Songwriters, everywhere, make sure to learn a lesson from the Five Man Electrical Band. Always be aware of your surroundings. The band’s biggest hit, “Signs”, stands as a testament to this notion.
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The band’s chief songwriter, Les Emmerson, was road-tripping when some unwanted scenery inspired him to write the song. “Signs” would turn out to be a Top 10 smash twice over thanks to a popular cover version many years down the road from its first release.
Name Change
The story of “Signs” begins with a band called The Staccatos. In their native Canada, they started to carve out a nice following in the mid-60s. They even put some songs into the Canadian Top 40.
At some point, however, they were given the advice that their name was a bit old-fashioned for a rock scene that was growing increasingly edgier and more psychedelic. The band had recorded a song called “Five Man Electrical Band”. They decided to adopt that name in 1968 going forward.
The name change did not lead to immediate success. In fact, the band found themselves scrambling for a new label as the 70s dawned. They eventually signed with Lionel Records, which was an offshoot of the company that was known for selling model trains to hobbyists. It was for that label that the band delivered their most enduring song.
A Bad Trip and a Great Song
Les Emmerson was taking a trip on the famed Route 66. But he became frustrated by the preponderance of billboards that he saw. Not only did these signs interrupt the scenery, but they all seemed to be telling him something he should or shouldn’t do. “Signs” was a direct offshoot of that experience.
Originally, the Five Man Electrical Band released “Signs” as a B-side to a single that failed in 1970. In 1971, their new label put it out front as the first single from the reissued album Good-byes And Butterflies. Not only did it score big in Canada, but it crossed over to the US, hitting No. 3.
In 1990, Tesla was looking for a few cover songs to add in with originals on a live acoustic album they were planning. “Signs” was one of the choices. The song took off all over again, hitting No. 8, proving that Lee Emmerson’s original message still hit home after all those years.
Behind the Lyrics of “Signs”
Each of the three verses in “Signs”, as well as the middle eight, acts as its own little morality play. At a job application, on private property, at a restaurant, and in church, the narrator witnesses signs that seem arbitrary, unjust, and discriminatory. “Hey! What gives you the right?” he barks at one such malefactor.
In each of these circumstances, Emmerson manages to one-up these sign-erectors with common-sense arguments. But in the chorus, he expresses his frustration at the abundance of these nuisances. “Sign, sign, everywhere a sign,” he complains. “Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind/Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?”
Five Man Electrical Band never again came up with a hit of that magnitude. (Neither, for that matter, did Tesla.) But one-hit wonder status means a lot more when that one smash keeps its relevance so well and so long as “Signs” has managed to do.
Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage
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