Battle of the Bands

Beatles Greatest Hits BOTB series: Helter Skelter

October 1, 2023 /

Dear fellow 4Mers, my post will publish tomorrow and for those wishing to crash the dance floor early then you may wish to check out one of our lovely co-hostess’ blogs for link up but if not check back after midnight tonight. While you’re here, you may as well continue reading and take part in my first battle! 😊

It’s October 1st. I’m not sure how that happened but here we are in the 10th month of this not so new year and we’re about 2 weeks into autumn.  Lots of people associate October including myself with pumpkin spice anything, apple cider, hayrides, falling leaves, cooler weather, … the list goes on. I thought it would be cool to have a Halloween themed song for this showdown and the first Beatles song that came to mind is Helter Skelter. I don’t know why other than that’s the name of the book written by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry about the Manson murders.  

One of my peeps shared the Beatles’ version (reference only) in recent months.  It was then I learned that Helter Skelter was inspired by an English amusement park ride. The opening line of “When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide” clearly references the park ride but the lyrics turn more suggestive and provocative as the singer asks, “But do you, don’t you, want me to love you?” 

 
When I get to the bottom
I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
‘Til I get to the bottom and I see you again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, ha-ha-ha!
Well do you, don’t you want me to love you?
I’m coming down fast, but I’m miles above you
Tell me, tell me, tell me, come on tell me the answer
Well, you may be a lover, but you ain’t no dancer
Now, helter-skelter
Helter-skelter
Helter-skelter
Yeah
Ooh!
Oh will you, won’t you want me to make you? (Ah)
I’m coming down fast, but don’t let me break you (ah)
Tell me, tell me, tell me the answer
Well, you may be a lover, but you ain’t no dancer
Look out!
Helter-skelter
Helter-skelter
Helter-skelter
Ooh
Look out!
‘Cause here she comes
When I get to the bottom
I go back to the top of the slide
And I stop, and I turn and I go for a ride
And I get to the bottom and I see you again
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Well do you, don’t you want me to make you?
I’m coming down fast, but don’t let me break you
Tell me, tell me, tell me your answer
Well, you may be a lover, but you ain’t no dancer
Look out!
Helter-skelter
Helter-skelter
Helter-skelter
Well, look out! Helter-skelter
She’s coming down fast
Yes, she is
Yes, she is
Coming down fast
Oh yeah, helter-skelter
Ooh

Lyrics borrowed from Musixmatch

 

Without knowing it at a young age, I realized the phrase “Helter Skelter” meant chaos and disorder.  Paul wanted to create a loud and dirty sound with this song which influenced the development of heavy metal in the mid-70s. 

One source material I read indicated although Paul and John are credited as authors of Helter Skelter that after the horrific Manson murders when asked about the song John pretty much washed his hands of having anything to do with collaborating with Paul on this one. At the end, if you’re curious I include a snippet from Wiki about Charles Manson and the song.    

In today’s battle standoff, I found three artists covers I liked. Two don’t need introductions but the third  one is new to me.  


Contender #1 PAT BENATAR
Contender #2 MOTLEY CRUE
Contender # 3 TWISTED RINGOS

That concludes another segment of Battle of the Bands.  Next week, I hope to publish the results of this showdown but we’ll be into our staycation and I’m not sure of our plans yet.  Don’t forget to leave your vote for your favorite artist in comments.

Please check out the other battles underway today. Participants are listed in my side bar beneath the BOTB banner.  I’ll be back in the morning with Monday’s Music Moves Me if you care to join the fun. This is CAAC signing off, have a bandtastic day!  X💋X💋, Cathy

Who did it better, Pat Benatar, Motley Crue, or Twisted Ringos?


Wiki includes this on Charles Manson’s interpretation of Helter Skelter….

According to Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi, who led the prosecution of Manson and four of his followers who acted on Manson’s instruction in the Tate-LaBianca murders, Charles Manson told his followers that several White Album songs, particularly “Helter Skelter”, were part of the Beatles’ coded prophecy of an apocalyptic war in which racist and non-racist whites would be manoeuvred into virtually exterminating each other over the treatment of blacks. Upon the war’s conclusion, after black militants had killed off the few whites that had survived, Manson and his “Family” of followers would emerge from an underground city in which they would have escaped the conflict. As the only remaining whites, they would rule blacks, who, as the vision went, would be incapable of running the United States. Manson employed “Helter Skelter” as the term for this sequence of events. In his interpretation, the lyrics of the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” described the moment when he and the Family would emerge from their hiding place – a disused mine shaft in the desert outside Los Angeles.

37 Comments

  • Eugi

    October 2, 2023 at 8:48 am

    Cathy, I kinda like Twisted Ringos’ more mellow version, however, they lose the edginess in doing so. It’s Pat Benetar for me.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      October 2, 2023 at 11:45 am

      Eugi,

      I thought it would be fun to throw in Twisted Ringos for that very reason. Sometimes you just don’t know how a cover song will translate. If it’s too much like the original then people are always comparing it but a different twist of style might be all it takes to capture someone’s attention and garnering their vote. Thanks for voting. PAT BENATAR is running away with this battle! 🙂

  • Sandee

    October 1, 2023 at 2:02 pm

    Didn’t like the third one at all. Second one is pretty good, but Pat Benatar has my vote.

    Have a fabulous day and week, Cathy. Love and hugs. ♥

  • Stephen T. McCarthy

    October 1, 2023 at 1:53 pm

    CAThy! It’s That You!

    The Beatles’ “White Album” played a prominent role in my wild twenties. My buddies and I often played Side 2 on rough mornings and called it “The Hangover Waltz”. A couple of my favorite Beatles songs are on Side 2 of that album. ‘Helter Skelter’ is on Side 3, and I was never a big fan of it.

    ‘Helter Skelter’ is a bit too noisy for my tastes. Where is Perry Como when we need him? The only man who could SIMULTANEOUSLY sing and sleep.

    I was all prepared to vote for “the lesser of two evils”, but then I hit Play on the TWISTED RINGOS. Oh, yes, yes, yes! That had a funky groove and it made me move in my seat a bit. Now THAT is how you cover a Beatles song!!!!

    I even liked the title of the album, ‘Fried Glass Onions’. Obviously it’s a reference to the Beatles song ‘Glass Onion’, but it also reminded me of Astro Burger’s fried onion rings. Best onion rings I’ve ever had. Astro Burger was known more for their onion rings than their hamburgers. It was located just across the street from Paramount Studios, and lots of us left the studio and went for the onion rings on our lunch breaks.

    Pretty groovy Beatles cover, and pretty groovy memories for me, too. Goot job, CAThy!

    ~ D-FensDogG

    • Birgit Bedesky

      October 1, 2023 at 5:27 pm

      I remember watching a TV miniseries about the horrible killings and, I think, letting that one chick be paroled, wad wrong even if she is repentant. The mutilation of Tate, who wad 8 months pregnant, along with Folger and the others, is too much. This song suffered because Manson referenced it and it was written on one of the walls in the house.
      Ok, given that….I will go with Pat Benatar who sings this with a great force but controlled. The 3rd one is a close second because I like the unique style they put on it.

      • Cathy Kennedy

        October 2, 2023 at 8:39 am

        Birgit,

        The murder of Sharon Tate and the others was grisly. I remember vaguely one of the girls’ repentance while serving but I believe it’s an injustice to parole her. There’s are consequences to one’s actions. I can’t imagine living a normal life after being involved in something that horrible. It still gives me the shutters every time I think about these murders.

        Another vote for PAT BENATAR!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      October 2, 2023 at 8:31 am

      Stephen,,

      Oh goody, I’m so tickled you like TWISTED RINGOS! I immediately took a shine to their very different approach to this this otherwise noisy tune (some are more so than others). Thanks for sticking with the battle til the end to give this band their first vote. Have a bandtastic week, my friend!

      • Stephen T. McCarthy

        October 3, 2023 at 12:19 am

        CAThy…
        Can I get some Smoked Serrano Street Taco Sauce to put on my Twisted Ringos fried onion rings? Hold the Margaritas… in your right hand when bringing them to me, please. 😉
        ~ D-FensDogG

    • Cathy Kennedy

      October 2, 2023 at 8:28 am

      Christine,

      I’m happy to now see MOTLEY CRUE in this battle. Honestly, I thought they’d get a vote before now, so that goes to show how much I missed this one. Thanks for dropping by and have a bandtastic week, my dear!

  • Arlee Bird

    October 1, 2023 at 12:23 pm

    This is one of my least favorite Beatles songs and the Manson connection didn’t help my opinion much.

    The three versions here are all okay, but I’m a Pat Benatar fan and have been since she first appeared on the scene. I have to have my vote to Pat.

    Lee

    • Cathy Kennedy

      October 2, 2023 at 8:27 am

      Lee,

      This is my least favorite Beattles song, too. I felt inspired to use it, though. PAT BENATAR takes another vote. Have a bandtastic week, my friend!

  • Debbie D.

    October 1, 2023 at 12:05 pm

    Such a fascinating battle Cathy! 👌 I read Vincent Bugliosi’s book and am familiar wtih the Manson connection.

    All three covers have something going for them (must check out more of “Fried Glass Onions” 😆), but Pat Benetar totally rocked it. Please give my vote to her.

    P.S. I’m with Songbird1329 – Aerosmith’s cover is probably the best!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      October 2, 2023 at 8:26 am

      Debbie,

      It’s been eons but I read Vincent Bugilosi’s book, too. Charles Manson was a very twisted evil individual. It’s scary how some people get sucked into another person’s ideas like this. Thanks for voting for PAT BENATAR, my friend. Have a bandtastic week!

  • diedre

    October 1, 2023 at 11:53 am

    Happy October, Cathy!
    Excellent post, my dear! I really appreciate all the info, some I knew, some I didn’t. Pat Benatar was a great pick and certainly personifies chaos in a way that leaves no doubt. Listening to Motley Crue I almost forgot what song they were maybe gonna get to…eventually, and gave up. Twisted Ringos had an interestingly mellow take that didn’t seem to do the edgy song justice. So, it’s Pat Benatar for me, please 😉

    • Cathy Kennedy

      October 2, 2023 at 8:24 am

      Diedre,

      Motley Crue has a long intro that sounds nothing like the original. That’s what intrigued the most with their version. Twisted Ringos laid back approach makes the classic Beatles song unique over all the other covers I listened to but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. PAT BENATAR is phenomenal killing the song, though. Thanks for dropping by and have a bandtastic week, dear friend!

  • songbird1329

    October 1, 2023 at 11:45 am

    I’m voting for Benatar. I kind of wish you included Aerosmith’s cover.

    I love Sir Paul’s version on Good Evening NYC. I was there when he recorded it, at Citi Field in 2009.

  • Erin the Cat

    October 1, 2023 at 11:01 am

    I do like the Beatles, but this one has passed me by. Possibly because I’m not keen on suggestive tunes. Never realised there was a Manson connection.
    ERin

  • songbird1329

    October 1, 2023 at 9:07 am

    So … Helter Skelter, written entirely by Sir Paul (anything either of them wrote was credited to the partnership). Great song. At the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011, the version of the song from McCartney’s live album Good Evening New York City, recorded during the Summer Live ’09 tour, won in the category of Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. I was at Citi Field when he performed/recorded that version. https://youtu.be/qEzBQL87ywY?si=nyNlw2rsfYzdyEnd Can you see the roller coaster on the screen behind him?

    Since you didn’t include the Aerosmith cover, I’ll have to vote for Pat Benetar

    • Cathy Kennedy

      October 2, 2023 at 8:17 am

      Robin,

      I considered Aerosmith and while they do a great job, it just didn’t speak to me like I wanted. Thanks for sharing the link and for your vote for PAT BENATAR, my dear!

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