In March 1966, '
Substitute' was another song that was originally only a single. It was the first song released by the band that was produced by Pete
The primary inspiration for the song was the 1965 single '
The Tracks of My Tears' by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Pete became obsessed with the line, "
Although she may be cute / She's just a substitute" which led him to celebrate the word with a song all its own. He has also acknowledged that the main guitar riff was derived from a single by Robb Storme and The Whispers entitled '
Where Is My Girl'
When the single was
released in the US, segregation was still in effect which resulted in some self-censorship by the band. The line "
I look all white, but my dad was black" had to be changed to “
I try walking forward but my feet walk back.”
"You think we look pretty good together
You think my shoes are made of leather
But I'm a substitute for another guy
I look pretty tall but my heels are high
The simple things you see are all complicated
I look pretty young, but I'm just back-dated, yeah
Substitute your lies for fact
I can see right through your plastic mac
I look all white, but my dad was black
My fine looking suit is really made out of sack
I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth
The north side of my town faced east, and the east was facing south
And now you dare to look me in the eye
Those crocodile tears are what you cry
It's a genuine problem, you won't try
To work it out at all you just pass it by, pass it by
Substitute me for him
Substitute my coke for gin
Substitute you for my mum
At least I'll get my washing done"
For the 'B'-side of the song, those who bought the single in the UK got a newly re-recorded version of 'Circles' produced by Pete, while those who got the US version got the strangely titled 'Waltz For A Pig'. This was the most public manifestation of the Shel Talmy problem. Shel = The Pig!
This instrumental was credited to The Who Orchestra, but in actuality is was performed by The Graham Bond Orgnisation, featuring Graham Bond on Organ, Ginger Baker on Drums, Dick Heckstall Smith on Sax and Mike Falana on Trumpet. There was no Bass Player on the track as Jack Bruce had recently been fired by Ginger Baker!