Yes, Yeah, No, and Know was the theme dreamed up by Bill for tonight’s jam. Participating, we had Sally, Dave, Bill, Betty, Frank, Dan, Ken, Jen, Wendy Sue, Irene (second time), Dennis, Jean (for the first time) and Leah returned after missing the last one.

As usual, Ken started us off with SIDE BY SIDE with brand spanking new 3 beat [C] at the end followed by [C9]. Sigh, the controversy continues.

We enjoyed your haiku PJ but would rather have had you here to play your selection of Bill Withers’ AIN’T NO SUNSHINE. We did well on the chorus but lost track of the I Know’s and several of us were all over the place. We tried.

Not to be out done by repetitive no’s was Bill’s NOBODY BUT ME by one-hit wonder, The Human Beinz. This was a fail of major proportion. Lost amongst countless no’s and nobody’s.

I (Arlene) got us back on track with Ringo Starr’s NO NO SONG. We all enjoyed it and played it very well. Jen said she loved it. Add to list.

We next played Dan’s TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM, a global hit by the Teddy Bears. It was interesting to learn that Phil Spector was actually in a band although this one was short lived. He wrote this song, sang it, and played guitar.

Irene gave us a lovely song by The Carpenters, FOR ALL WE KNOW. Several of us thought we didn’t know this one but after Irene started us of there were several “Oh yeahs” and "I know this one." She also gave is YES SIR, THAT’S MY BABY. Good one, which sounded better the second time around, slightly faster.

Bill’s next song was another The Beatles number, YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW and it was great. Also list worthy.

My next song was The Beatles again. I love how their work fits so many of our themes. YES IT IS. I was surprised to hear Bill say he didn’t know it.

My favorite of the night was suggested to me by Bill. GETTING TO KNOW YOU from The King and I. I first introduced it 3 years ago when we did Broadway show tunes. I made up a better chord sheet for this night and we played great. Everyone enjoyed it. Most certainly add to the list. Then we went on to HELLO GOODBYE (The Beatles) which I rated so-so.

Wendy Sue suggested DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE which I figured everyone would know but we struggled with it. It turns out we were not familiar with the verses but we did kill it on the chorus:

“ Wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo, wo.”

YOU’RE NO GOOD was another from Wendy Sue. My notes say “not too bad and the last line is a caplla.” Continuing with Wendy Sue we went on to destroy THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS. I can remember Ethel Merman belting this one out on the Ed Sullivan show when I was a little girl. However, we did play the chorus well. Then Wendy gave us SHE LOVES YOU (The Beatles) which was lots of fun yeah, yeah yeah!

Bill pulled out all his gear for Ken’s pick from Yes. I’VE SEEN ALL GOOD PEOPLE. Suitcase drum, washboard snares and I don’t know what else, but it made for a lot of fun. Ken also gave us OWNER OF A LONELY HEART, also by Yes. [Am], [C], [D], and [G] chords could not be any easier but not being familiar with the tune made this a real struggle for me.

Bill’s GREAT PRETENDER (The Platters) was another awesome number of the night. He also gave us Sam Cooke’s BRING IT ON HOME which was lovely.

One from Jen, Amy Winehouse’s REHAB. I don’t know this at all and had no idea how to strum the easy chords, much less sing it.

Back to Bill, The Zombies’ TELL HER NO was just fair.

Wendy Sue again with YOU’LL NEVER KNOW (HOW MUCH I CARE). Only David and Wendy Sue knew this one. She also submitted The Beatles’ DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET. Ken was the only one able to play this well.

The last song of the night was THE WILD ROVER (Wendy Sue). I enjoyed Ken’s table pounding (a feature of this song apparently). Oh well, a fun number to end the night.

Our next theme will be Folk Songs.

Until then, you keep strumming,

-- Arlene.