The Hump Day Picker-Upper

For those of us taking care of business during the regular workweek, I guess it’s safe to assume we’ve all felt that dreadful Wednesday blues. Sometimes, that middle point of the workweek can be a true drag. But help is on the way!

A popular New Jersey pop-rocker during his concerts likes to pose the question, ‘Is there a doctor in the house?’ His fans undoubtedly know who I’m talking about. But don’t worry, I’m not going to offer you bad medicine. After all, these posts are supposed to treat the Wednesday blues you may feel, so we need something good.

Undoubtedly, music can be a fantastic therapy to cheer us up. Music is the doctor makes you feel like you want to/Yo`u gotta listen to the doctor just like you ought to/Music is the doctor of my soul. No matter whether you’re a man who lives in the city, you’re a man who lives in the street, from FLA up to Frisco bay and ev’rywhere in between, I give you The Doctor by The Doobie Brothers.

It’s safe to assume some folks have mixed feelings about this tune, which appeared on the Doobies’ 10th studio album Cycles released in May 1989. Sure, at that time, Toulouse Street (1972) and The Captain and Me (1973, arguably the crown jewels of their catalog, were ancient history. And, yes, both are gems, but I also find Cycles, the group’s reunion album following their 1982 breakup pretty enjoyable.

The Doctor, written by Doobies co-founder and guitarist Tom Johnston, together with producers Charlie Midnight and Eddie Schwartz, was first released on May 3, 1989, as the album’s lead single, two weeks ahead of the record. It climbed to no. 9 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 and also became a top 40 hit in Canada (no. 14), Australia (no. 32) and The Netherlands (no. 37). Here’s a real live take of the tune from the Doobies’ second live album Rockin’ down the Highway: The Wildlife Concert released in July 1996.

Following is what Johnston told Songfacts: “I actually wrote that song before the band even re-formed. It wasn’t called ‘The Doctor’ then. I was playing with some guys around here in Marin County. I was in a band called Border Patrol, and the chorus that you hear where the actual ‘doctor’ part is, ‘I need to go to the doctor, yadda yadda,’ didn’t exist. That was written by Charlie Midnight and Eddie Schwartz, that whole – if you want to call it – hit lead chorus.”

“I was never that nuts about that song, I gotta be honest with you. It just sounded way too poppy and slick for me. I just didn’t think it really had quite the balls as some of our previous tunes. And, you know, it served its purpose. It got us national attention for a little bit. It didn’t last very long. But you know, people are paying attention again, and we had just come out with a new album, so that was a good thing.”

There you have it, folks. Even Johnston had mixed feelings about the song. He also makes what I think is a fair point that’s easy to forget for those of us who have a “regular job”. Professional music artists need attention and also make some money, at least every now and then, to sustain themselves. Plus, dare I say it, stylistically, I don’t think The Doctor is that much different from China Grove, another Johnston tune from the above noted The Captain and Me album.

Happy Hump Day, and always remember George Harrison’s wise words: All things must pass!

Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts; YouTube

In Appreciation of Healthcare Professionals

Not a day goes by that you don’t see stories on TV and in other news outlets, reporting about the incredible work healthcare professionals are doing around the U.S. to care for people who are sick from the coronavirus. Last night, I caught a segment on CNN, which really got to me. For a change, I wished it was fake news, but it wasn’t!

A CNN anchor interviewed two women who are working as hospital nurses in New York City: A 20-year-old and another nurse who I guess was in her ’50s – hard to tell! Both looked extremely exhausted. The older nurse was working despite having some COVID-19 symptoms herself. Why was she still coming to work? ‘Because that’s what we do,’ she said. In the beginning, the 20-year-old tried to put on an optimistic face as best as she could, but it was obvious she was scared to death. She had just written her will and admitted she had cried a lot over the past week.

Twenty years old and feeling compelled to write her will? That’s only two years older than my son! And this is happening in America in the 21st century?

Both women pleaded with government officials that healthcare workers be provided with the protective equipment they need to continue caring for patients while reducing the risk of getting sick themselves. I have to say I never thought I would witness something like this in the U.S., one of the richest countries in the world. WTF!

It’s beyond my comprehension why certain so-called leaders at the state and federal level don’t use their full authorities to help contain the spread of the virus and fight it with all means they have at their disposal. This is not a time to question scientists or view things through an ideological lens. People are dying all around us, for crying out loud!

I’ll stop the rant here to get to the essence of the post – music, more specifically songs that in a broader sense are about doctors. Admittedly, I have to stress the word “broader” here. In any case, the idea is to give a shoutout and honor the selfless work healthcare professionals are doing across the U.S. every day. Typically for lousy pay!

Steely Dan/Dr. Wu – Donald Fagen & Walter Becker; Katy Lied (1975)

Bruce Springsteen/The Lady and the Doctor – Bruce Springstein; Before the Fame (1997)

Jethro Tull/Doctor to My Disease – Ian Anderson; Catfish Rising (1991)

Robert Palmer/Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) – Moon Martin; Secrets (1979)

Jackson Browne/Doctor, My Eyes – Jackson Browne; Jackson Browne (1972)

Blue Öyster Cult/Dr. Music – Joe Bouchard, Donald Roeser & Richard Meltzer; Mirrors (1979)

Counting Crows/Hospital – Coby Brown; Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation) (2012)

Doobie Brothers/The Doctor – Tom Johnston, Charlie Midnight & Eddie Schwartz; Cycles (1989)

Black Sabbath/Rock ‘n’ Roll Doctor – Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward & Ozzy Osbourne; Technical Ecstasy (1976)

The Fray/How to Save a Life – Isaac Slade & Joe King; How to Safe a Life (2005)

Sources: Wikipedia; Ultimate Classic Rock; YouTube

It’s That Time Of The Year Again…Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Nominations

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has unveiled the class of 2020 nominees. Inevitably, this will respark the annual debate whether artists who fall outside the rock genre like Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G. or Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan should have been nominated in the first place, or why certain rock bands or artists who have been eligible for many years once again did not make the class. But despite all the Rock Hall’s imperfections, the music nerd in me still gets excited. Following are the artists I dig the most among the nominations.

If you glanced at the subhead of this post, you already know where I’m going with this. Ladies first: Pat Benatar. Having been eligible since 2004, Benatar is one of the great female rock vocalists in my book. According to her bio published on the Rock Hall’s website, Benator is a classically trained mezzo-soprano who quit her job in 1971 to pursue a career in singing. In 1979, she met guitarist Neil Giraldo, and the two formed a long-lasting duo, established their own entertainment company, and are still performing to this day. Here’s Heartbreaker from Benatar’s debut album In The Heat Of The Night, which was released in August 1979. Co-written by Geoff Gill and Cliff Wade, the tune was her breakthrough single, climbing to no. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The clip, which is from Benator’s 35th anniversary tour that took place in 2015, also throws in Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash – fun to watch!

T. Rex, initially called Tyrannosaurus Rex, were formed as a psychedelic folk rock group by singer-songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan in 1967. In 1970, the band changed their name to T. Rex and began their transition toward glam rock, which first was on full display on their sixth studio album Electric Warrior from September 1971. The band went on to record six more albums until Bolan’s untimely death in a car accident in September 1997, just two weeks prior to his 30th birthday. T. Rex had many members over the years. From the line-up that existed at the time of Bolan’s death, it appears only Herbie Flowers (bass) and Tony Newman (drums) are still alive. Here’s what’s perhaps the band’s best known song, Get It On. Written by Bolan, it appeared on the Electric Warriors album. T. Rex have been eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993.

Next up: Thin Lizzy, a great band formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1969, who has been eligible for a nomination since 1996. In particular, I dig them for their twin lead guitar harmonies. Until the band’s breakup in September 1983, Thin Lizzy released 12 studio albums. In January 1986, co-founding member, bassist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, who had been the group’s de facto leader, passed away from pneumonia and heart failure caused by sepsis. In March 1996, guitarist John Sykes, who had been part of Thin Lizzy’s final line-up, decided to revive the band. While he is no longer part of it, the group remains active to this day. Essentially, they are performing as their own tribute and except for a few live albums have not released any new records. In addition to their great guitar sound, one of the cool things about Thin Lizzy was the band’s interracial aspect – Lynott’s father was from British Guiana. His mom was from Dublin. The Boys Are Back In Town from Jailbreak, Thin Lizzy’s sixth studio album that appeared in March 1976, is a great example of the aforementioned twin lead guitars. On this song, they were played by Brian Robertson and Brian Downey.

As more frequent visitors of the blog know, I’m a fan of The Dobbie Brothers, so I was particularly pleased to see their nomination. The band had been eligible since 1996. What always attracted me to the Dobbies, which were founded in San Jose in 1970, was the combination of rock and their amazing three-part harmony singing. Two of the original vocalists, Tom Johnston (guitars, vocals, harmonica) and Patrick Simmons (guitar, vocals), remain part of the band’s current line-up. John McFee (guitars, pedal steel, violin, harmonica, vocals) has been a part of the group since 1979. I’ve seen the Dobbies twice over the past 20 years, most recently last year, and they still sound phenomenal. While I generally prefer the band’s early phase, here’s a great rocker from their 10th studio album Cycles released in May 1989: The Doctor, a tune co-written by Johnston, Charlie Midnight and Eddie Schwartz. The clip was captured during a concert in April 2017.

The induction ceremony will be held at Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio on May 2, 2020. It will be preceded by induction week with celebratory events and the opening of the 2020 inductee exhibit. Music fans can vote once a day from now on through January 10, 2020 and pick up to five nominees per ballot. The top five artists will comprise a “fans’ ballot” that will be tallied along with the other ballots to choose the 2020 inductees.

Sources: Wikipedia; Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website; YouTube