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Back on the Chain Gang by the Pretenders popped up on the radio today, which made me think about the late and great, but sorely under-rated, James Honeyman Scott. Though Back on the Chain Gang technically was not recorded by Mr. Honeyman Scott, it has been written on guitar aficionado forums that he worked on the song during sound checks. Indeed, the guitar work in the song,though laid down in the studio by Billy Bremner, has often been credited with possessing Honeyman Scott's distinctive jangle and originality. Whether the guitar lines in the song were fully or partially written by Jimmy Scott has never been addressed by the Pretenders' front woman Chrissie Hynde. So fans may never know the full extent of JHS' contribution to the song. However, Ms. Hynde did dedicate Back on the Chain Gang to Jimmy Scott's memory, as he died just a few short weeks before the band was to enter the recording studio to begin work on this song.
When you read about Jimmy Scott, as his friend Ms. Hynde refers to him in interviews, he is often associated with the typical Rock and Roll lifestyle of Sex and Drugs, which isn't a shock considering that he died in 1982 at the age of 25, from heart failure induced by cocaine intolerance. He apparently lived fast and unfortunately died young, leaving behind only two full LPs, and a mini album of only 5 songs, one of which was a live cut previously released on the first album. What is it about the Rock and Roll lifestyle that chews up young talent, and then spits them out either six feet under, or looking as if they had one foot in the grave and the other still left behind on stage, much along the lines, pardon the pun, of Keith Richards? Death warmed over could easily describe Kef and his partner in crime, Ronnie Wood.
Of course, any young and hormonally unbalanced man(or woman)would want to be surrounded by young and beautiful models, or wanna-be actresses. And let's face it, pretty woman go well on your arm whilst casually strolling into the hottest and most fabulous Hollywood party. Certainly, the best drug dealers must vie for the attention and business of suddenly popular and suddenly wealthy guitarists, who may have struggled for years without two pennies in their pockets to rub together, but with a hit song or two, magically have enough jangle in their wallet to buy the best cars, classiest guitars and finest blow. Jimmy Scott, by all accounts, stuck to the formula, and married an aspiring actress. He was in good company naturally, as Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and even Kef himself all walked down the isle with models or actresses.
Modeling and acting are glamorous jobs. There have been countless girls, the prettiest girls on their hometown cheerleading squad, the Homecoming Queen, or even the Ms. Dream Girl contestant of their Mid-Western town, who have stars in their eyes as they board that Greyhound bus for LA. In their minds, it's only a hop, skip and a jump until their names are on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But if you don't get call-backs in Hollywood, if you haven't hit the right director's couch, you'll have to fall back to Plan B. You,as the prettiest girl in town, can model while you wait for your Big Break. From there, you can use your connections to get a backstage pass.
If you can catch the young and upcoming guitarist with enough buzz, you can find, if not your own fame, at least fortune and fun. You can be rich and famous by association. Anita Pallenburg may be more famous as Mrs. Richards than she was as Ms. Pallenburg, and this route to having your name known by every jealous groupie throughout the world, will serve you well. You can later write a book about your time with your famous musician, and you can later upgrade to another famous musician, if things don't work out with the first. Doors have been opened. At the very worst, you can collect alimony and live out your wealthy dreams of Happily Ever After, maybe not famous in your own right or with your own name in lights, but still at the finest of Hollywood parties, and with the best drug dealers at your beck and call.
I've decided to turn back to simpler times, when women rocked without grabbing their crotch, a la Miley Cyrus, and men used more hairspray than AquaNet could produce. Not to mention how much eyeliner a good Hair Band could go through in one night's performance. Yes, let's talk 80s rock icons, or at least the ones who mattered to me at the time.
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I was always a big Pretenders' fan. Chrissie Hynde could drink any man under the table, and she she proved in 1980 when she was arrested for drunkenly and disorderly conduct after a little disturbance in a Memphis TGIF restaurant. She could swear like a sailor, which is always a plus, especially when throwing a few choice curse words into your songs, as she did in 'Precious'. On the Pretenders' first album cover, she stood with her band, in a red leather jacket and black lace gloves (like Madonna was wearing at the time), which was a pure revelation. It was as if Madonna had suddenly skipped her nightly outing to a NYC dance club, and made instead a bee line for the local Hell's Angel Chapter. The songs were not to be messed with, either- 'Tattooed Love Boys', who had ever heard of women speaking so bluntly, so straight-forwardly, of sex with strange men? Her songs did not follow the Disney Princess version of Happily Ever After, where a girl diligently waits to be swept away by her Prince Charming, passively sitting by the phone, trying to get a date for the damn prom. No, it was not Disney Love, or even love with a capital "L". Hynde's love was down and dirty, it was unashamed sex. It was the kind of love that she sang about in 'Precious', one where you do it on the pavement and then tell the guy to F*** OFF. Instantaneous freedom, for young girls who were frankly tired of playing by the rules that young girls were supposed to follow during the late 60s and early 70s.
Part of the pleasure of the Pretenders' early music was James Honeyman Scott. What a name to grow into! What kind of profession can you choose with a name like James Honeyman Scott, other than Rock Star, Writer or Actor. Maybe you can become a professional wrestler with a larger than life name like James Honeyman Scott. Certainly, more mundane jobs like accounting and booking-keeping were out. And what a guitarist Honeyman Scott turned out to be- the licks and grooves on the Pretenders' first album were deadly. They met Hynde's voice note for note, pushing her, it seemed, to greater and more melodic vocal heights. Hynde has subsequently called Honeyman Scott her musical right-hand man, and indeed the music that he produced on the Pretenders' first and second albums give proof to his unique musical talents. He created hooks that had not been heard before, but they have become commonplace since, in the guitar work of Johnny Marr or The Edge. His death in 1982, of a cocaine intolerance, cheated the world of a young and bright musician, still in his musical prime. It also robbed Hynde of her partner in crime, her much-valued hook man and the partner who sent a fresh breathe of air through her songs.
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