It’s Friday and thus music time, and here’s one of my favorite songs from the Eighties: “Don’t Get Me Wrong” with the Pretenders. Wikipedia tells us that it’s the only original Pretenders song—something new to me—and adds this surprising fact:
Frontwoman Chrissie Hynde said she was inspired to write the song for her friend John McEnroe.
McEnroe apparently played something on one of her albums. At any rate, the song is from 1986 and rose to only #10 on the American charts. With its driving beat, great bridge, and lovely vocals (Hynde’s pronunciation of “Fantastic” at the end always gets me), it deserved more than that. Here’s a live performance, or so I think (it’s very close to the recorded version); the notes say it was on Top Of The Pops on 23rd October, 1986:
Hynde also wrote ‘Back on the Chain Gang’, but it was recorded with several stand-in musicians after James Honeyman-Scott, the Pretenders guitarist, died of a drug overdose and the bassist was fired for his drug use. So I guess technically not totally a Pretenders song. In my opinion, that is their best song.
I like “Don’t Get Me Wrong” better, but “Chain Gang” is a good song.
I really like this song. I have various iTunes playlists, mainly for long drives, and it is definitely on more than one of them.
Another one that somehow lands in a similar way to me is Different Drum, best known in the version performed by Linda Ronstadt. I really like the harpsichord and strings.
Not certain what Wikipedia means by “only original Pretenders song”. Hynde wrote all of their big hits. They were a band of the last of my undergrad years and the first years after, along with the Talking Heads. Good music and memories.
Yeah, that puzzled me, too. It can’t possibly be true.
I thought it wrong, and Wikipedia actually says that Hynde is the only original Pretender remaining, so it refers to her, not to this song.
My favourite? Pack It Up. Acidic lyrics!
Slight correction: Wikipedia states that, “Billboard wrote that although Hynde is the only original Pretender remaining, this song represents “a pretty upbeat, strutting, confident Pretenders”. Not that the song is the only original Pretenders song, but that she’s the last of the band.
I was an undergrad when their first album came out, and a buddy of mine from Cleveland played it non-stop. One of the great voices in rock and roll in my opinion.
I like this song also, and this post inspires me to tell this absolutely true story: sometime in the late 1980’s – but before the fall of the Berlin Wall – I was visiting my cousin in Göttingen, where he had the habit of listening to an East German radio station, for the odd music and occasional amusing “socialist” commentary. Göttingen was very close to the border, so the reception was very clear; it was the only time I ever got to spend listening to East German radio. At one point, I noticed the Pretenders “Don’t Get Me Wrong” got played, which surprised me, as it was “Western” pop music, and very au courant. After the song was done, the DJ thought it would be nice to offer some commentary on the song, and translated the title as “Wring Mich Nicht Aus” which, to translate back to English, means “Don’t Wring Me Out” or, more charitably, “Don’t Get Me Wrung (Out).” They went on the explain that the song was a protest against Capitalism, which wrings every last ounce of productivity out of the workers, much like you’d wring a handtowel to remove the last drop of moisture. I never did discover whether this was just an honest misunderstanding (Wring, Wrong, Wrung, whatever) by the DJ, or if it was some kind of state-mandated “critical translation”; I’m inclined to think it was the latter. But certainly, the irony was delicious! Honecker was deposed a year or two later, then Schabowski slipped up with the word “unverzüglich,” which brought down the Berlin Wall. Just a bit of history attached to this song (for me).
There is a Pretenders Mix on you Tube that I just played about half of (killing my productivity, but it’s Friday afternoon!). So many great songs that I’d half forgotten along with many of the 1980s music videos – Chain Gang has some good views of the London skyline in the mid 80s. Thanks for the memories.
It was post punk at the time of it’s release and what we called New Wave. For me it was a reboot to stuff that made sense, if I can put it that way.
It’s a great tune. I must admit, though, that my favorite of theirs is “Human,” from the Viva El Amor album. I always crank it up when it pops up on my various playlists, especially in the car. :-J
Great song; that little drumming hitch near the end always gets me (Martin Chambers is an underrated drummer, IMO).
So many great Pretenders songs! Their hardcore offerings like “The Wait,” “Precious,” and “Tattooed Love Boys” (which some sources say is in 11/4 time) are terrific, and there are several softer songs such as “When I Change My Life” and “Talk of the Town” that are great. And Hynde does some remarkable cover versions as well, such as “Windows of the World” (the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song), “Needle and the Damage Done” (Neil Young, made especially poignant because of James Honeyman-Scott), and even The Beatles’ “Not a Second Time.”
Brass in Pocket and Stop Your Sobbing are also terrific.
Highly recommend Chrissie Hynde’s memoir ‘Reckless’. PS She wrote most of the songs, dunno what Wikipedia thinks.
I am one of those guys who thought that rock was dead during the 80s—and my mind was changed by groups like the Pretenders. I refuse to vote for a favorite song, as I like all their work. I haven’t listened to it for some time; thanks to our host for waking me up.