Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)

Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues) is a song by Allen Toussaint that was a top 40 hit for Three Dog Night.

History

The song was first popularized in 1974, following its initial 1973 inclusion on the album Bazaar by disco-funk artist Sylvester,^[1] when it was recorded and released by five artists in one year: Frankie Miller (on High Life), B.J. Thomas (on Longhorns & Londonbridges), Three Dog Night (on Hard Labor), James Montgomery, and Maria Muldaur. Another version of the song was recorded in 1974 by Little Feat, during the course of the Feats Don't Fail Me Now recording sessions. This version was not released until 2000, when it was included in the retrospective compilation, Hotcakes & Outtakes: 30 Years of Little Feat (Rhino).

Both Miller and Three Dog Night released the song as a single, while the balance of the recorded versions were included in albums. The most popular single version is the version by Three Dog Night, which reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Later versions of the song were recorded by Levon Helm (1978),^[2] Herman Brood (1980 on Wait a Minute), and Toots Thielemans (1993).^[3] Toussaint's own version of his song originally appeared on a compilation called Live at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 1976, featuring sets by many of his Crescent City contemporaries.^[4] A later version is found on Hot as a Pistol, Keen as a Blade (Hip-O, 2006), a DVD recording of Toussaint's 2006 performance at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, performing with Elvis Costello.^[5]

It is the last song publicly performed by Allen Toussaint before he died on November 10th, 2015.^[6]

The song was covered, in 1984, by Helen Shapiro as a single for Oval Records^[7][8] and was later included on the Ace Records compilation album Rhythm On The Radio - Oval Records Singles 1974-1987.^[9]

References