she don’t feel right
Well I hold her in my arms, And I rock her all night
Hey Hey You Got A Rocker, Yeah Yeah Yeah You Got A Rocker
You Got A Rocker baby, Lets head for the show
Rockin’ and Rollin’ honey, It’s good for the soul
(repeat first verse and double chorous)