Growing up in the Scotland/Ridge area, I never once thought about myself as being from the “poor side” of town. However, when I went to high school, I mixed and mingled with folks who regarded those of us from down county by a different standard. And yet, I never really understood why these “uptown folks” thought they were any better, mostly because I tended to judge folks by who they were and not where they were from.
Johnny had the big hit with this tune he co-wrote with Lou Adler. His version features Darlene Love and her Blossoms as backup singers and it’s hard to top or compete with that. This is just a great f’ing song!
That said however, I think I prefer Nick Lowe’s stripped down version a little more. Maybe that’s just because I’m a toned down kinda county dude.
Listen to both below and see what you think.