Feels Like the First Time: My First Record

This post first appeared last week on A Sound Day, a great blog by Dave as part of his fun Turntable Talk feature, where he invites contributions from other bloggers on a topic he proposes. His latest ask, which he playfully titled ‘Feels Like the First Time,’ was to write about the first album we ever bought. In this republished version of the post, I altered the feature image and added one of the embedded images. I also adjusted the formatting of the post to fit the style of this blog.

Thanks, Dave, for inviting me back for another Turntable Talk contribution. Your recurring feature truly is a gift that keeps on giving. I particularly enjoy reading the posts from fellow bloggers and the insights I gain in both their music tastes and personalities. And since I love writing about music, of course, it’s also fun sharing my own two cents.

This time, Dave asked us to reflect on the first album we bought, whether on vinyl, CD or in other formats. Jeez, I oftentimes can’t recall what I did the previous day, so remembering what I did some 45-plus years ago seems to be impossible. So, I decided to take some liberty with the topic.

While I really can’t remember the first record I bought with my own money, which to be clear would be my monthly allowance or any German Marks I received as a gift for my birthday or Christmas, I’m fairly certain three records were among the very first I owned and still do to this day!

Two of them are pictured below.

I believe The Beatles compilation I bought with my “own” money. The greatest hits sampler by The Everly Brothers, on the other hand, was a gift.

Obviously, I could have picked The Beatles, my all-time favorite band. But I’ve written multiple times about them, including once for Turntable Talk. That’s the main reason I picked the following record. Plus, given Elvis Presley was my first and only childhood idol before I discovered the four lads from Liverpool, there’s a high probability I owned Elvis’s 40 Greatest prior to getting the Beatles compilation.

Before I get to the record, let me tell you a little bit about my obsession with Elvis as a kid back in Germany. While my six-year-older sister introduced me to some of the greatest music ever recorded, such as Carole King’s Tapestry, Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s Déjà Vu, the “King of Rock and Roll” was my own discovery.

I must have “met” the man for the first time on the radio. We’re talking about 1976 or 1977, when I was 10 or 11 years old. I can’t recall specifically what it was that grabbed my attention in ways no other music had done before then. Mind you, I didn’t understand or speak any English, so I was reacting to Elvis’ amazing voice, as well as the cool groove and incredible energy projected by tunes like Tutti Frutti and Jailhouse Rock.

I became truly infatuated with Elvis and wanted to know everything about him. Obviously, there was no Internet back then, so I couldn’t simply ask Mr. Google or check Wikipedia! I do recall reading a bio published in paperback but sadly don’t remember the author or the title. Mr. Google didn’t help either, but since that bio included Elvis’ death in August 1977, obviously, it must have appeared thereafter – I assume sometime in 1978.

I also watched Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite on German TV. Given the original broadcast aired in 1973, it must have been a re-run, likely in the wake of Elvis’s passing. I also recall watching the Western Flaming Star (1960). Elvis starred in many movies, most of which were forgettable. I would say Flaming Star and Jailhouse Rock (1957) were among the best ones.

Dance scene from 1957 motion picture Jailhouse Rock, directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughn Taylor and Jennifer Holden

My obsession with Elvis culminated in attempts to impersonate the King in front of the mirror. I would even put grease in my hair. Once I also “costumed” as Elvis during the so-called Karneval season, which is prominent in the Rhineland, the area where I grew up, especially in the cities of Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Aachen and Mainz. Costuming, dancing, parades, drinking and happiness (or is it really forced silliness?) are part of the celebration, which reaches its climax in the week leading up to Ash Wednesday when ‘everything is over,’ as the Karneval fans say.

Once I started picking up the guitar as a 12- or 13-year-old, incorporating the instrument became part of my Elvis impersonation package. One of the first Elvis tunes I learned was (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear. My poor parents really had a lot to endure!

Okay, I think you get the picture. I idolized Elvis, of course in an innocent childish way.

Time to finally get to some music and the aforementioned compilation, which according to Discogs was released in 1978. I know I got it as a present for Christmas, and we’re likely talking about the holiday that same year.

As also noted above, I still own that copy. While a bit worn it’s still playable. To prove it, I’ll leave with clips of four tunes I captured myself, one from each side of the double LP.

Side 1, Track 7: (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear (1957) – of course, I couldn’t skip that one!

Side 2, Track 2: Hard Headed Woman (1958) – this song just rocks; love the cool guitar solo by the great Scotty Moore!

Side 3, Track 10: Can’t Help Falling In Love (1961) – call it schmaltz, but that tune is a true beauty, which literally has brought me to tears!

Side 4, Track 8: Suspicious Minds (1969) – one of my all-time favorites I couldn’t skip!

While since those days back in the second half of the ‘70s I’ve become a bit more mature (I think!) and no longer idolize Elvis, or anyone else for that matter, I still enjoy much of his music. I also think Elvis was an incredible performer, especially in the ‘50s before joining the U.S. Army in March 1958 for his military service.

Sources: Wikipedia; Discogs; YouTube

Best of What’s New

Happy Saturday and welcome to the latest installment of my weekly new music revue. The first two picks are on albums that came out yesterday (May 5), while the two final tracks are from April 28 releases.

The Lemon Twigs/Every Day Is the Worst Day of My Life

Kicking things off are The Lemon Twigs, who I first featured in an August 2020 Best of What’s New installment. They were formed by brothers and multi-instrumentalists Brian D’Addario and Michael D’Addario in 2014 when they were still high school students on Long Island, N.Y. The brothers come from an artistic family. Their father is power pop songwriter Ronnie D’Addario, who also plays various instruments. Their mother Susan Hall pursued acting and entertainment in her younger years before becoming a neuropsychologist. At first, Brian and Michael stepped into their mothers feet with a series of theater, entertainment and TV productions before founding The Lemon Twigs. Their first release was a cassette, What We Know, issued as a limited edition in 2015, followed by their debut studio album Do Hollywood from October 2016. It’s hard to put The Lemon Twigs in one genre. Their music has included classic rock, glam rock and pop. One common denominator is a cool retro sound with elements of ’60s and ’70s. Their fourth and latest album Everything Harmony has a strong power pop vibe. Here’s Corner of My Eye, which first appeared in January as the lead single. Their Bandcamp page describes the tune, which was co-written by the two brothers, as channeling an Art Garfunkel-like vocal melody over a moody, vibraphone-tinged backing track suggesting the chamber pop of Brian Wilson. This is just gorgeous!

Olivia Jean/Raving Ghost

Olivia Jean initially became known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of all-female garage goth rock band The Black Belles who came together in Nashville, Tenn. in 2009. The catalyst was Jack White, formerly one-half of The White Stripes, who is also a producer. After White had listened to a demo of solo recordings by Jean, he introduced her to Ruby Rogers (bass), and Shelby Lynn (drums, percussion). The three ladies went into the studio to record some original songs, were encouraged by their chemistry and became The Black Belles. White produced their eponymous debut album, which was released in 2011. It turned out to be their only full-length release. After touring with moderate success, the band went on hiatus the following year. This prompted Jean to launch a solo career. Since her 2014 debut Bathtub Love Killings, she has released two additional albums under her name, including her latest, Raving Ghost. All of her three solo albums have appeared on White’s label Third Man Records. Here’s the title track of Jean’s new album.

John Andrews & The Yawns/Checks In the Mail

John Andrews & The Yawns is a music project by multi-instrumentalist and indie pop artist John Andrews. According to his AllMusic bio, The Yawns were a fictional backing band at first, as Andrews played all the instruments on his debut. He did employ accompanists for his later albums, but his low-key and lo-fi pop vision changed very little once he had a band, with his murmured vocals and subtle, melodic keyboard work still his stylistic hallmarks. 2015’s Bit by the Fang and 2017’s Bad Posture were tuneful exercises in dreamlike indie pop, while 2021’s Cookbook and 2023’s Love for the Underdog tightened the focus on his ’70s California soft rock influences. While pursuing his solo endeavors, Andrews has also played drums in psychedelic indie rock band Quilt and keyboards for folk-rock band Woods. Off his latest album with The Yawns, here’s the pleasant opener Checks In the Mail, which first appeared on February 6 as the lead single.

Alex Caswell/The Kaleidoscopic Lighthouse

My final pick for this week is neo-psychedelic songwriter and Alex Caswell. This talented multi-instrumentalist and studio artist entered my radar screen earlier this week, thanks to fellow blogger Angie Moon who featured an interview with him on her great blog The Diversity of Classic Rock. From his web bio: Alex Caswell is a 30 year old Neo-Psychedelic songwriter from Asheville, NC. Caswell was born and raised in Raleigh, but moved to Asheville in 2016. It is in Asheville that he began studying record producing and record engineering, with the goal of developing these skills to make his own records. He has studied jazz and music theory, as evidenced by the musical flexibility featured on his debut album…He cites Cannonball Adderley and Pat Martino as being influential on his lead guitar playing, which is another fluent skill of his. However, he is quick to point out the influence of classical composers on his songwriting, like Tchaikovsky and Bach, to name a few examples. He wrote all the songs on Visualize [his new debut album – CMM]. He plays all the instruments on Visualize, with the exception of drums. He sang all the songs, including each and every harmony part. He recorded, mixed, and mastered every track on Visualize. Caswell even created the artwork for his debut record. In his above interview with Angie, he noted Pink Floyd and The Beatles among his influences. Since I generally dig psychedelic rock, I didn’t waste much time checking out the entire album, and I think it’s great. I agree with Angie that headphones will give you the best listening experience. Here’s a sample: The Kaleidoscopic Lighthouse.

This post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist of the above and a few additional tunes by each of the featured artists:

Sources: Wikipedia; The Lemon Twigs Bandcamp page; AllMusic; Alex Caswell website; The Diversity of Classic Rock blog; YouTube; Spotify

Song Musings

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time again to take a closer look at a song I’ve only mentioned in passing or not covered at all on this blog to date. My pick for this installment of Song Musings is Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. I won’t deny this tune falls outside my core wheelhouse, now perhaps even more than back in the ’80s when it first came out, and yet I find myself drawn to it!

Written and produced by the British singer-songwriter, the synth-pop song first appeared in August 1985 as the lead single to her fifth studio album Hounds of Love. At the time, it became Bush’s biggest hit overall since her January 1978 debut single Wuthering Heights and her first top 40 single in the U.S. To me, there’s something hauntingly powerful about Running Up That Hill. And while based on what I’ve heard to date I find Kate Bush can be quirky, I have to admit this lady is an impressive artist.

In 2022, the song, aka Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), enjoyed a massive resurgence, topping the charts in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Ireland and New Zealand. It also peaked at no. 3 in the U.S., marking Bush’s highest-charting single to date on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune’s renewed popularity was fueled after it had been featured in the fourth season of the Netflix series Stranger Things.

“It’s about a relationship between a man and a woman,” Bush explained in a 1985 interview, as documented by Songfacts. “They love each other very much, and the power of the relationship is something that gets in the way. It creates insecurities. It’s saying if the man could be the woman and the woman the man, if they could make a deal with God, to change places, that they’d understand what it’s like to be the other person and perhaps it would clear up misunderstandings. You know, all the little problems; there would be no problem.” Here’s a cool live version featuring then-Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour who adds a bit of rock flavor.

Running Up That Hill helped make Hounds of Love a commercial success for Bush after relatively low sales of the predecessor The Dreaming from September 1982. Hounds of Love did best in the UK where it reached 2x Platinum status, which there means one million in certified unit sales. In Germany and Canada, it secured Platinum status, based on 500,ooo and 100,000 certified unit sales, respectively. The album topped the charts in the UK and The Netherlands, and reached the top 10 in Germany (no. 2), Australia (no. 6), Canada (no. 7), as well as no. 9 in France and Sweden.

Following are some additional insights from Songfacts:

Bush wrote this with the title “Deal With God.” Her label made her change it because they didn’t think radio stations in any religious countries (Italy, Ireland…) would play a song with “God” in the title. Bush thought that was ridiculous, but agreed to the change because after spending two years making the album, she didn’t want her song to get blacklisted because of the title.

It was a rare creative compromise for Bush, and one she came to regret, as she feels “Deal With God” is the proper title and part of the song’s entity.

This was Kate Bush’s biggest hit in the US, where she has a small but devoted following. She was a chart regular in her native UK, where the Hounds Of Love album knocked off Madonna’s Like A Virgin to claim the top spot, and popular throughout much of the world, but remains mostly unknown in America.

Stateside success was never her priority. Bush rarely plays live and never did a concert in America. Her record company had a hard time promoting her there because she didn’t travel to the country and didn’t do many phone interviews with American journalists. While “Running Up That Hill” was taking off in other parts of the world, American radio was saturated with more straightforward acts like Duran Duran, Whitney Houston, Huey Lewis & The News, and Phil Collins. A lot of it had to do with MTV, which didn’t put the “Running Up That Hill” video in rotation.

Bush wrote “Running Up That Hill” using a Fairlight CMI digital synthesizer. She was one of the first to use the device, including it on her 1980 album Never For Ever.

Typically, Bush writes on piano, but composing on the Fairlight opened up new gates of inspiration. “There is something about the character of a sound,” she said in a 1992 radio documentary. “You hear a sound and it has a whole quality of its own that can be sad or happy, and that immediately conjures up images, which can of course help you to think of ideas that lead you onto a song, so everything is crucial for trying to find some direction with inspiration. A good sound is worth a lot artistically.”

Kate Bush not only wrote her own songs, but starting with her 1982 album The Dreaming, was also her own producer, a rare feat at the time especially for a female artist. Until she came along, the only woman on this level who did her own writing and production was Joni Mitchell, another singer of immense influence and acclaim.

The song’s concept is a flip on the Faustian bargain where one makes a deal with the Devil. When Bush thought about what it would take to switch places with your partner, she first thought of the deal with the Devil, then decided it could also be done through a deal with God, which would be even more powerful...

…Bush often used interpretive dancing in her music videos to express the emotion of her songs. By the time she released “Running Up That Hill” in 1985, she felt the art was being cheapened by the newer crop of talent on MTV. She explained in a 1985 TV interview with Canada’s Good Rockin’ Tonight: “During the gap between the last and this album, I’d seen quite a few videos on television that other people had been doing. And I felt that dance, something that we’d been working in, particularly in the earlier videos… was being used quite trivially, it was being exploited: haphazard images, busy, lots of dances, without really the serious expression, and wonderful expression, that dance can give. So we felt how interesting it would be to make a very simple routine between two people, almost classic, and very simply filmed. So that’s what we tried, really, to do a serious piece of dance.”

Clad in Japanese hakamas, Bush and her dance partner, Michael Hervieu, perform an intimate dance routine before they’re torn apart by a crowd of masked strangers. The dancers’ archery-inspired gestures are referenced in the single’s cover art, which features Bush brandishing a bow and arrow. The clip was directed by David Garfath and choreographed by Diane Grey.

Instead of airing the music video, MTV decided to use footage from Bush’s performance on a BBC TV program. According to the singer’s brother Paddy Bush, “MTV weren’t particularly interested in broadcasting videos that didn’t have synchronized lip movements in them. They liked the idea of people singing songs.”

Bush did just one concert tour – a run of 24 shows in Europe in 1979. She stopped touring because she got so focused on making music and the visuals to accompany it. “Running Up That Hill” she performed at just a handful of charity events until 2014, when she put on a production called Before The Dawn that ran for 22 shows at the Eventim Apollo in London. These shows were highly theatrical, with dialogue, dancing, illusion and elaborate set design framing her performances.

Bush’s record company wanted to release “Cloudbusting” as the first single, but Kate convinced them to release “Running Up That Hill” instead. Since they had already renamed her song, it was considered a compromise...

Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts; YouTube

The Dark Side of the Moon at 50 Remains a Timeless Gem

Missing the actual March 1 date wasn’t how I had envisaged celebrating it, but at the end of the day, I simply couldn’t ignore the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon– especially after I had found myself with some unexpected extra time to write a dedicated post about one of my favorite albums. Limiting myself to a brief song inclusion in yesterday’s installment of my Sunday Six recurring feature would have been pretty measly!

The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the rare albums I can think of that hasn’t lost any of its magic since its release on March 1, 1973. To start with, it continues to be a sonic gem to this day, which has aged very well. Moreover, while greed, division and mental disease, to name some of the topics the concept album explores, have existed since the beginning of mankind, these issues remain relevant today, arguably more than ever.

Since so much has been written about this album (once again, I’d like to call out fellow blogger Vinyl Connection’s outstanding recent post), I’ve decided to keep this upfront tight and mostly focus this post on the music. I also made the deliberate choice not to contribute to the over-exposure of Money, even though I still dearly love this tune. I will also skip the excellent Us And Them, since I just featured that track in my aforementioned Sunday Six.

Let’s start taking a closer look at the music with Breathe (In the Air), the second track on Side one (in vinyl speak!). Like all other tunes, the lyrics were written by Roger Waters, the mastermind behind the concept of an album to explore dark aspects of human existence. Come to think of it, “The Dark Side of the Human Condition” would have been an apt alternative title, though the chosen option much better captures the spacy sound. The music for Breathe was composed by Richard Wright and David Gilmour, Pink Floyd’s keyboarder and guitarist, respectively. Songfacts notes Breathe…is about an older man speaking to a baby, telling it to breathe. The old man then describes the unfortunate working life the baby will have to face: “Run, rabbit, run. Dig that hole, forget the sun.” The song implies that we need to overcome these messages and do what inspires us.

Once you hear the ticking clocks, you know it’s time for, well, Time. The album’s only track credited to all four members of Pink Floyd (including drummer Nick Mason) deals with the topic of mortality. From Songfacts: This song is about how time can slip by, but many people do not realize it until it is too late. Roger Waters got the idea when he realized he was no longer preparing for anything in life, but was right in the middle of it. He had just turned 28. Songfacts also notes the layers of clock noises were put together by Alan Parsons, who served as the album’s production engineer. The sounds of each clock were recorded separately at an antiques store and subsequently were blended together – quite a feat!

Side one closes with the magnificent The Great Gig in the Sky, which I simply couldn’t skip. The track’s key feature are extraordinary vocals by Clare Torry, a British singer who had been brought in by Parsons. “She had to be told not to sing any words,” Parsons told Rolling Stone in March 2003, as documented by Songfacts. “When she first started, she was doing ‘Oh yeah baby’ and all that kind of stuff, so she had to be restrained on that. But there was no real direction – she just had to feel it.” Torry rightfully ended up receiving a writing credit for her powerful contribution. This track continues to give me chills, even though I must have listened to it more than 100 times over the decades!

Let’s move on to Side two. As previously noted, I’m skipping Money and Us And Them, which also became the album’s two singles. Instead, I’d like to call out the two final tracks, which were each written and composed by Waters. First up is Brain Damage. Songfacts observes This is probably about insanity, something the band was quite familiar with. To me, there’s no doubt this tune is about mental disease! Songfacts adds, The line, “And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes” is a specific reference to Syd Barrett’s propensity for playing the wrong song on stage during his “episodes” towards his final days with Pink Floyd, which subsequently led to his dismissal. It’s really sad what certain drugs can do!

This leaves me with the final track titled Eclipse. It seamlessly follows Brain Damage, essentially making both tunes one song. From Songfacts: The album was well into production but didn’t have an ending until Roger Waters came up with the song. It reprises some lyrics to the opening track “Breathe” (“All that you touch, all that you see”) before closing out the album with the words, “There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it’s all dark.” Songfacts adds the closing statement was spoken by Gerry O’Driscoll, the doorman at London’s Abbey Road Studios, where this masterpiece was recorded. I think it’s safe to assume this makes Driscoll the most popular doorman most of the album’s listeners aren’t aware they know. I was one of them!

Following is a Spotify link to the album. If you own headphones, I highly recommend using them!

The Dark Side of the Moon has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide, which according to Wikipedia makes it the best-selling album of the ’70s and the forth-best selling in history after Michael Jackson’s Thriller (70 million), AC/DC’s Back in Black (50 million) and the soundtrack of The Bodyguard (45 million). A Billboard story published in March 2013 for the album’s 40th anniversary reported, Despite only reaching the No. 1 spot for one solitary week, the album continues to hold the record for the most weeks charted on the Billboard 200 (over 800 weeks!) and was a constant feature on the Billboard 200 from its initial release until 1988 – returning to the chart in late 2009 after Billboard revised its chart eligibility rules regarding older releases.

A look at the current Billboard 200 (week of March 4) reveals The Dark Side of the Moon at no. 155 with a total of now 972 weeks on the chart – that’s the equivalent of approximately 18.5 years! I imagine the upcoming March 24 reissue box-set The Dark Side of the Moon 50th Anniversary, if anything, is going to breathe in (no pun intended!) additional life for this amazing album!

Sources: Wikipedia; Songfacts; Billboard; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Another Sunday is upon us and I hope everybody is feeling groovy. It’s time again to embark on another trip to visit music from different decades and in different flavors, six tunes at a time. Let’s do it!

Lou Donaldson/That Good Old Feeling

Our first stop today is June 1957, which saw the release of Wailing With Lou, a studio album by Lou Donaldson. The American jazz alto saxophonist who is now 96 years officially retired in 2017 after a 64-year career as an active performer. Here’s an excerpt from the bio on his website: Jazz critics agree that “Sweet Poppa Lou” Donaldson is one of the greatest alto saxophonists of all time. He began his career as a bandleader with Blue Note Records in 1952 and, already at age 25, had found his sound, though it would continue to sweeten over the years — earning him his famed nickname –“Sweet Poppa Lou.” He made a series of classic records for Blue Note Records in the 50’s and takes pride in having showcased many musicians who made their first records as sidemen for him: Clifford Brown, Grant Green, Blue Mitchell, Donald Byrd, Ray Barretto, Horace Parlan, John Patton, Charles Earland, Al Harewood, Herman Foster, Peck Morrison, Dave Bailey, Leon Spencer, Idris Muhammad, and others. Coming back to the above-mentioned album, here’s the beautiful Donaldson composition That Good Old Feeling. The recording featured various of the above-listed jazz musicians, including Bryd (trumpet), Foster (piano) and Morrison (bass), along with Art Taylor (drums).

The Blasters/Crazy Baby

After having been eased in with smooth jazz, let’s visit 1980 and pick up the speed with great music by The Blasters. I first read about this American roots rock band on Cincinnati Babyhead’s blog. Formed in Downey, Calif. in 1979 by Phil Alvin (vocals, guitar) and his brother Dave Alvin (guitar), together with John Bazz (bass) and Bill Bateman (drums), the group had an initial 6-year run before they first broke up. Various incarnations of The Blasters have since been led by Phil Alvin who together with Bazz has been the only constant member. The current line-up also includes cofounder Bateman who rejoined in 2008. Crazy Baby, co-written by Ron Volz and Ron Wemsman, appeared on the band’s 1980 debut album American Music. It’s got a cool retro rockabilly vibe!

Bee Gees/To Love Somebody

Time to go back to the ’60s and a beautiful early song by the Bee Gees. Co-written by Barry Gibb and his brother Robin Gibb, To Love Somebody first appeared in June 1967 as the second upfront single of the group’s international debut studio album Bee Gee’s 1st, which came out in July of the same year. Prior to that, they had released two albums in their native Australia only. To Love Somebody reached no. 17 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 49 on the UK Official Singles Charts. Ten years later, the Bee Gees would rule the charts in both the U.S. and the UK, as well as many other countries with their no. 1 soundtrack album Saturday Night Fever, which spawned multiple no. 1. singles. Oftentimes, the Bee Gees are associated with the disco era, but early songs like To Love Somebody show there was much more to the group. You can read more about the Bee Gees in my four-part series from December 2020 here, here, here and here.

Cordovas/High Feeling

Now, let’s set our music time machine to the current century, more specifically to October 2020. That’s when Americana and country rock band Cordovas released their third full-length studio album Destiny Hotel. The four-piece group from East Nashville, Tenn. first entered my radar screen in the summer of 2018 when I caught them during a free concert in a park not far from my house. Their multi-part harmony singing proved to be an immediate attraction. So was their sound that reminds me of bands like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Band, Grateful Dead, Eagles and Little Feat. Led by bassist Joe Firstman, Cordovas have been around for more than 10 years. Here’s the album’s opener High Feeling. These harmony vocals and the warm sound are right up my alley!

Pink Floyd/Us And Them

This past Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums, an appropriate occasion to go back to March 1, 1973. Developed during live performances before work in the studio began, the eighth studio release by the British psychedelic and progressive rock band was a concept album revolving around dark human themes, such as conflict, greed, time, death and mental illness. One of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time, The Dark Side of the Moon is a sonic gem that not only represents one of the peaks in Floyd’s recording career but also a highlight in sound engineering provided by Alan Parsons. It catapulted Pink Floyd to international stardom and perhaps somewhat ironically made its members pretty wealthy. For more on this album, you can read an excellent recent post by fellow blogger Bruce from Vinyl Connections. Us And Them, composed by Richard Wright with lyrics by Roger Waters, became the album’s second single in February 1974 after Money from May 1973. A reissue, The Dark Side of the Moon 50th Anniversary, is set to appear on March 24. Among others, the box set includes remastered edits of the studio album and The Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley 1974.

Son Volt/Route

And once again it’s time to wrap up another musical journey. For the last stop, our time machine takes us to September 1995. Alternative country and Americana rock band Son Volt first entered my radar screen in July 2021 when their most recent studio album Electro Melodier appeared. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Jay Farrar formed the group in 1994 after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, another alt. country outfit he had co-founded in 1987. To date, Son Volt have released 10 albums. Apart from Farrar, the current members include Chris Frame (guitar), Mark Spencer (keyboards, steel guitar),  Andrew DuPlantis  (bass) and Mark Patterson (drums). Route, penned by Farrar, is a nice crunchy rocker off their 1995 debut album Trace. It’s got a Neil Young and Crazy Horse vibe, which in my book usually is a great thing!

This post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify playlist that includes all featured tunes. I gladly oblige and hope there’s something you dig!

Sources: Wikipedia; Lou Donaldson website; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Happy Sunday and welcome to another installment of my weekly time travel into the wonderful world of music. As always, we will visit six tunes from six different decades in different flavors. Let’s fasten our seat belts and off we go!

Ahmad Jamal Trio/Beat Out One

Our first stop is the year 1956 and some groovy piano jazz by the Ahmad Jamal Trio. According to his website, Jamal was born in July 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pa. and already began playing the piano at the age of 3. By the age of 10, Jamal was composing, orchestrating and performing works by Franz Liszt, exploring the music of Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Nat Cole, Erroll Garner and a host of music notables... At 17, he left home at the request of the George Hudson Orchestra and began touring the country...He formed his own group in 1951 and with the help of John Hammond started his recording career with Okeh Records. This brings me to Count ‘Em 88, an album Jamal recorded with Israel Crosby (bass) and Walter Perkins (drums) in 1956 and released the same year as Ahmad Jamal Trio. Jamal who is still alive at age 92 continued to frequently tour and record well into his ’80s. Let’s listen to his composition Beat Out One, off Count ‘Em 88. And, yes, feel free to snip along!

Pretenders/Brass in Pocket

Let’s move on to 1979 and the eponymous debut album by Pretenders. Interestingly, Nick Lowe produced the English-American rock band’s first single Stop Your Sobbing but felt they were going nowhere, so didn’t continue with them – boy was he wrong! Chris Thomas, who had worked with the likes of The Beatles, Procol Harum, Pink Floyd, Badfinger and Roxy Music before, took over and the rest is history. Pretenders charged out of the gate strongly, with the album topping the UK charts, and climbing to no. 2, no. 2, no. 5, no. 6 and no. 9 in New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, Australia and the U.S., respectively. Brass in Pocket, written by co-founders Chrissie Hynde and James Honeyman-Scott, became the record’s third single in November 1979 and their most successful song overall, including their only no. 1 hit in the UK. While Pretenders have had many line-up changes over the years, they are still going strong, with Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers remaining as original members. Their most recent album Hate for Sale from July 2020, which I reviewed here, sounds mighty.

Quasi/It’s Hard to Turn Me On

If you happened to read my most recent Best of What’s New installment, the name Quasi should ring a bell. Or perhaps you knew this American indie rock band from Portland, Ore. all along. They were founded in 1993 by former husband and wife Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass) and Janet Weiss (vocals, drums). This next tune takes us to April 1998 and Quasi’s third studio album Featuring “Birds”. At that time, they were still a duo, at least in the studio, playing all instruments except for one track. Quasi’s music frequently features flavors of the ’60s. After expanding into a trio from 2007 to 2011, they’ve been back to being a duo since Mole City, their second most recent album. Here’s It’s Hard to Turn Me On, penned by Coomes. I just find their retro and at times slightly weird sound pretty charming!

Barbara Blue/The Shoals (feat. Davor Hačić)

Next, we return to the present and the Shoals – that would be Muscle Shoals, Ala, baby! You may have heard of FAME Studios where artists like Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Duane Allman and Gregg Allman recorded. The session musicians who worked at FAME became known as the Muscle Shoals Horns and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, aka the Swampers – famously referenced in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic Sweet Home Alabama. In other words, Muscle Shoals is holy ground in music. As such, when coming across a song titled The Shoals the other day, I paid attention immediately. It turned out to be a track on the new album From the Shoals by Barbara Blue. The Memphis-based blues and soul vocalist, who apparently is known as the “reigning queen of Beale Street,” has been active since 1977. The album, her 13th independent release, came out two weeks ago on January 27. It was recorded at the NuttHouse Recording Studio in Sheffield, Ala., about 3 miles away from FAME. Here’s the great funky and soulful opener The Shoals, co-written by Blue and her Croatian songwriting partner Davor Hačić. Love this! Based on what else I’ve heard thus far, the album sounds sweet as well.

The Smiths/This Charming Man

Time to pay a visit to the ’80s, specifically, October 1983. That’s when English indie rock and jangle pop band The Smiths, who had come together the previous year in Manchester, released their second single This Charming Man. And charming it was indeed. Co-written by guitarist Johnny Marr and vocalist Morrissey, the tune was the band’s first to make the mainstream UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at no. 25. It also became the first of the group’s multiple singles to top the UK Independent Singles Chart. Notably, in 1992, five years after The Smiths had broken up, the single was reissued and got to no. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. While I find the ego clashes between Marr and Morrissey that led to The Smiths’ breakup and subsequent litigation over royalties brought by former members Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce less than charming, I love the tune’s jangly guitar sound.

The Yardbirds/Heart Full of Soul

Our final destination on today’s time travel is June 1965. Did you really think I’d skip the ’60s? No way! On June 4 of that year, The Yardbirds released their single Heart Full of Soul in the UK. Written by Graham Gouldman who in 1972 would become a co-founder of 10cc, Heart Full of Soul was The Yardbirds’ first single after Jeff Beck had replaced Eric Clapton as lead guitarist. The tune appeared three months after For Your Love, which had also been penned by Gouldman. Heart Full of Soul climbed to no. 2 in the UK, a notch higher than For Your Love, which had reached no. 3 there. In the U.S., where Heart Full of Soul was released on July 2, 1965, the picture was reversed. For Your Love reached no. 6, while Heart Full of Soul climbed to no. 9. Notably, The Yardbirds initially recorded Heart Full of Soul with an Indian sitar player but didn’t like the outcome. According to Beck, he couldn’t get the 4/4 time signature right, so Beck ended up emulating the sitar on his guitar, using a fuzz box.

Last but not least, here’s a Spotify playlist of the above tunes. As always, I hope there’s something you dig.

Sources: Wikipedia; Ahmad Jamal website; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

It’s Sunday and I hope everybody is feeling groovy. Let’s embark on another journey to the magical world of music to leave any worries behind, at least temporarily, or simply have a great time! As usual, the trip is eclectic, involving six tunes from different decades in different flavors.

Thelonious Monk/Ruby My Dear

Today, our time machine first takes us to the year 1951 and beautiful music by American jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The second most recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington, Monk was active as a jazz performer mostly from the early 1940s until the mid-1970s. Apart from a sizable amount of releases under his name, Monk also recorded as a sideman with the likes of Art Blakey, Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins. During the final 10 years of his life, he only made a small number of appearances due to his declining health. Monk passed away from a stroke in February 1982 at the age of 64. Ruby My Dear, one of his many compositions that became jazz standards, was first recorded in October 1947 for Genius of Modern Music, a compilation of Monk’s first recordings as band leader for the Blue Note label, which exists in four different versions released at different times. The earliest came out in 1951. Aw, so soothing!

Tonio K./I Can’t Stop

Next, we jump to the late ’80s and a tune by Tonio K. The American singer-songwriter first entered my radar screen in December 2021 when I featured You, a gem he wrote together with John Shanks and Bob Thiele for Bonnie Raitt’s 12th studio album Longing in Their Hearts released in March 1994. K. (born  Steven M. Krikorian) has also penned tunes for Al Green, Aaron Neville, Chicago and Wynonna Judd, among many others. In addition to that he has released nine solo albums to date, something fellow blogger Max from PowerPop reminded me of the other when he posted about Life in the Foodchain, K.’s solo debut from 1978. This brings me to I Can’t Stop, a funky song from his fifth solo release Notes from the Lost Civilization, which came out in 1988. Beware, this song with its cool guitar and organ parts is pretty infectious and couldn’t have a better title!

The Youngbloods/Foolin’ Around (The Waltz)

No Sunday Six journey can leave out the ’60s. This time, our stop is January 1967, which saw the release of the eponymous debut album by The Youngbloods. Oftentimes, the American rock band is only remembered for their sole U.S. top 40 hit Get Together, which upon re-release in 1969 peaked at no. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. While they may have been a one-hit wonder, the group had other great songs. But they never achieved widespread popularity and disbanded in 1972. After a reunion in late 1984 for a brief tour, The Youngbloods broke up again in mid-1985. Coming back to their first album, here Foolin’ Around (The Waltz), written by co-founder Jesse Colin Young. If I see this correctly, this wasn’t released as a single – perhaps the unusual change from 4/4 to 3/4 time signature didn’t make it particularly radio-friendly.

Alice Cooper/School’s Out

The other day, I found myself listening to the radio in my car while running an errand when School’s Out by Alice Cooper came on. Christian couldn’t help himself but turn up the volume and sing along full throttle – it was probably a good thing no one else was around and all car windows were closed! This tune took me back to my school days and my only spontaneous protest against teachers when singing along to Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) during a classroom party. When our classroom (English) teacher walked in, he briefly smiled before putting on a more serious facial expression. We quickly stopped singing. Anyway, that’s my longwinded intro to the great Alice Cooper tune, which first appeared in April 1972 as the lead single to the rock band’s fifth studio album with the same title – also a good reminder that before Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier) started performing solo under this name in 1975, there was the band Alice Cooper, which 16-year-old Furnier co-founded in 1964 as The Earwigs with four high school mates to enter a local talent show. After cycling through a couple of other names, they became Alice Cooper in 1968. School’s Out, credited to all members of the band, became their biggest international hit and arguably their signature song. Feel free to scream along! 🙂

The Verve/Bittersweet Symphony

And we’re on to the ’90s and Urban Hymns, the third studio album by English Britpop band The Verve, which appeared in September 1997. Seven years after their formation, not only did it bring them their first no. 1 album in the UK but also broad international sales and chart success. In fact, Urban Hymns became the group’s biggest seller and the 19th best-selling album in UK chart history. It almost didn’t happen. After The Verve had gone through some physical and mental turmoil, frontman and lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft broke up the group in September 1995. While he reunited with two of their members a few weeks thereafter, guitarist Nick McGabe at first refused to return. In early 1997, Ashcroft changed the guitarist’s mind, and he rejoined the band for the ongoing Urban Hymns recording sessions. But the group’s biggest success couldn’t prevent their second split in April 1999. They reformed one more time in 2007 and released one additional album the following year before breaking up again in 2009 – this time for good. Bittersweet Symphony, written by Ashcroft, first appeared as the lead single from Urban Hymns in June 1997. But the single’s success was, well, bittersweet. Following a lawsuit finding The Verve illegally had taken a sample from a 1965 version of The Rolling Stones’ The Last Time by The Andrew Oldham Orchestra, all royalties were relinquished and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were added to the songwriting credits. In 2019, after the death of Allen Klein, the Stones’ manager at the time of the litigation, Jagger and Richards ceded the rights to Ashcroft.

Jonathan Wilson/Love to Love

And once again, another Sunday Six trip is reaching its final destination, which takes us to the current century. When my former German bandmate and longtime music buddy recently recommended that I check out Fanfare, the second studio album by Jonathan Wilson, the name rang a distant bell. I couldn’t help and search my blog, which revealed Wilson produced Misadventures of Doomscroller, the excellent eighth studio album by American rock band Dawes, which I reviewed here in early January. Apart from his work as a producer for 10-plus years, Wilson has also released a series of solo albums and EPs since 2007. The above-noted Fanfare came out in 2013. Here is Love to Love, which like most other tunes on the album was solely written by Wilson. I’m really beginning to like this man!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

The Sunday Six

Good morning, afternoon, evening, night…in whichever time zone you are, I’d like to welcome you! Is 2023 already starting to feel old? Are you struggling with sticking to any new year’s resolutions? I hope you can put aside any such thoughts you may have and join me on another trip into the amazing world of music. Let’s all escape the present and have a great time together while it lasts!

Red Garland/Almost Like Being in Love

Today, our journey starts in June 1957 with some groovy jazz by pianist Red Garland. Born in 1923 in Dallas, Tx., Garland started playing the clarinet and alto. saxophone before switching to the piano in 1941. In the ’40s, he also had a short-lived career as a welterweight boxer. Garland who helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz piano, gained prominence when he joined the Miles Davis Quintet in 1954. In addition to Davis, it featured jazz greats John Coltrane, Philly Joe Jones and Paul Chambers. After leaving the quintet in 1958, Garland formed his own trio. They recorded with many other artists, such as Pepper Adams, Nat Adderley, Ray Barretto, Kenny Burrell and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis. Garland continued to work until his death from a heart attack at age 60 in April 1984. Almost Being in Love, composed by Allen Jay Learner and Frederick Loewe, is a great track from Garland’s album Red Garland’s Piano. He was backed by Chambers (bass) and Art Taylor (drums). Feel free to snip along!

Toad The Wet Sprocket/All I Want

Our next stop takes us to the early ’90s and a great tune I was reminded of the other day when I coincidentally caught it on the radio: All I Want by Toad The Wet Sprocket. Formed in 1986 in Santa Barbara, Calif., this alternative rock band took their peculiar name from a Monty Python comedy sketch. After their first two albums, which didn’t receive much attention, the band broke through with their third studio release, Fear, which appeared in August 1991. That success was fueled by All I Want, the second single off the album and the group’s first to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, climbing to no. 15. Toad the Wet Sprocket had a few additional charting songs and disbanded in 1998 after their fifth album Coil. Yet they continued to work on and off until 2008. As of 2009, the band has officially reunited and released two additional albums to date. All I Want was written by Glen Philips (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, mandolin, keyboards), one of three founding members who remain with the group to this day. This jangly guitar sound and beautiful harmony singing are right up my alley!

The Georgia Satellites/Keep Your Hands to Yourself

Time to pay a visit to Atlanta, Ga. The year is 1986 and it’s the month of October. That’s when southern rock band The Georgia Satellites released their eponymous debut album. The record became their most successful to date, surging to no. 5 in the U.S. on the Billboard 200. In turn, that was thanks to Keep Your Hands to Yourself. Their biggest hit peaked at no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 3 in Canada. Elsewhere, it reached no. 20 in Australia and no. 69 in the UK. After two more albums and a few additional charting singles, the group went on hiatus in 1990. The Georgia Satellites reemerged in 1993, released another album in 1996, and have since been a touring act. Their current line-up features original member Rick Richards (lead guitar, backing and lead vocals), together with Fred McNeal (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Bruce Smith (bass, backing vocals) and Todd Johnston (drums). Keep Your Hands to Yourself was penned by the group’s original lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dan Baird. That Stonesy rocker just makes me smile, but no touching, please!

Pink Floyd/See Emily Play

After three tunes into our current excursion, we must turn to the ’60s, one of my favorite decades in music. Our destination is the second single by Pink Floyd, See Emily Play. I love the early stage of the British group, formed in London in 1965 by Syd Barrett (guitar, lead vocals), Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals), Roger Waters (bass guitar, vocals) and Nick Mason (drums). See Emily Play, penned by Floyd’s initial leader and key songwriter Barrett, first appeared in the UK in June 1967 as a non-album single. This early gem was also included on the U.S. edition of the band’s debut album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, which came out in August of the same year. Unfortunately, it was the only album featuring Barrett as a full member of Pink Floyd. Due to heavy drug use and mental illness, his behavior became increasingly erratic and led to his departure in April 1968. At that time, David Gilmour had already joined the group. While Floyd’s June 1968 sophomore album A Saucerful of Secrets still included some contributions from Barrett, Gilmour had fully taken over on guitar. Sadly, Barrett passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2006, after he essentially had lived in obscurity since the late ’70s.

Bob Dylan/Tangled Up in Blue

On to the ’70s and an artist I trust needs no introduction. When it comes to Bob Dylan, I’ve always had sentiments ranging from admiration to indifference. If anything, I’ve regained appreciation of Robert Zimmerman since his most recent studio album Rough and Rowdy Ways. To me, it’s a late-career gem. One of Dylan’s earlier tunes I’ve loved from the very first time I heard it is Tangled Up in Blue. In fact, I would count it among my all-time favorites by the Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter. It first appeared as a single on January 17, 1975, three days ahead of the release of Blood On the Tracks. Initially, Dylan’s 15th studio album received mixed reviews, but as we’ve seen all too often, the critics came around and now regard it as one of his greatest albums. Fans apparently agreed all along. Blood On the Tracks became Dylan’s second album to top the U.S. charts. It also was no. 1 in Canada and reached the top 5 in the UK (no. 4), Spain (no. 3), Norway (no. 2) and The Netherlands (no. 5). Man, I just love that song!

Melissa Etheridge/Hold On, I’m Coming

Once again, we’re reaching the final stop of yet another music journey. For this last pick, we turn to the current century, though it’s a ’60s Stax tune. You see what I did there? I sneaked in another song from one of my favorite decades in music! In October 2016, Melissa Etheridge released Memphis Rock and Soul, a great tribute to Memphis soul label Stax. One of my favorite tracks on that album is her sizzling rendition of Hold On, I’m Coming. Co-written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, the tune was first recorded by Sam & Dave. Released in March 1966, it became one of their biggest hits. And, yes, it’s been covered by many other artists, such as Aretha Franklin, Waylon Jennings and Tina Turner, but I just dig Etheridge’s funky version.

Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without a Spotify list of the above goodies. Hope there’s something you like!

Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify

A First Glance at Albums Hitting the Big 50 This Year

With a new year upon us, I thought this would be a good opportunity to preview albums that are turning 50 in 2023. Taking a closer look quickly confirmed my expectation that 1973 was yet another great year in music. Based on Wikipedia, I came up with an initial list of 40 records released that year. I’m going to touch on six of them. A Spotify playlist at the end features songs from those albums, as well as one tune from each of the remaining 34 records.

Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon (March 1, 1973)

Pink Floyd’s eighth studio album The Dark Side of the Moon remains among my favorites by the English rock band. Released in March 1973, it was primarily developed during live performances and premiered before the recording sessions began. In fact, as reported by Variety and other music outlets, last month, Pink Floyd quietly released 18 of these concerts on streaming services before the recordings hit 50 years and would have lost copyright protection. The Dark Side of the Moon, a concept album around themes like conflict, greed, time, death and mental illness, is Floyd’s best-selling record and one of the most critically acclaimed albums in music history. Here is Time, with lyrics by Roger Waters (bass, vocals) and the music credited to all members of the band, who also included David Gilmour (guitar, vocals), Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals) and Nick Mason (drums, percussion).

Steely Dan – Countdown to Ecstasy (July 1973)

Steely Dan’s sophomore album Countdown to Ecstasy, released in July 1973, was recorded when they were still a standing band. In addition to masterminds Donald Fagen (acoustic and electric pianos, synthesizer, lead and backing vocals) and Walter Becker (electric bass, harmonica, backing vocals), the line-up featured Denny Dias (electric guitar), Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (electric and pedal steel guitars) and Jim Hodder (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Countdown to Ecstasy followed the departure of David Palmer and was the group’s first album where Fagen sang lead on every song. After their third record Pretzel Logic, Fagen and Becker turned Steely Dan largely into a studio project, relying on top-notch session musicians. One of my favorite tracks on Countdown to Ecstasy is My Old School, which like all other tunes was co-written by Becker and Fagen. Baxter’s guitar work shines and is among his best.

Stevie Wonder – Innervisions (August 3, 1973)

Innervisions, Stevie Wonder’s 16th studio album released in August 1973, is part of his so-called classic period, which spans six records, bookended by Music of My Mind (March 1972) and Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants” (October 1979). Following his 21st birthday on May 13, 1971, Wonder allowed his contract with Motown to expire. He returned to the Detroit label with Music of My Mind and a much more lucrative contract that also freed him from the artistic straitjacket of the past. Wonder’s lyrics changed and started to explore social and political topics in addition to standard romantic themes. Musically, he began exploring overdubbing and recording most of the instrumental parts himself. Innervisions and the excellent Living for the City perfectly illustrate these changes.

Lynyrd Skynyrd – (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd) (August 13, 1973)

August 1973 also saw the release of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first album (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd). And what a debut it was, featuring classics like Gimme Three Steps, Simple Man, Tuesday’s Gone and the epic Free Bird. You wouldn’t necessarily guess it, based on the album’s relatively moderate chart performance when it came out. In the U.S., it reached no. 27 on the Billboard 200. Elsewhere, it climbed to no. 20 in Switzerland, no. 44 in the UK and no. 47 in Canada. But over time, the picture looks better. As of July 1987, it was certified 2X Platinum in the U.S. The album also made Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and was ranked at no. 381 in the most recent revision from 2020. Here’s the aforementioned Free Bird, co-written by the group’s original lead vocalist Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Allen Collins.

Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (October 5, 1973)

Elton John truly ruled during the first part of the ’70s. With Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, a double LP and his seventh studio album, he scored his third of six consecutive chart-toppers in the U.S. on the Billboard 200. The album also topped the charts in the UK, Canada and Australia. It spawned four singles, which charted in different countries. In the U.S., Bennie and the Jets became John’s second no. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, while the title track topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand. I decided to highlight the magnificent opening medley of Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding. As usual, John wrote the music to lyrics by his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin. What an opus!

Paul McCartney and Wings – Band on the Run (December 5, 1973)

The final album I’d like to call out here is what I consider the Mount Rushmore of Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles period: Band on the Run, his fifth after the break-up of The Fab Four and the third with Wings. By the time recording in Lagos, Nigeria began, drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Henry McCullough had departed. This left Wings as a trio, which in addition to McCartney included his wife Linda McCartney and Denny Laine. As such, Paul ended up playing bass, drums, percussion and most of the lead guitar parts, with Laine providing guitars and Linda keyboards. Both also sang backing and harmony vocals. After recording the majority of the album’s basic tracks and some overdubbing in Lagos under difficult conditions, Wings returned to England and finished the album in George Martin’s AIR Studios in London. After initial modest sales, Band on the Run became the top-selling studio album of 1974 in the UK. More importantly, it revitalized the critical standing of Paul McCartney whose earlier post-Beatles records had received a mixed reception. Band on the Run’s opener and title track, credited to Paul and Linda, is a longtime favorite of mine.

I’m planning dedicated posts on each of the above albums and possibly others released in 1973, timed to their respective 50th anniversaries. Last but not least, here’s the above-noted Spotify playlist.

Sources: Wikipedia; Variety; YouTube; Spotify

On This Day in Rock & Roll History: December 1

Time for another installment of my oldest and most infrequent recurrent feature on the blog, which looks at events that happened on a specific date throughout music history. Not sure why the series keeps falling by the wayside, given how enjoyable I find it to see what comes up. Today’s date is, well, today’s date: December 1. As always, these posts reflect my music taste and, as such, aren’t meant to be a full accounting of events on a specific date.

1957: Let’s start with one of the great early classic rock & roll stars: Buddy Holly. On this date 65 years ago, Holly and The Crickets appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show to perform their first two big hits, That’ll Be the Day and Peggy Sue, which had been released as singles in May 1957 and September 1957, respectively. The former tune was penned by Holly and Crickets drummer Jerry Allison, while the latter was a co-write by Allison and producer Norman Petty. The songs also appeared on the albums The “Chirping” Crickets (November 1957) and Buddy Holly (February 1958), respectively. Here’s Peggy Sue. Texas boys, do it! Man, I love that song!

1964: The Who performed their first of 22 Tuesday night shows at The Marquee Club in London. Each gig earned them £50 (approximately $1,065 today). Other artists and bands who played the prominent music venue in the ’60s included Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Cream, Jethro Tull, Yes and Pink Floyd, among many others.

1969: The final edition of The Beatles Book, a fan magazine aka Beatles Monthly, was published. From The Beatles Bible: The Beatles Book had been published each month since August 1963 until this, the 77th and final issue. Published on 1 December 1969, the last edition included a leader column from editor Sean O’Mahoney, writing as Johnny Dean, in which he criticised The Beatles for encouraging drug experimentation among their fans. O’Mahoney took the decision to cease publication after it became obvious that The Beatles were unlikely to continue recording. However, it was revived in May 1976 with reissues of the original 77 editions, along with new content. The second run ended with issue 321 in January 2003. The image below shows the cover of edition no. 34 from May 1966.

1971: John Lennon released his Christmas and Vietnam war protest song Happy Xmas (War Is Over) in the U.S. Billed as John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band, the tune featured the Harlem Community Choir. It followed more than two years of peace activism Lennon and Yoko Ono had started with their bed-ins in March and May 1969. The song’s release was preceded by an international multimedia campaign that looked ahead of its time. It primarily included rented billboard space in 12 major cities around the world, displaying black & white posters declaring WAR IS OVER! If You Want It – Happy Christmas from John & Yoko. Unlike in the U.S. where the single enjoyed moderate chart success, it peaked at no. 4 in the UK on the Official Singles Chart after its release there in November 1972. Between December 1972 and February 1973, the song also entered the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Singapore.

1973: Carpenters were on top of the world and mainstream charts in the U.S., Canada and Australia with a tune appropriately titled Top of the World. Co-written by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, the song first appeared on their fourth studio album A Song for You from June 1972. Initially, Carpenters intended the track to be an album cut only but changed their mind after country singer Lynn Anderson had released a cover that reached no. 2 on the country chart. It turned out to be a smart decision. Top of the World became the duo’s second of three no. 1 singles, following (They Long to Be) Close to You and preceding Please Mr. Postman.

Sources: Wikipedia; This Day In Music; The Beatles Bible; Songfacts Music History Calendar; YouTube