Welcome to another edition of Battle of the Bands!
BATTLE OF THE BANDS (BOTB), hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands. is where you listen to different recordings of the same song and vote for the one you like best. Two “Battles” per month, on the 1st and 15th. Votes will be tallied and posted the following week. (See below for further details.)
♫ Today’s battle pits a solo female vocalist against a hard rock band. ♫
►When you’re done here, please scroll down for a special announcement.◄
TRAIN OF THOUGHT
This song was written by Alan Earle O’Day (October 3, 1940 – May 17, 2013), an American singer-songwriter best known for “Undercover Angel“, a million-selling #1 hit in 1977. He also wrote songs for several other notable performers, such as the 1974 Helen Reddy #1 hit “Angie Baby“ and The Righteous Brothers‘ #3 Gold hit “Rock and Roll Heaven“. On to the contest:
CHER
Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer and actress. Described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry, (my kind of woman!) she is known for her distinctive contralto singing voice and for having worked in numerous areas of entertainment, as well as adopting a variety of styles and appearances during her five-decade-long career.
Cher gained popularity in 1965 as one-half of the folk-rock husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher after their song “I Got You Babe” reached number one on the American and British charts. She began her solo career simultaneously. “Train of Thought” is the first track from her 1974 album, “Dark Lady“. (I still have that album!)
VS
JOHN KAY & STEPPENWOLF
Steppenwolf is a Canadian-American rock band, formed in 1967 in Toronto by vocalist John Kay, with several members of his previous band, The Sparrows.
They came to prominence when their iconic hits “Born to Be Wild” (which coined the phrase “heavy metal” and got me hooked on hard rock music) and “The Pusher” were featured in the 1969 movie, “Easy Rider“.
“Train of Thought” is the fourth track from Steppenwolf’s ninth album, Skullduggery, released in 1976. (I still have that one, as well.)
VOTE NOW!
Please state your preference in comments below and why you chose it.
Voting remains open until midnight ET, June 20th,
after which I will count the votes, add mine and publish the results.
These are the other BOTB regulars and semi-regulars.
Please cruise on by their sites and, if they have a post up, vote on their selections as well:
[Check back – there’s no set posting time]Angels Bark / Cherdo On The Flipside / Curious as a Cathy / DC Relief BOTB / eVil pOp TaRt / J.A. Scott / Janie Junebug Righting & Editing / Jingle Jangle Jungle / Mike’s Ramblings / Quiet Laughter / ReInVintaged / Sound of One Hand Typing / StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands / Tossing It Out / / Your Daily Dose
HOST
I hope I can entice you to come back tomorrow to meet someone special:
Introducing Angelika Schwarz, a new author of contemporary literature, short stories and poems. Angelika will be happy to chat with you and answer any questions. You can also purchase Angelika’s books right here at The Doglady’s Den. Her suspense novel, “Wings at Her Heels”, is a real thriller!
~~~~~
As always, “Sharing is Caring”. Spread this musical joy all over your social networks.
Hashtag is #BOTB
Until next time.
ROCK ON!
♫♪♫♪♫ Rockchick Rapture!
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
42 thoughts on “TRAIN OF THOUGHT – BATTLE OF THE BANDS #BOTB”
Stumbled, Pinned and Tweeted your post. Good to be back after a long while.
Thanks, even though voting has closed on this one. Always appreciated. 🙂 Welcome back! Don’t you find Stumbleupon offers no engagement and increases your bounce rate? That’s why I didn’t include it in the sharing buttons.
STEPPENWOLF gets my vote with their rocking rollicking version of this song. Cher did great, really cool song.
I vote for Cher. I’ve loved her for years, and if voices could kill, hers would leave corpses on the floor with that song.
Love,
Janie
These two are neck and neck! That’s another vote for Cher and her killer voice. Thank you, Janie. 🙂
I have to go with Steppenwolf because I just love this band. I love the blues vibe and the guitar and his voice. I love Cher but it didn’t grab me as much. I have a question…..even when I was a kid and would see Chastity I never thought she looked like Sonny or Cher but always thought about Greg Allman and wondered….hmmmmm. Now I actually did look at the video because I love how Cher dresses, and saw a picture of Chastity and Cher and then Cher with Greg Allmann and think could he be the daddy? Just a wonderin’
Another thing we have in common, Birgit. 🙂 Steppenwolf and Cher are both favourites of mine as well. That’s one more vote for J.K. and the Wolf. This battle is a real squeaker! Chastity, now Chaz Bono was born in March 1969. Cher married Allman in 1975. Who knows whether or not they were carrying on a clandestine affair all those years? Interesting to speculate about! 🙂
I thought sure I’d vote for Cher, Always loved her powerful voice. But alas, she didn’t sound as good as I remembered, or maybe it was just this song (good one, by the way!) Anyhow, Steppenwolf gets my vote, I think the song itself fits them better.
Thanks for voting, Diedre. That’s another one for J.K. & the Wolf. This is a close battle! 🙂
TREMENDOUS BATTLE, DEBBIE!
I dig this song and had to listen to both versions twice to make up my mind.
I really don’t care for Cher (have always found everything about her kind of embarrassing) but I loved her version. Both are excellent “Crank-It-Up-To-Eleven” recordings. But, much to my surprise, I’m going to cast my vote for Cher. Her version was tighter, more focused, and even though the electric organ is my favorite instrument (and Steppenwolf always used it wonderfully) that piano in Cher’s version kind of locked my vote down for her.
Me voting Cher and the piano over Steppenwolf and the B-3? Highly irregular. But this IS ‘BOTB’ where expectations go to die.
~ D-FensDogG
‘Loyal American Underground’
I’m so pleased this battle is giving people a hard time! 😀 It will be tough for me to decide as well. I would never have pegged you as a fan of Cher’s and so this vote does surprise me. Thank you, Stephen! Glad you enjoyed the battle.
Hahaha! You’re not likely to find many girly voices around here, Shady, as I’m sure you know. 🙂 (There are a few exceptions, of course, like Neil Young. 😉 ) I think more people will know Cher’s version but not Steppenwolf’s since that was only an album track and not a hit. It is a tough choice; both are high on my list of favourites as well. That’s yet another vote for the rockin’ rendition by J.K. & Steppenwolf. Thanks!
Of course, I voted for Ms. Cher. That woman’s contralto voice is absolutely dynamic. I also like the way the musicians highlight her voice. Love her.
Shalom aleichem,
Patricia
Cher has one of the most amazing contraltos on the planet! 😀 Thanks for coming by to vote, Pat. Cher is catching up!
Holy crap Debbie, this is tough!!! I am a major Cher fan and I love her singing this song. But I also really dig John Kay and Steppenwolf. Who to vote for?? I’m listening to both a second time. John Kay and the boys have such a great 70s sound and the instrumentation rocks. Really rocks. It’s sooooo good! But Cher really puts herself into the song and I feel it more from her. I feel the lyrics more from her than I do from John Kay.
I know that you are a huge John Kay fan and that he’s your all time fav pretty much so I hate to do this but I’m going to give my vote to Cher on this one. Only by a hair though because I really do like John Kay’s version a great deal. I just like Cher’s a tad more…
Excellent battle!
Michele at Angels Bark
I know, this is going to be a tough choice for me as well. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed the battle, Michele. Nice to see more votes for Cher coming in, too. Chalk another one up for Cher!
Cher is who I will cast a vote for. Of course, she is trailing.
She may be trailing, but she’s still awesome, regardless! 🙂 Thanks for voting. Cher gets another one.
Look again! 🙂
I had to give both songs a few listens before I could make my vote. I really enjoyed both so much. I could feel Cher’s passion in her version, and Steppenwolf just rocked this one so very well.
After all is said and done, I am going to give my vote to Steppenwolf. Excellent battle, Debbie!
I’m having a tough time deciding as well, Mary. Sign of a good battle! 🙂 I’m glad you liked it and thanks for voting. Another one for J.K. & the Wolf.
It woulda been a toss-up, surprisingly to me, if not for the closing instrumental. The boys leave Cher in the dust.
This is a toughie, for sure. 🙂 Steppenwolf definitely knows how to rock! Another vote for John Kay and his band. Thanks for playing.
Tough battle today. I was initially thinking I was going to go with Cher but I wanted to be sure so I listened again.
This time Steppenwolf was my decision. I do that sometimes, think I’m going to vote one way, then vote another after I do another quick re-listen. Please place my vote for Steppenwolf.
Are you sure now? 😉 This one is a toughie, I know. Steppenwolf it is! Thanks for playing.
Hey Debbie, I could go on and on about how disappointing social media is in some ways. (It allows everyone to just let their crazy out and put it on full display.) As a kid, I thought Cher was the cat’s meow. Again, I could go on and on about this, but we only have so long here. I still think she is so very talented (and that is what we’re judging in these battles), but I sure wish she’d delete her Twitter account. Anyway, back to the song. Cher nails this song. I feel it when she sings it. She has to get off that damn train. John Kay does a fine job with the song (and I see he’s racking up plenty of votes and will likely win this thing), but I don’t believe him like I believe her. So, a vote for Cher.
Cher gets crazy on Twitter? I didn’t know she was active on there, but couldn’t you just unfollow her posts? Yes, this is about the musical talent and nothing else. I appreciate that you can set your personal feelings aside and vote accordingly. That’s another one for Cher. Nice to see votes for her coming in, now. I was afraid this was going to be a blowout! Thanks for playing!
Wow, Debbie! I’m a fan of Cher and Steppenwolf…and I remember this song. After listening to both twice I’ll probably be in the minority, but Cher’s version is better to me. Love the instruments backing her more than John’s.
Vote for Cher!
Oh good! Finally, a vote for Cher! I was worried this would be a blowout. Thanks for coming by.
Definitely the Steppenwolf version. John Kay’s voice is better on this, and the backup band is much more appropriate for the music.
Steppenwolf has a commanding lead, now! Thanks for your vote, John. 🙂
Hi Debbie–I’m back. I’ve skipped a few, unfortunately, but the title interested me and I thought I’d drop by. I’m thinking like Shady on this one. I liked Cher in her earlier years, both with Sonny and without, but some of her later stuff was a bit weird for my taste. This one? It was okay, but I really preferred Steppenwolf’s version much better. And, like most of the others, I really liked the instrumentals in Steppenwolf.
It’s a funny thing: I liked Steppenwolf a lot when I was younger, even though I don’t remember hearing their name much; of course, that could be because I wasn’t listening to names, unless it was Beatles, Byrds, Animals, Stones, etc. and then Elton John, although the latter was because he just kept put stuff out there, along with those crazy sunglasses he wore. Easy Rider was one of my favorite movies; I think I saw it 4 times, which was a lot for me. Anyway, Steppenwolf it is, this time.
Welcome back, Mary! 🙂 It’s nice to know you’re a fan of Steppenwolf’s and the movie “Easy Rider”. I have a DVD copy and watch it about once a year. Steppenwolf is taking an early lead here. Thanks for your vote.
I think I was in love with Peter Fonda in that movie, and I absolutely loved “Blue’s Theme”. All these years I thought it was a sax, but then discovered it was a synthesizer. Wow! I still love it. It looks like Cher is catching up.
Fonda was cool, for sure! 🙂 And yes, the contest is actually tied now, thanks to a couple of mystery voters (Cher fans) who didn’t leave a comment. Here you are; enjoy!
Thumbs up for Steppenwolf. It was fun comparing this song. Thanks for the beat to my morning coffee! 🙂
Thanks for checking out the battle, Angelika. 🙂 That’s another vote for the Wolf.
Gosh, have I ever heard this song before? It doesn’t ring a bell with my memory. The song fits both artists very well which makes this a tough decision. Eeny meeny oh my!
I guess I’ll have to choose so I’m going with the rockin’ Steppenwolf version. I prefer the loping rhythm and the guitars. And I like John Kay’s voice better–at least on this song.
Good match to create a tough battle.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Hi Arlee, I just had a great time surfing through your blog. I see we have the same taste in music! I would have loved to have left a comment… but couldn’t find a place to do so. Maybe you can give me a tip where I can find comments. Thank you, and I will be following you! Angelika
Thanks, Angelika! Not seeing what you’re seeing I don’t have an answer. The comment box should be right at the bottom of the posts–you can click on the post title to make it appear or scroll down to where it says “comments” right after the time of the post. It should be pretty easy to bring up. Glad you checked out my site.
Arlee Bird
This one’s a toughie, for sure! 🙂 Thanks for your vote. First one goes to J.K. & Steppenwolf.