Song of the Day 12/2: Climax Blues Band, “Couldn’t Get It Right”

It’s actually about the band on tour not being able to find the Holiday Inn — that’s the sign they were looking for in the middle of the night — but the title makes it a good theme song for the Trump coup plotters.

Like the Top of the Pops host, I thought this lot was American, but they formed in the British Midlands as the Climax Chicago Blues Band in 1967, part of the British blues revival of the period. They soon moved into blues rock and built up a fan base in England through heavy touring (and shortened their name in deference to the American band Chicago), but had little chart success until their manager demanded they come up with a hit for their otherwise completed “Gold Plated” LP in 1976. They responded with the biggest hit of their 19-album career.

Though released in February, “Couldn’t Get It Right” didn’t reach the UK charts until fall, peaking at No. 10 in October. It wasn’t released until 1977 in the U.S., where it did even better, topping out at No. 3. After punk dried up the market for British blues-rock, the band turned to a soft-rock sound that produced one more hit, 1981’s “I Love You,” which is too treacly to be posted here.

Here’s what they sounded like when they started out.