Tommy Roe – "Jam Up and Jelly Tight" (1969)

You won’t say you will but

There’s a chance that you might

When the Federal Reserve Board tapered its bond purchases after the financial crisis of 2008, the bond market did not react well – bond prices fell, and interest rates shot up.  Wags called the extreme bond market reaction to the Fed’s decision to taper its bond purchases a “taper tantrum.”

The Fed is worried about making a misstep that will trigger a second “taper tantrum” and throw a monkey wrench into the nascent economic recovery from the covid-induced recession of 2020.  It has taken pains to assure the markets that it isn’t talking about tapering just yet.

In fact, the Fed has said that it isn’t even talking about talking about tapering yet.

The Federal Reserve Board’s  
headquarters in Washington, DC

At some point – maybe later this year, or maybe 2022 – the Fed will start tapering bond purchases, which may or nor trigger another taper tantrum.  But before it starts to taper, of course, it will have to talk about tapering.

And before it talks about tapering, it will have to talk about talking about tapering.

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2 or 3 lines is much bolder than the Federal Reserve Board.  Not only have we talked about talking about who deserves to be in the 2021 class of the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE’ HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME, we have actually talked about it.

And not only have we talked about who deserves to be included in this year’s group of inductees, we have actually decided who deserves to be included.

During the month of July, while 2 or 3 lines is whiling away the hours biking, visiting breweries, and playing with grandchildren on Cape Cod, we staff will be posting about each of the eleven new members of the 2 OR 3 LINES “GOLDEN DECADE’ HIT SINGLES HALL OF FAME.

But before we do that, let’s remember the records that have already been honored. 

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Here’s the class of 2018:

Animals – “House of the Rising Sun” (1965)

Bob Dylan – “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965)

Who – “I Can See for Miles” (1966)

Association – “Along Comes Mary” (1966)

Beach Boys – “Good Vibrations” (1966)

Byrds – “Eight Miles High” (1966)

Steppenwolf – “Born to Be Wild” (1968)

Grass Roots – “Midnight Confession” (1968)

Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)

Richard Harris – “MacArthur Park” (1968)

Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Fortunate Son” (1969)

*     *     *     *     *

Here’s the class of 2019:

Four Seasons – “Rag Doll” (1964)

Beatles – “Eight Days a Week” (1965)

Rolling Stones – “Satisfaction” (1965)

Animals – “It’s My Life” (1965)

? and the Mysterians – “96 Tears” (1966)

Supremes – “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (1966)

Turtles – “Happy Together” (1967)

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell – “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (1967)

Doors – “Light My Fire” (1967)

Deep Purple – “Hush” (1968)

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – “Fire” (1968)

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And last but certainly not least, here’s the class of 2020:

Beach Boys – “I Get Around” (1964)

Rolling Stones – “Paint It, Black” (1966)

Four Tops – “Reach Out I'll Be There” (1966)

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart -- “I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight” (1968)

Iron Butterfly – “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” (1968)

Shocking Blue – “Venus” (1969)

Simon and Garfunkel – “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)

Blues Image – “Ride Captain Ride” (1970)

Free – “All Right Now” (1970)

Grand Funk Railroad – “I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)” (1970)

Who – “Won't Get Fooled Again” (1971)

*     *     *     *     *

Geez Louise, that’s an a-m-a-z-i-n-g group of records – 33 hit singles that were great when they were released, and which sound just as good today.  

Kudos to me for doing one hell of a job so far!

And here’s another clue for you all – the records included in this year’s class are just as bangin’ as those in the classes of ’18, ’19, and’20!

You don’t believe me?  Just watch this space over the next month, boys and girls.  

 

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Tell the truth.  When a Tommy Roe record comes on the radio – like “Sweet Pea,” or “Dizzy,” or today’s featured song, “Jam Up and Jelly Tight” – you not only don’t change stations, but also tap your toe and sing along until the very last note is played.  

Am I right, or am I right?

I’m guessing that “Jam Up and Jelly Tight” was a favorite of the young Harvey Weinstein thanks to lyrics like these:

I said the first day I met you

Someday I’m gonna pet you

Now you’re here and baby I love it

So come on and give me some lovin’!

Click here to listen to Tommy Roe’s last top ten hit record, “Jam Up and Jelly Tight,” which he co-wrote with Freddy Weller.  (Weller is best known as a country music recording artists with a half-dozen top ten country singles to his credit, but he got his start as Paul Revere and the Raiders’ lead guitarist.) 

Click on the link below to buy today’s featured song from Amazon:

Tommy Roe – "Jam Up and Jelly Tight" (1970)

You won't say you will

But there's a chance that you might!

If I had been a father in Atlanta in the fifties, I wouldn't have been happy to see Tommy Roe sniffing around my daughter.  Based on the lyrics to "Jam Up and Jelly Tight," it looks like Tommy had one thing and one thing only on his mind.

Tommy was a sly one.  He started girls off with a compliment, and then politely asked for a little smooch:

You've got a sweet disposition

So come on and give me permission

For one kiss and maybe another

Note how Tommy asked for the girl's permission before moving in for a kiss.  His behavior would pass muster on even the most politically-correct college campuses – unless he had gotten the girl drunk or slipped her a roofie before asking for a kiss.

As you've probably read, colleges have recently become very serious about preventing sexual assault.

Antioch Hall at Antioch College

Antioch College was way ahead of these johnny-come-latelies when it came to overthinking this issue.  Here's part of what Sandy Banks, a Los Angeles Times columnist, wrote last year about Antioch's code of sexual conduct:

It seemed funny 20 years when Antioch College unveiled a sexual offense prevention policy so prescriptive that students weren't allowed to kiss without receiving explicit permission.

(It wouldn't have been so funny if you were a male Antioch student, of course.)

The small Ohio campus became the butt of national jokes, including a parody on Saturday Night Live mocking the question-and-answer process that student trysts required.

The code's premise was simple: every sexual encounter, from first kiss to post-coitus snuggle, must be agreed upon by both parties.

"Silence is not consent," the policy decreed. Also: "Body movements and . . . moans are not consent," and "Grinding on the dance floor is not consent."

(Excuse me all to pieces, but I must admit that I thought grinding on the dance floor was a pretty good indication of consent.  I guess I'm lucky that no woman ever engaged in such grinding with me or I might have done something I shouldn't have.)

The person initiating the sexual activity had to ask for consent. The person asked was required to respond verbally. Each new level of intimacy called for another verbal agreement.  

(That last sentence pretty much eliminates the ol' "Abe Lincoln" from my repertoire.)

After "one kiss and maybe another," the singer of "Jam Up and Jelly Tight" moved in for the kill:

I said, the first day I met you

"Someday, I'm gonna pet you"

"Petting" is a funny word.  In case you're not sure exactly what it means, here's how TeenAdvisor.com defines it:

More often referred to as "Making Out" or "Rounding The Bases" (you know, getting to first base, second base, third base . . . ), and sometimes called "Heavy Petting." Petting is actually a term that covers a broad range of sexual behaviors, including giving/getting a hickey, deep kissing, and sexual touching of one's partner. 

(Can I admit something?  I never understood what the deal with hickeys was.  What the hell was the point of giving or getting a hickey?)

TeenAdvisor.com sees petting as fairly benign, describing it "a natural progression in becoming a sexually mature adult."  (That's easy for TeenAdvisor.com to say because TeenAdvisor.com doesn't have teenaged daughters!)

The site's discussion of petting closes with a statement that few people would argue with:

Many adults, if they search their memories, recall their first sexual touch quite fondly, many remembering the first time they touched a breast or penis all of their life.

(You can bet the farm on that, boys and girls.)

"Jam Up and Jelly Tight" was a top ten hit for Tommy Roe in 1970.  It was the last of his top ten singles, which included "Sweet Pea," "Hooray for Hazel," and "Dizzy" (which made it all the way to #1).

Roe co-wrote "Jam Up and Jelly Tight" with Freddy Weller, who joined Paul Revere & the Raiders just before they visited Joplin, Missouri in 1967, where they performed at Memorial Hall and took the cover photo for the Revolution! album.

Here's "Jam Up and Jelly Tight":

Click below to buy the song from Amazon: