HeyBaby-Song Descriptions

the Fabulous HeyBaby Band

From the 1991 Paramount Theater:

The Letter - Joe Cocker version
One of our strong numbers from the time, this track features the Hey Baby horn section in it's full glory. The amazing thing about this group was not only its staying power, but in the minor miracle of people-chemistry. No member of this band (in my opinion) was an outstanding performer by themselves. They were all quite good, but there were no shining levels of musicianship on the level of Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, or David Sanborn. But when this particular group of individuals got together, there was a solid group of musicians that bonded like a chemical element to form something greater in sum than its many parts. That chemistry is what got people to come see us all those years, it's what held the group together, and it's what allowed us to perform some of the song we did that other groups don't touch.
Singer - Jimmy, solos: trumpet - J.J., tenor sax - Bruce

Who's Makin' Love - Blues Brothers version
A fun, upbeat number, also featuring the horn section. Of note, George's guitar work really shines here.
Singer - Jimmy

25 Miles - Edwin Starr
Almost set to a "march tempo", this song showcases Jimmy's powerful vocals. At the time, the band housed members from age 20 (me) to 43 (Jimmy). But don't let age fool you - Jimmy was able to do the James Brown drop-splits in which he would drop from the standing position into a split and then "pop" back up again. One amusing night, we were playing a gig where he dropped, and continued singing frmo the split position... he got "stuck".
Singer - Jimmy

Cold Sweat - James Brown
The Hey Baby horns were well received not only for their musical ability, but for the choreography. Even though we often had only a few feet to move on a cramped stage (eight guys will easily cramp many stages!), our horns were usually in motion between hits, adding life and vibrancy to the show.
Singer - Jimmy, solos: tenor sax - Bruce "Mezzio" Peteres

I'll Go Crazy - James Brown
This one features some of the backup singing talent of the group.
Singer - Jimmy, solos: tenor sax - Bruce, guitar - George

Outta Sight - Rare Earth version of the Temptations original
You can really hear teh bass work of Don Diego on this one. Don was known for putting his fellow bandmates on "probation" if they didn't "respect the Don". A typical show of respect would be Don asking "Are you honored to be in the Hey Baby Band?" If one didn't answer correctly, they were put on "probation". For messing up a song, one might find "double probation". And if you REALLY ticked him off, "triple probation!!!" I'm not sure he ever actually threw anyone out of the band, but it added an element of fun as people jockeyed for "full member status" and tried to get off probation.
Singer - Jimmy, solos: guitar - George

Hard to Handle - Otis Redding
Sure - most people would say Black Crows when they hear this song title, but we tried to do Otis proud, so it'll sound a little different with horns added.
Singer - Jimmy

She's Not There - the Zombies
This is one of those Santana-like songs in which every member of the band picked up a piece of percussion to add to the whole experience. From wood blocks, to tamborines, to cowbells, to steel drums, every member (and usually John the Roadie too!) played. George takes a solo in this one, and while he wasn't particularly known for his finger work, he was one of the best comp-guitarists I've ever heard, tastefully filling chords into each song so that they sounded "just right". His sound was identical to other guitarists of that period because he played on identical equipment. He is possibly the most underrated memebr of the group.
Singer - Jimmy, solos: guitar - George

Land of 1000 Dances - Mountain
This song is great, featuring backup vocals, horns, and audience participation. Comically, though, halfway through this song, Jimmy's mic cut out (wireless was fairly new back then) and he had to hustle to another stage mic to keep rolling until the sound people could get him fixed up. Also, you can really hear the drumwork of Dave on this track. He was never a "flashy" drummer, but he kept time like a machine, and he'd practice and practice a fill or solo that he heard from original recordings until it was perfect.
Singer - Jimmy, solos: bari sax - Mike (yay, I got a solo!)

Soul Man - Sam & Dave
Later made famous by the Blues Brothers, this song is a classic. For a break, George takes over singing while also playing guitar, and Jimmy switches to trumpet.
Singer - George

Rock n' Roll - artist unknown
Like other members of the band, Bruce steps up tot he mic here to give Jimmy a break. The keyboardist and sax-player had an afection for wearing actual blue-suede-shoes. I'd never seen anyone actually HAVE them.
Singer - Bruce, solos: guitar - George

Sex Machine - James Brown
We did a lot of JB tunes, but this one was performed by J.J. He only had lead vocals on this one and another tune by Al Green, but he has a different quality of voice that adds a lot to a show. J.J. - you are missed, man. As you'd say to me - "It's your world!" In those days, it wasn't uncommon for us to perform close to FOUR HOURS worth of music at a night club - that's about four sets (with breaks, of course) of 12-16 songs each. By the end of those nights, I remember being REALLY beat - but I also remember that those rooms stayed full for the entire night. Ahhh, those were the days...
Singer - J.J. Jackson, solos: keyboards - Bruce

Pick Up the Pieces - Average White Band
This was one of those tunes where I picked up the tenor sax. There were a few - the James Brown Medley, "Touch Me" by the Doors, and Chicago Transit Authority's "Beginings". Few bands could do CTA justice, but I think we managed to do them very proud. But one of the things I had to do on some tunes was bounce between tenor and bari sax mid-song. Hey, at least I was getting exercise!
Singer - Jimmy, solos: tenor sax - Mike

Soul Vaccination - Tower of Power
This is the very first performance of this song. Many Hey Baby tunes had been played night after night for literally years and years! But occassionally, we'd add a new song to the ever-growing repertoire and this was one. It is by far NOT the best we ever performed it. In just a few months, we had the song completely wrapped up and played it as a regular part of our sets. But here, you get to hear a few muffed horn-hits and weak backup vocals. At the time, this was perhaps our most ambitious song. Eventually, we also performed "What is Hip?" by ToP, and wrote a Hey Baby original called "You've Changed" that was inspired by this song.
Singer - Jimmy, solos: tenor sax - Bruce, bari sax - Mike

Soul Sacrifice - Santana
Again, the members of the group put down their horns and vocal chords to add to the percussion for this song. This is strictly an instrumental and features the excellent drum-work of both Dave and J.J.. Together, and with Don Diego, they formed the rythmic foundation of the group that made numbers like this possible. Of special note, we had the opportunity to perform this song at the silver anniversary of Woodstock in 1994. Carlos Santana was backstage with us, and after hearing our rendition of his song, gave us a hearty thumbs-up and impish grin.
solos: drums - Dave, conga - J.J., guitar - George

Shout - Otis Redding
This song was a joint-effort by all of the performing groups at the Paramount Theater fund-raiser. There was an acapela group, and two other bands besides us, and they all got on stage to perform this final number. There were too many performers to list singers and such here, but it's an interesting effort.

Who's Better Than You? - Hey Baby original
This song was written before I joined the band, but I added the bari-sax part and thus became part of the composition process. This song was/is dedicated to all of the Hey Baby fans that came to see us throughout the years. Special cheers to "Elvira", Linda, Frank, Stephanie, & Tiera from Wet Willi's, Deborah, the three Swedish girls Olsa, Mia, and... I forget (sorry!)(nicknamed Mia, Mya, and Oh! Mya!), John the Roadie - who doubled as a "fan", and so many others that deserve space in this paragraph. Without all of you, we couldn't have been who we were - and this song's for you!
Singer - Jimmy