STUDS #9💪: Sooner or Later (Sooner Version)

Guest Brad Kyle joins me for a STUDS so big, it can't fit in just one episode

Hi Wormheads!

For this special 2-part Same Title, Utterly Different Song, I am thrilled to share the stage with my good friend, Brad Kyle, with whom I’ve been lucky to have collaborated many times over the past four years.

Brad writes the always-illuminating Front Row and Backstage newsletter, of which the super-popular Tune Tag series is just one of several ear-candy categories of music essay. If you aren’t a subscriber to FR&B and would like to be, just click the button below.

After some thoughtful deliberation, Brad decided on the brilliant song title: “Sooner or Later.” Little did we know that there were so many amazing, unique songs with this title. We unearthed nearly two dozen candidates, and this was without digging too deep.

So, with a treasure trove of sonic gold, we decided to dedicate TWO STUDS episodes to this prolific song title. We are calling this first part the Sooner songs, meaning our 5 picks cover the years 1965-1982. The Later songs will feature tunes from 1984 to 2021.

Expect lots of amazing musical anecdotes and trivia, as only Mr. Kyle (and the internet) can provide.

But before we get to this week’s STUDS #9, I wanted to share the results from STUDS #8: “Breathe.”

Mark Nash was my guest, where we explored songs with deep inhales and exhales. Which “Breathe” track was the audience favorite?

As expected, Messrs. Gilmour, Waters, Mason, and Wright took the prize, with nearly half of the votes. I was the only one to vote for Alexi Murdoch, but that’s okay; I’m used to being all alone in my truth.😭😂 (Yes, this is more of the patented passive-aggressiveness that I explored in this recent piece on Faith No More’s “Be Aggressive.”)

Steve: Welcome, Brad! You are already a stud, with a brain filled with more rock-and-roll stories than 1000 mere mortals! But I knew you’d reach STUDS (plural) level sooner or later!

As much as I love to torture you, dear reader, with puns and wordplay, I’m a mere amateur compared to the mondegreen and spoonerism master, Brad. Prepare yourselves!

So, Brad, “Sooner or Later” – what led you to pick that song for this STUDS extravaganza?

Brad: Thank you, Steve. What a generous intro! I honestly am not sure, exactly, from whence “Sooner or Later” came. Welcome to Short-Term Memory Theater, where……..aw, nuts; I forget! Maybe I figured sooner or later, I’d come up with a song!

(ed: I think I can speak for Brad’s memory when I say that the title probably was birthed from his use of song candidate #2 below, in a recent Tune Tag. So perhaps he’s merely borrowing from himself!)

But when it comes to tightly-wound, horn-driven, perfect songcraft, you can rarely go wrong with The Grass Roots, who featured one of my favorite lead singers, Rob Grill, who passed away in 2011 at 67 years young. Five people wrote “Sooner or Later,” but only one had anything resembling a track record in the biz…Gary Zekley.

Gary Zekley (1943–1996) was an American producer/songwriter, usually traveling in the surf, pop, and sunshine pop arenas. In 1969, he co-wrote (with Mitchel Bottler) “Superman,” which The Clique recorded. It was covered by R.E.M. on their 1986 “Life’s Rich Pageant” album.

Zekley wrote or produced songs by bands such as Dick & Dee Dee, Jan & Dean, Spanky & Our Gang, The Mamas & The Papas, and The Yellow Balloon, who had a 1967 Billboard #25 hit with a Zekley-penned song of the same name. Zekley produced the Yellow Balloon’s self-titled album under the pseudonym Yodar Critch—taken from a statue featured in the TV show “Our Miss Brooks,” so, clearly, his pop culture game was well-developed!

For more on Zekley and TV’s (“My Three Sons”) actor, Don Grady, here’s a deep-dive on Yellow Balloon I did a couple years ago:

Video to Vinyl, 1967: Don Grady, From TV's "My Three Sons" to The Sunshine Pop of Yellow Balloon

So, loving their song, and knowing as many STUDS as I’m rumored to know (I know some songs, too!), I figured there HAD to be more songs with that title!

It should be fun to uncover these different songs: “Sooner or Later” almost sounds like a veiled threat, as if something’s going to happen. Oh, it’s gonna happen, maybe not now, but eventually…you just wait!

STUD #1: The Grass Roots

Steve: Well, since you already started us off mentioning The Grass Roots, let’s discuss their “Sooner or Later.” It was the only track in either of our lists that I had thought of before researching. It’s such a gorgeous song, with multiple vocal lines — maybe switching lead vocals? I noticed that they sing: “Looking for love in all the wrong places/Looking for love in all the wrong faces,” which made me think of the song “Looking For Love” by Johnny Lee and whether he intentionally took/borrowed those lyrics from The Grass Roots. Though he does sing “in too many faces,” so it’s not entirely a copy, but still….

Of course, this song will always bring to mind a particular “Wookin Pa Nub” SNL skit starring Eddie Murphy.

Brad: Yes, that Eddie/Buckwheat is a classic! I think you’re spot on with what you said about the song! Earlier today, I peeked at the “Sooner or Later”/Grass Roots Wiki page, and here’s what I picked up (along with a nasty paper cut. I’ve GOT to get a newer computer!): Bassist and usual lead singer, Grill, shared lead vocals with keyboardist, Dennis Provisor. Wiki seems to imply that most of the instrumental backing was provided by The Wrecking Crew. I’m not finding any confirmation that they were there, but I’m also not finding any dispute. Longtime pop songwriter/producer Steve Barri produced the sessions for ABC/Dunhill Records, with another longtime pro, Jimmie Haskell, doing the tight and melodic horn charts.

It’s one of those relatively rare songs that begins with the chorus phrase, before hitting the verses. And, it ain’t a pure pop song without a modulation ¾ of the way through, and the Roots don’t disappoint! Catchy as a pandemic, it was hard to hear this on the radio in ‘71, and NOT just keep on singing it! There may be “better” hit songs, or more ear-candy worthy ones. The real triumph here is tightness — yes, in playing, but also the overall arrangement. We have Barri and Haskell to thank for that.

And, your Johnny Lee hunch, Steve? Wiki: “The first 2 lines of the chorus of Lee’s 1980 ‘Lookin’ For Love’ hit are almost an exact word-for-word match of the first two lines of the bridge of this song!”

(Ed: Thanks for all the factoids, Brad! And for proving me right!)

Steve: When you chose the title “Sooner or Later,” the first song that popped in my head was actually “Save It For Later” by The English Beat. I was inundated by the lyrics: “Sooner or later / your legs give way, you hit the ground / Save it for later / Don’t run away and let me down.”

It took me a few seconds to realize it wasn’t called “Sooner or Later,” which is too bad, as that would have been a great song to feature here. I guess I’ll have to save that one for later.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but The Grass Roots song wasn’t the first “Sooner or Later” to pop into your head, right? Wasn’t it a sweet little ditty that you featured in a recent Tune Tag episode? A cute earworm, penned by a 4-year-old?

STUD #2: Ricky Segall and the Segalls

Brad: It’s neck ’n’ neck, as musical serendipity usually goes. It was The Grass Roots’ one that I cited to you when we were discussing STUDS, ‘cause that’s been a favorite for decades!

Then, a day or three later, as I was composing that upcoming Tune Tag (now published), I was tasked with finding a Tag for singer/guitarist Ty Segall. I immediately thought of “that Segall kid” on The Partridge Family. It took a minute of brain-racking to remember “Ricky,” and then look him up and find a song!

I landed on his “Sooner or Later,” as I believe that was the first and only single from his lone album on Bell Records! I knew he sang and recorded (and I watched The Partridge Family religiously), but I never had his album. Turns out Ricky wrote all the songs on his album, if credits on a 1973 album can be believed. Rick, now 57, ended up as more of a dramatic actor than a musician in the years following that early TV work.

Steve: I know some folks might view it as a novelty song, but I think it’s legit on its own merits. If he really did write it at age 4, that would be more than impressive. I have my doubts that he wrote the lyrics “before you find your future sitting on the shelf,” but crazier things have been written before the age of 5, I suppose. It’s simply an uplifting, catchy tune, regardless of who wrote it and at what age.

There is a scene from The Partridge Family where Ricky Segall joins TPF for a rollicking version of “Sooner or Later.” Sharing has been disabled on the clip on YouTube, so click here to watch it in the YT interface. It’s worth it!

But in the meantime, if you’d like to have your day brightened and watch another scene of young Ricky on TPF, here you go:

Who’s our 3rd “STUD,” Brad?

STUD #3: Roy Orbison

Brad: I think we’re going with The Man in Black….uh, “black glasses,” anyway: Roy Orbison! The story of Roy’s little-known “Sooner or Later” is really the story of Orbison’s frequent collaborator, Joe Melson. Claudie Joe Melson, who just recently passed away (July 1), was born in tiny Bonham, TX (near the Oklahoma border).

Melson was, himself, a singer, and co-wrote several hits with Orbison, including “Only the Lonely“ and “Crying“, which are both in the Grammy Hall of Fame and have both been included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Melson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.

The Country Music Hall of Fame shared this on their Instagram account recently: “Joe Melson remembered the day in 1959 when Roy Orbison slid his green Cadillac into the drive-in restaurant in Odessa, Texas, where he was working. Orbison told the fledgling songwriter that he’d been looking all over town for him.

“They drove into the countryside, recalled Melson. ‘You know Joe, you write a pretty good song, and I write a pretty good song,’ Orbison said. ‘I bet if we put them together we’d write some great ones. . . . Would you like to do it?’ Melson said, ‘Yes, I would.

“They first collaborated on “Up Town,” a hit in 1960, and then had hits with ‘Only the Lonely,’ ‘Running Scared,’ ‘I’m Hurtin’,’ ‘Crying,’ ‘Blue Bayou,’ and ‘Blue Angel’ between 1960 and 1963. The friendship began as Orbison moved from rockabilly on the Sun Records label to a new, operatic form of rock & roll, for which his expansive voice was uniquely suited.”

Their “Sooner or Later” became an eventual 1973 B-side, but ended up as the last of 156 songs on a 2015 Roy Orbison compilation/re-issue on Universal Music, The MGM Years, 1965-1973, on the disc called, “B-Sides and Singles.”

Steve: Ahh, there’s the Patented Brad Kyle Abridged Deep Dive we know and love! That Melson sure was a looker back in the day!

As you mention, I could only find “Sooner or Later” on that MGM Years comp in my searching. I had never heard it before. But it’s SOOO good.

The Roy Orbison Museum in Wink, Texas

I didn’t get a chance to include this in my male-friendship series, but Andrew McCarthy, who wrote the book Who Needs Friends?, visited the Roy Orbison museum in Orbison’s hometown of Wink, Texas (population: 29,500 tumbleweeds, 929 humans) on his travels. Roy experienced a fair bit of bullying and had few friends in Wink. And that the famous Roy Orbison look—black leather jacket, steel-toe boots, dark sunglasses, jet-black hair—was a direct response to appearing vulnerable to thugs. Yet, thankfully, Roy didn’t keep his feelings out of his songs. Which is a big reason they resonated with such a wide audience for more than 60 years.

I hadn’t heard of Melson, which is my own ignorance. Thanks for alerting me (and the readers) to his passing.

What’s next, Mr. Kyle?

Brad: I hadn’t heard of Melson either, Steve, before today! As for his oh-so-’50s look, Orbison apparently left the pompa-door wide open into the studio! It appears both had to watch out not only for spiders, but also low-hanging ceiling fans! 🥁 A talented man, nevertheless, and great to get to know…for both of us!

STUD #4: Larry Graham

Our next “Sooner or Later” comes from a gentleman I feel like I saw grow as an artist throughout the decade of the ‘70s! Larry Graham composed, produced, and arranged his “Sooner or Later” for Warner Bros. Records, and it’s the lead and title track for his 1982 solo album. I say “solo album,” because he’s a Warner Bros. veteran, with his Graham Central Station having populated the R&B charts for 7 albums out of Burbank, ‘74-’79 (and that was after his 1967-72 tenure as bassist with Sly & The Family Stone for Epic Records)!

Graham is a trailblazer of sorts, Steve, as he is credited with the invention of the slapping technique on the electric bass guitar, helping to expand the tonal palette of the bass, although he himself refers to the technique as “thumpin’ and pluckin’” (according to his Wikipedia page).

In 1993, Graham was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Sly and the Family Stone, and he’s also Drake’s uncle! Sooner or later, that factoid had to come to the surface!

Steve: I got to see Larry Graham perform as Graham Central Station in the early ‘90s at a small Jazz club called Yoshi’s Nightclub in Oakland, back when it was a 150-seat venue, before they moved to a much larger space in the late 90s. I couldn’t find specific details of that show online, but I want to say he had members of the Family Stone either opening for him or as part of his band.

Although the details are fuzzy, I do remember being blown away by Larry’s “thumpin’ and plunkin’”. I was a serious funk-head at the time (still am, sort of), and it was either Larry Graham or Louis Johnson of The Brothers Johnson who I would have named my favorite bassist.

I was not familiar with Larry’s “Sooner or Later” before this STUDS research. I can’t say that the song is anything to write home about, mainly due to the dated ‘80s production and questionable keyboard sound effects. I’m the world’s biggest fan of handclaps, but to essentially replace the snare with a clappy synth drum sound doesn’t sit right with me. Plus the music break 2:30 into the song should have been an opportunity for Larry to show off his thumpin’. Instead, those precious bars are used to amp up the laser-beam sounds.

Though it appears that the song’s main musical motif seems to have inspired Madonna, as “Holiday” on her debut album in 1983 has a very similar sound. Am I crazy? Check it out yourself and let me know in the comments if I’m hearing things or on the money.

“Sooner or Later” is on The Best of Larry Graham and Graham Central Station, so apparently it was a hit of sorts. I will admit to not following him very closely once he went solo. His 80’s output was mostly fairly bland R&B, cheesy love songs, with the bass relegated to the background, if used at all.

I hate to be critical of such a music legend. But it’s rare for anyone to have a 50-year career and not go through a down period. Even Prince, who brought Graham into his musical fold in the ‘90s (and tried to revive Graham Central Station by collaborating with Larry on the GCS 2000 album), had several duds in his oeuvre.

Okay, Brad, we get one more for the Sooner section of our double-STUDS extravaganza. What are we closing out with?

STUD #5: Pilot

Brad: Taxiing down the runway of love, Steve, we have one of my faves, Pilot, the Scottish power poppers who followed their late-’74 smash, “Magic,” with the bouncy and equally catchy “January,” released in that month in 1975. But, of their career-long two dozen singles, their “Sooner or Later” was not one. But it did find a spot on the band’s 1974 debut album, From the Album of the Same Name, released worldwide on EMI Records.

“Sooner or Later” was written by keyboardist Billy Lyall and bassist/guitarist David Paton. Alan Parsons produced the album, which was recorded at London’s famed Abbey Road Studios. Drummer Stuart Tosh and the uncredited Ian Bairnson on guitar rounded out the personnel on the album. Parsons, at various times, took all four with him to become valuable players on his Alan Parsons Project albums into the ‘80s.

Even with its relegation to mere “album track status,” Pilot’s “Sooner or Later” still retains the group’s happy little pop bounce, with Lyall’s persistent piano note ringing throughout, and a healthy dose of hand-claps!

There’s even a nifty modulation that slides us into each chorus! But, especially when held against both “Magic” and “January” and those songs’ insistent ear-wormy catchiness, “Sooner or Later” in no way had the trademark Pilot helium that would’ve lifted it into the chart stratosphere!

Parsons, as it happens, introduced his own “Sooner or Later” (in a co-write with Eric Woolfson) a decade later for his 1985 Vulture Culture album on Arista Records worldwide, and while Lyall was a no-show, Parsons did invite our old Pilot friends, Ian Bairnson and David Paton, to the sessions!

Steve: Brad and I toyed with including the Alan Parsons “Sooner or Later” for the “Later” post, but we decided there are better candidates for part two. So you get to check out Parsons’ song above, instead.

I really ought to explore Pilot more, as I’ve only heard the two singles you mention, and this one. All of which I really like. Piano-forward power pop? Yes, please! There’s something about this track that reminds me of Todd Rundgren. The key changes, perhaps?

What a great way to close out our “Sooner” section! This is gonna be a tough one to pick a winner.

I’m curious what our readers will choose here. Don’t forget to vote, and let us know in the comments your thoughts on these 5 songs. And click the buttons below the poll to open the Spotify or YouTube playlists.

Steve: As always, it’s been more fun than should be legal collaborating on this with you, Brad. And we still have a part two coming soon! Woo hoo!

Brad: I had a ball, Steve, and I really appreciate you not only inviting me, but helping me work through a couple other song titles until we landed on this “Sooner or Later” one, which yielded so many new and favorite artists! I can’t wait to see how our Part 2 “Later” one turns out! We welcome our many friends to be on the lookout for that one, coming, as I know it will, sooner or later!

Steve: I can actually be a bit more specific on this, as Part Two, The Later Songs, will hit your inboxes and Substack app on Thursday, August 13.

But before we get there, we need you to vote for your favorite “Sooner or Later” track from these five fabulous nominees!

• Two more “Sooner or Later” songs that almost made this sooner list are this one, from the great Jimmy Cliff, and this one, by The Impressions. Would you have chosen either of them should they have been included?

• Which of these 5 was your favorite and why?

• Brad and I will be discussing some more fantastic “Sooner or Later” songs for part 2, coming soon!

• If you’d like to be a special guest for a future STUDS, drop me a message or email (earworm@substack.com). Click the button below to message me directly.