23. THE HIT SQUAD: "Best Of Me"
"Best Of Me" by The Hit Squad has been on my all-time Hot Tracks list for years, but I bet most of you have never even heard of it. The track was recorded in 1980, and it makes its first-ever public appearance on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. I want to tell you a little bit of the back story. As with many of my favorite little pop music stories, this one intersects with the sprawling history of my favorite power pop group, The Flashcubes.
The roots of The Hit Squad go back to Watertown, NY in the late '70s. Contemporary to the vibrant Syracuse punk/new wave/power pop scene spearheaded by The Flashcubes, a Watertown combo called The Upbeats was plying its own skinny-tie trade in the North Country. I think The Upbeats were mostly (if not entirely) a cover band, but a cover band with a left-of-the-dial focus. My grasp of the nuances and subtleties of The Upbeats' story is...well, non-existent. I never heard them, and I never saw them play. I almost saw them precisely once: on July 1st, 1979, at Dave Glavin's graduation party in his garage in Pulaski. It was the night following the morning I discovered that one of my best friends had chosen to end his life with a bullet. That story is told elsewhere on this blog (in posts about KISS, The Ramones, and The Flashcubes). I arrived at Dave's garage too late to witness The Upbeats, but in time to revel in an incendiary performance by The Flashcubes (a performance ended abruptly by local law enforcement).
One of The Flashcubes' biggest boosters at the time was Dian Zain, the diminutive girlfriend of 'Cubes guitarist Paul Armstrong. Dian was a polarizing figure in the Syracuse scene, but honestly, she was always nice to me, and we got along fine. Dian wanted to be a pop star herself, so she recorded a single, "Take A Chance"/"Do The Jumping Jack" (the latter tune an early Flashcubes number) for release on the 'Cubes' own little Northside Records label. On those tracks, Dian was backed by Paul and (I think) members of The Ohms, another all-time great Syracuse group. But, before the 45 was released, musical differences within The Flashcubes resulted in Paul no longer being a 'Cube. Dian had already formed a group of her own, with the intent of playing some live shows and pursuing rock 'n' roll glory. Paul joined that group immediately. The rest of this new band? Guitarist Derek Knott, drummer Judd Williams, and bassist Tommy O'Riley, all formerly of The Upbeats. With Dian and Paul, this new group was The Most.
"Take A Chance" was finally issued, with a new picture sleeve proclaiming it as a single by The Most (although the 45's label still credited it as a Dian Zain record). The Most debuted as a live act in August of '79, opening for The Records at Stage East in East Syracuse. I loved this band. And one of my bestest Fave Raves in their live set was a Tommy O'Riley tune called "Best Of Me." To me, this song sounded like Debbie Harry fronting The Heartbreakers, girl-pop vocals over Johnny Thunders-style guitar. Heaven!
The local press reported that "Best Of Me" would be The Most's second single, but it was not to be. If The Most ever got around to recording "Best Of Me"--and I would swear that they did--no one has been able to find that recording. The Most's original line-up split instead, as the erstwhile Upbeats sought their fortune elsewhere. Paul and Dian enlisted The Ohms as a temporary backing band for live shows, and eventually settled on bassist Dave Anderson and drummer Dick Hummer as The Most's new rhythm section. Ohms drummer Ducky Carlisle returned when Dick Hummer went off to pursue his solo goals as Machine + Hummer. The Most ended in August of 1980--roughly a year after their origin--when Paul, Dave, and Duck became 1.4.5., and Dian went on to front Zane Grey.
Quite a tangled web, eh?
Meanwhile, Tommy O'Riley and Derek Knott had joined a group called The Hit Squad, with drummer Tim Carr and singer Nancy O (Tommy's sister). The Hit Squad recorded "Best Of Me" in 1980, but it remained unreleased. The Hit Squad became The 4, with Upbeats/Most drummer Judd Williams replacing Carr. "Best Of Me" was a part of The 4's live repertoire, and an in-concert recording of that exists. Many years later, Tommy (now recording under the name Tommy Gunn) included a new rendition of the song on his 2001 release Endangered Species, finally giving "Best Of Me" its first official release in any version.
Somewhere along the way, a Syracuse Community Radio DJ--and I'm kicking myself for my inability to remember his name--gave me a CD-R of Derek Knott recordings, and that disc included "Best Of Me" by The Hit Squad. Man, to hear that song again, in an unfamiliar version that duplicated the arrangement of my still-vivid, cherished memory of The Most's version...! I was 19 again, my fist raised, my adrenaline pumping, cheap beer fueling my enthusiasm and my devotion to the rock 'n' roll experience. Time can stand still, and even reverse its crushing advance for a little while, when you listen to pop music.
The original line-up of The Most got back together for a live set at our first BRIGHT LIGHTS! Syracuse New Wave Rock 'n' Roll Reunion in 2014. I told Tommy how much I've always adored "Best Of Me," and he dedicated its live performance that night to me. And this year, he offered it to us for This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4. We ruled out live takes from The Most and The 4, and also Tommy's solo version (because my memory demanded the song have female lead vocals). But The Hit Squad's version? That was perfect for us.
Now, at long last, you get to hear it, too. Imagine you're 19. You've just lost one of your best friends. Your future lays out before you, with all of its promise and all of its doubt. The band plays a sad song of regret, both casual and devastating, and the sound just makes you feel alive. The rush of feeling buoys you, keeps you moving, prods you to go on. I love you still/It doesn't matter/You're just another step/Up my ladder. It's not cynicism. It's optimism, tempered by the knowledge of all that can and may go wrong. It's hope. It's ambition. It's life itself.
It's the best of you. And it always will be.
You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby!
No comments:
Post a Comment