Marshall was the director behind a start-up label, Cadet Concept Records, and wanted to focus on music outside of the blues and rock genres, which had made the Chess label popular. This led Marshall to turn his attention to the burgeoning psychedelic movement. He recruited Charles Stepney, a vibraphonist and classically-trained arranger and producer for sonic wizardry. Marshall then recruited members of a little-known white rock band, The Proper Strangers (Bobby Simms, Mitch Aliotta & Ken Venegas). Sidney Barnes, a songwriter within the Chess organization, also joined, as did Judy Hauff and a Chess receptionist named Minnie Riperton, who would later be successful in her own solo career. Marshall also called up prominent session musicians associated with the Chess label, including guitarist Phil Upchurch and drummer Morris Jennings.
The band released their self-titled debut album in late 1967. It plays like a melange of styles, borrowing heavily from pop, rock, and soul, but in a way that isn't entirely radio-friendly. The album also boasts an Eastern influence through its use of the sitar on Turn Me On and Memory Band. Stepney's arrangements, brought to life by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, imbue the album with a certain dreamlike quality; this would become a trademark of both the arranger and the mouthpiece. The album proved to be a modest success within the Midwest, but failed to make an impact nationally -- this was to be the Rotary's ultimate fate.
The band returned in 1968 with a pair of albums, Aladdin and Peace. The former was the group's proper sophomore effort, and it found Riperton assuming a more prominent vocal role than the "background instrument" status she had on the debut. The latter was a Christmas release, with strong pervasive messages of love and understanding for a nation in the grips of Vietnam. The album's cover art of a hippie Santa Claus more than makes its intentions known. Peace is notable for being involved in controversy: an anti-war cartoon in a December 1968 edition of Billboard magazine featured a graphic image of a bruised and bloodied Santa on a Vietnam battlefield. Mistaking this cartoon for the album's cover art, Montgomery Ward cancelled all shipments of the album.
Rotary Connection would release three more albums: Songs, in 1969, a collection of drastic reworkings of other artist's songs, including Otis Redding's Respect and The Band's The Weight and Cream's Sunshine Of Your Love. Dinner Music followed in 1970, in which they added elements of folk and country into the mix along with some electronic experimentation, and; Hey Love in 1971, where the band, oddly credited as the New Rotary Connection, ended its career with a jazz-oriented affair. From this particular album came the uplifting I am the Black Gold of the Sun, which was famously covered in 1997 by underground dance outfit Nuyorican Soul.
After the break-up of the band, Stepney served as a producer and arranger for other artists, most notably the soul outfit Earth, Wind, & Fire. He died in 1976 of a heart attack. Minnie Riperton enjoyed the fruits of a successful solo career until breast cancer ended her life in 1979. Sidney Barnes continues to work a singer and songwriter, and in recent years has gained a following in the U.K.. The other remaining members of the band either attempted other, lower-profile, musical endeavours or divorced themselves entirely of the business. Thanks to reissues of their catalog in the late 1990s and the appropriation of material through sampling within the hip-hop community, Rotary Connection has been formally introduced to a new generation.
Stormy Monday
Rotary Connection Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lord, but Tuesday's just as bad
I heard somebody call it stormy Monday
I'm here to let you hear that tuesday's just as bad
Lord, and wednesday's worse
And thursday comes and it's all so sad
Good Lord
Now the eagle flies on friday (that's right)
Each and every Saturday I go out to play
The eagle flies on Friday
Each and every Saturday I go out to play
Not one but every, hey
Not two but every hey
Not three but every Sunday morning I go to church get down on my knees and pray
They call it stormy Monday
But I'm here to let you know that Tuesday's just as bad
They call it stormy Monday
But I'm here to let you know that Tuesday's just as bad
Lord, and wednesday's worse
And thursday comes and it's all so sad
Ohh
Ohh
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy on me
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy on me
Though I'm tryin' and tryin' to find my baby
Won't someone please send her home to me
The song "Stormy Monday" by Rotary Connection talks about the struggles and hardships the singer faces throughout the week. The lyrics describe how Monday is difficult due to intense storms but Tuesday is just as bad, and Wednesday and Thursday are even worse. Despite the struggles, the singer remains hopeful that their lover will come back to them. They detail how they play on Friday and Saturday but still attend church every Sunday to pray for their lover's return. The song paints a vivid picture of someone who is grappling with difficult circumstances while still holding onto hope for a better future.
One interpretation of the lyrics could be that the stormy weather is a metaphor for the singer's emotional state. The weather is a reflection of the chaos they feel inside as they try to find their lover. They hope for a brighter future, symbolized by the image of the eagle flying on Friday, but the days leading up to it are just as difficult. The repetition of the line "Lord, have mercy on me" emphasizes the singer's desperation and need for divine intervention to help them through their struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
They call it stormy Monday
The start of the week is often referred to as stormy Monday
Lord, but Tuesday's just as bad
However, Tuesday can be just as unfavorable
I heard somebody call it stormy Monday
I have heard others refer to the beginning of the week as stormy Monday
I'm here to let you hear that tuesday's just as bad
I am here to confirm that Tuesday is just as unpleasant as Monday
Lord, and wednesday's worse
Wednesday is even more unfavorable
And thursday comes and it's all so sad
By Thursday, the week seems bleak
Now the eagle flies on friday (that's right)
Friday is a day of freedom and relief
Each and every Saturday I go out to play
I enjoy my Saturdays with leisure activities
Not one but every, hey
Not just one Saturday, but every Saturday
Not two but every hey
Not two Saturdays, but every Saturday
Not three but every Sunday morning I go to church get down on my knees and pray
I attend church every Sunday morning and devote myself to prayer
Lord have mercy
I ask the Lord for mercy
Though I'm tryin' and tryin' to find my baby
I am making an effort to find my significant other
Won't someone please send her home to me
I plea for someone to bring my beloved back to me
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: AARON WALKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind