Welcome to Music Friday when we often bring you vintage songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today the spotlight shines on the legendary Etta James and her 1961 satirical romp, "Tough Mary."



In this song that tells the story of a pretty girl and the boys who try to impress her with gifts, we hear Tough Mary's sassy way of expressing her distaste for posies. James belts, "Don't bring me flowers; don't bring me the sea / Just bring me diamonds, that'll suit me fine / And I'll love you forever, and you'll be mine."

"Tough Mary" is the fifth track on James' At Last! album, a release that spawned four hits. One of those was the title song, which was to become the R&B legend's signature tune. In 2012, Rolling Stone magazine ranked At Last! #119 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Born to a teen mother in 1938, Jamesetta Hawkins never knew her father and was raised primarily by her grandparents and foster families. She received her first professional vocal training at the age of five and soon became a popular singing attraction at the St. Paul Baptist Church in South Central Los Angeles. She formed the doo-wop singing group — the Creolettes — with her friends in the early 1950s and scored her first hit single as a 15-year-old.

One year later, James was going steady with B.B. King ("The King of the Blues") and believed that King's 1960 blockbuster hit "Sweet 16" was about her.

James went on to become a headliner in the early 1960s with a string of chart-toppers, including "The Wallflower," "At Last," "Tell Mama," "Something's Got a Hold on Me," "Stormy Weather" and "I'd Rather Go Blind."

Her unmistakable voice, unique style and ability to bridge so many musical genres — such as blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and gospel — earned James coveted spots in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Blues Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Often referred to as the "The Matriarch of R&B," James passed away in 2012, just five days shy of her 74th birthday. The world misses Etta James, but her music — and her Facebook fan page with 1 million followers — lives on.

We hope you enjoy James' performance of "Tough Mary." The video and lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Tough Mary"
Written by Lorenzo Manley. Performed by Etta James.

Tough Mary, Tough Mary (Yeah, that's me)
Tough Mary is tough

The boys would come from miles around, with presents every day;
But when they'd call on Mary, this is what she'd say:

Don't bring me poses, when it's shoes I need;
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary)
Don't bring me flowers; don't bring me the sea
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary is tough)
Just bring me diamonds, that'll suit me fine;
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary)
And I'll love you forever, and you'll be mine
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary is tough!)

Well, Mary, she's a very pretty girl; I guess she was born that way;
But whenever they would tell her that, this is what she'd say:

Don't bring me poses, when it's shoes I need;
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary)
Don't bring me flowers; don't bring me the sea
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary is tough)
Come on and bring me some diamonds, that'll suit me fine;
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary)
And I'll love you forever, and you'll be mine
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary is tough!)

Tough Mary
Tough Mary
Tough Mary

Don't bring me poses, when it's shoes I need;
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary)
Don't bring me flowers; don't bring me the sea
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary is tough)
Come on and bring me some diamonds, that'll suit me fine;
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary)
And I'll love you forever, and you'll be mine
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary is tough!)

Oh, I'm tough;
(Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary, Tough Mary)
Yeah, yeah I'm tough


Credits: Facebook.com/EttaJames

Welcome once again to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today we dig through our album vault and dust off a 1978 rock and roll classic, "Hollywood Nights" by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.



This hard-driving anthem is about a Midwestern boy who moves to the West Coast and falls head over heels for a gorgeous big city girl. Seger sings, "And those Hollywood nights / In those Hollywood Hills / She was looking so right / In her diamonds and frills."

In the end, the girl who had "been born with a face that would let her get her way" abandons our hero, leaving him brokenhearted and unsure whether to return to his simpler country lifestyle.

The Detroit native told the Detroit Free Press in 1994 that he was inspired to write the song while living 2 1/2 months in a rented house in the Hollywood Hills.

"I was driving around in the Hollywood Hills, and I started singing 'Hollywood nights/Hollywood Hills/Above all the lights/Hollywood nights.' I went back to my rented house, and there was a Time magazine with [model] Cheryl Tiegs on the cover. I said, 'Let's write a song about a guy from the Midwest who runs into someone like this and gets caught up in the whole bizarro thing.'"

Seger noted that the power behind "Hollywood Nights" comes from the use of two distinctively different drum sets playing different patterns and then dubbed over one another. Drummer David Teegarden played one pattern for the initial session, and then recorded a second pattern using different a different snare, kick-drum, hit-hat, etc.

"Hollywood Nights" became the second single from Seger's album, Stranger in Town. It reached #12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and became an instant favorite of concert-goers.



The multi-talented Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Among his many hits are "Night Moves," "Turn the Page," "Still the Same," "We've Got Tonight" and "Against the Wind." He's also credited with co-writing the Eagles' #1 hit "Heartache Tonight." In all, Seger has sold more than 50 million albums and, at 70 years old, he continues to bring his youthful energy to sold-out venues across the country.

Please check out this vintage video of Seger's live performance of "Hollywood Nights." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Hollywood Nights"
Written by Bob Seger. Performed by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.

She stood there bright as the sun
On that California coast
He was a Midwestern boy on his own
She looked at him with those soft eyes
So innocent and blue
He knew right then he was too far from home
He was too far from home
She took his hand and she led him along that golden beach
They watched the waves tumble over the sand
They drove for miles and miles
Up those twisting turning roads
Higher and higher and higher they climbed

And those Hollywood nights
In those Hollywood hills
She was looking so right
In her diamonds and frills
Oh those big city nights
In those high rolling hills
Above all the lights
She had all of her skills

He'd headed west cause he felt that a change would do him good
See some old friends, good for the soul
She had been born with a face
That would let her get her way
He saw that face and he lost all control
He had lost all control
Night after night
Day after day
It went on and on
Then came that morning he woke up alone
He spent all night staring down at the lights on LA
Wondering if he could ever go home

And those Hollywood nights
In those Hollywood hills
She was looking so right
It was giving him chills
In those big city nights
In those high rolling hills
Above all the lights
With a passion that kills

In those Hollywood nights
In those Hollywood hills
She was looking so right
In her diamonds and frills
Oh those big city nights
In those high rolling hills
Above all the lights
She had all of her skills


Credits: Facebook/Bob Seger; Instagram/Bob Seger.