Tyrone Davis: "Turn Back the Hands of Time" (1970)

Jack Daniels was having problems in his relationship. He partnered with Bonnie Thompson and this song was the result. Daniels had written another of Tyrone Davis' his "Can I Change my Mind" in 1968.

As for singer Tyrone Davis, he was born Tyrone Fettson. Like many, many performers, he was born in Mississippi, but wound up in Chicago. He would wind up as chauffer for blues great Freddie King and also sang in clubs where he was discovered. His first records released as Tyrone the Wonder Boy did not do well, but he hit it big with his next label and changed his name to Davis at the suggestion of producer Carl Davis (very creative of him).
Tyrone would release 25 singles and 32 albums in his career, but no song for him was as successful as "Turn Back the Hands of Time." The song would sit two weeks at number one on the R & B charts and hit number three on the pop charts as well. The record would go gold the same year.


The song grabs you right away with the opening riff of base, which turns out to be the hook, along with the backing vocals saying "If I could turn back the hands of Time."

Oh darling I'm so lonely without you
Can't sleep at night always think about you
But if I had the chance to start all over
I would be wishing today on a four leaf clover
And leaving you with the last thing on my mind
If I could turn back the hands of time
Tyrone would have a successful career doing live performances. He had a stroke in 2004 and passed away in 2005 at the age of 66.

Hank Penny: "Bloodshot Eyes" (1950) Wynonie Harris (1951)

We love this song. Written by Hank Penny, it is the granddaddy to the like themed "You Done Tore Your Playhouse Down Again" by King Biscuit Boy, posted here in August of 2012.

Hank Penny had a Texas/country swing pedigree and wrote three hits before leading a band in Las Vegas. He was part of Spade Cooley's band that was hugely popular before Spade was arrested for murdering his wife for seeing Roy Rogers on the side. But we digress...

As fun as Hank's version was, Wynonie Harris took it to a different level. His gruff and more citified version was a big hit and was perhaps one of the first songs to bridge racism due to the songs popularity in the U.S. and Caribbean.

So I guess our little romance has finally simmered down

You should join the circus, you make a real good clown
Your eyes look like a road map, I'm scared to smell your breath
You better shut your peepers before you bleed to death

Don't roll those bloodshot eyes at me
I can tell you've been out on a spree
Well it's plain that you're lyin'
When you say that you've been cryin'
Don't roll those bloodshot eyes at me
Don't roll those bloodshot eyes at me

Wynonie Harris would have a string of single hits from 1946 to 1952. After that he fell on tough times before recording some sides for Chess records in the early 60's. He would play the Apollo Theater in 1967 with Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Witherspoon, and T-Bone Walker.

He died in 1969.

Hank Penny's song and what Wynonie Harris did with it led to an incalculable number of covers of "Bloodshot Eyes" over the years. 

We are including Penny's original version followed by the Wynonie Harris version (note the differences in presentation). Followed by two staff picks. A '70's version by Asleep at the Wheel which is true to the original and a big band version by Pat Benatar off of her thoroughly underrated album True Love.