The group, The Duntinos, quickly made a name for themselves performing regularly at local Beale Street and area venues. "Red" taught the guys to perform, and they learned to entertain under the tutelage of Rufus "Walking The Dog" Thomas, while working the "Chittlin Circuit" with him and his band, The Bearcats. After Curtis and Eliehue graduated, the Duntinos moved to Buffalo, New York with Curtis' relatives, looking, for the "Bright Lights" of New York, but found that Buffalo was very cold, and a long way from "The Big Apple". After working a few jobs in Buffalo, the group return to Memphis to do some backup vocals for Carla and Rufus Thomas and other artist recording at a new studio, then called Satellite Records.
In 1961 the group recorded their first release "You Make Me Feel So Good"(Curtis -lead), a song that Curtis wrote b/w "As You Can See"(Eliehue-lead), written by Eliehue Stanback. The group's name was changed to The Chips for this release, named after producer, Chips Moman. In 1961, Curtis joined the Air Force, but continued to record when on leave from the Military. In 1963 the group's name was changed again to The Astors for the next release, written by guitarist, Larry Lee who played with Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock and later played with Al Green for years. That record was " What Can It Be" b/w "Just Enough To Hurt Me"(Curtis-lead). "What Can It Be is my favorite of all the songs we recorded", says Curtis.
In 1965, Stax Records, formerly Satellite, released a song on the group "Candy" that was recorded while Curtis was on leave.
"Candy"(Curtis-lead), written by Booker T & MG's guitarist Steve Cropper and Isaac Hayes, was their biggest record. The song b/w "I Found Out" , written by Eliehue, climbed to #12 on the Billboard Top 100 R&B charts, and #63 on the Top 100 Pop charts. As "Candy" moved up the charts, The Astors performed on shows at the Uptown Theater in Philly, the Howard Theater in D.C., The Regal Theater in Chicago, and The Apollo Theater in New York. The other performers on these shows included The O'Jays, The Coasters, Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions, and Redd Foxx to name a few. The Astors also spent 2 1/2 months performing on tour with The James Brown Review.
In late Summer of 1965, the group traveled to Los Angeles, CA with the first Stax Review to perform in Watts, and spent 13 days their filming TV shows during the day ("Where the Action Is" a Dick Clark production, and "Hollywood A-Go-Go", a syndicated dance show and Shivaree, another dance TV show). Nights, the group performed at nightclubs on The Strip in Hollywood. A 2-night stand at the 5/4 Ballroom Club in Watts was the climax of this tour, and was recorded live.
The complete Stax Review included Carla and Rufus Thomas, Booker T. and The MG's, William Bell, The Mad Lads, Wilson Pickett, and The Mar-Keys. These shows were recorded and can be heard on "Funky Broadway: Stax Live At The 5/4 Ballroom" (SCD-8567-2). The 1965 "Watts Riot" started about this time. "We could see the smoke from the riot while we were flying out of LA." says Curtis.
The follow-up record to "Candy" was "In The Twilight Zone" (Curtis-lead) written by Isaac Hayes, David Porter, and Sidney Bailey b/w "Mystery Woman" written by Cropper & Hayes.
Later, Richard decided to leave the group to spend more time with his family, and Curtis' brother, Harold Johnson, joined the group. In 1967 the group recorded and released a song written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell, "Daddy Didn't Tell Me" b/w More Power To You" written by David Porter and Curtis. Eliehue and Sam were drafted into the military thereafter, and the group broke up.
In 1992, Fantasy Records, who took over the Stax catalogue, after Stax closed it's doors for good, released a Box Set of 9 CDs that included 5 Astors songs, and in 1995 reissued The Astors music on the CD " The Astors Meet the Newcomers: Sweet Soul from Memphis" that include 11 songs by the group. Many compilation CDs have been released over the past 8 years that also include songs the Astors recorded at Stax, some of them were never released before.
Keep An Eye On Your Close Friends
The Astors Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm not sure of the words yet;
Huh, I'm not sure of anything!
Life is very rough and tumble for a humble siseuse;
One can betray one's troubles never, whatever occurs!
Night after night,
Have to be bright, Whether you're well or ill;
The people have to laugh their fill,
You mustn't sleep till dawn comes creeping.
Though I never really grumble,
Life's a jumble indeed!
And in my efforts to succeed
I've had to formulate a creed.
I believe in doing what I can,
In crying when I must
And laughing when I choose.
Heigh ho!
If love were all I should be lonely!
I believe the more you love a man,
The more you give your trust,
The more you're bound to lose;
Although, when shadows fall I think if only
Somebody splendid really needed me,
Somebody affectionate and dear,
Cares would be ended
If I knew that he wanted to have me near.
But I believe that, since my life began,
The most I've had is just a talent to amuse, Heigh ho!
If love were all!
I believe the more you love a man,
The more you give your trust,
The more you're bound to lose;
Although, when shadows fall I think, I think if only
Somebody splendid really needed me,
Somebody affectionate and dear,
Cares would be ended
If I knew that he wanted to have me near.
But, ah-ha, I believe that, since my life began,
The most I've had is just a talent to amuse,
Heigh ho!
If love were all!
The Astors' song "Keep an Eye On Your Close Friends" touches on the difficulties of life, and the need to put on a brave face and entertain others despite one's troubles. The lyrics suggest a sense of resignation, as if the singer has accepted that life is tough but still holds onto a hope for love and affection. The opening lines, "Please please play my music for me / I'm not sure of the words yet / Huh, I'm not sure of anything!" set the tone of uncertainty and vulnerability. The singer's job requires them to constantly perform, whether they are sick or well, and to make others laugh regardless of how they feel inside. The line "Night after night, / Have to be bright" shows the weight of this responsibility.
Line by Line Meaning
Please please play my music for me,
I request you to play my music for me
I'm not sure of the words yet;
I haven't finalized the lyrics of the song yet
Huh, I'm not sure of anything!
I'm not sure of anything in life
Life is very rough and tumble for a humble siseuse;
Life is challenging for a simple seamstress
One can betray one's troubles never, whatever occurs!
One cannot share their troubles with anyone, no matter what happens
Night after night,
Every night
Have to be bright,
One has to be cheerful
Whether you're well or ill;
Regardless of whether you're healthy or sick
The people have to laugh their fill,
People expect you to make them laugh
You mustn't sleep till dawn comes creeping.
You cannot sleep until dawn breaks
Though I never really grumble,
Although I don't complain much
Life's a jumble indeed!
Life is chaotic
And in my efforts to succeed
In my attempt to be successful
I've had to formulate a creed.
I had to come up with a set of beliefs
I believe in doing what I can,
I believe in doing what's possible
In crying when I must
In expressing my emotions when I need to
And laughing when I choose.
And laughing when I feel like it
Heigh ho!
An exclamation used to express weariness or boredom
If love were all I should be lonely!
If only love was enough, I would still feel lonely
I believe the more you love a man,
I believe that the more you love someone
The more you give your trust,
The more you trust the person
The more you're bound to lose;
The more likely you are to get hurt
Although, when shadows fall I think if only
But at times when things get tough, I wish
Somebody splendid really needed me,
Someone amazing truly needed me
Somebody affectionate and dear,
Someone loving and caring
Cares would be ended
All my worries would disappear
If I knew that he wanted to have me near.
If I knew that he wanted to be close to me
But I believe that, since my life began,
But I think that, throughout my life
The most I've had is just a talent to amuse,
All I possess is the ability to entertain others
Heigh ho!
An exclamation used to express weariness or boredom
If love were all!
As if love was the only thing that mattered!
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: NOEL PIERCE COWARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marthamotown8920
Keep your eyes always wide open! Grazie e ciao!😘😗😚