This day in music - January 10, 1997: James Brown receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

By Richard K. Barry

(Ed. note: It's also the great Shawn Colvin's birthday today. And Pat Benatar's -- real name: Patricia Mae Andrzejewski. And some guy named Rod Stewart's. And on this day in 1984 (it's hard not to feel old when you realize that was 28 years ago) Cyndi Lauper became the first female recording artist since since Bobbie Gentry in 1967 to be nominated for five Grammy Awards. -- MJWS)

James Brown (1933-2006) was referred to by himself and others as "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," "Mr. Dynamite," "Soul Brother Number One," and the "Godfather of Soul." And I'm sure it was true in every case.

He was in the first class of those inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th annual Grammy Awards, in addition to his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And that just scratches the surface.

Can't do any better than the AllMusic entry on James Brown, which has this to say:

Other singers were more popular, others were equally skilled, but few other African-American musicians were so influential over the course of popular music. And no other musician, pop or otherwise, put on a more exciting, exhilarating stage show: Brown's performances were marvels of athletic stamina and split-second timing.

Through the gospel-impassioned fury of his vocals and the complex polyrhythms of his beats, Brown was a crucial midwife in not just one, but two revolutions in black American music. He was one of the figures most responsible for turning R&B into soul and he was, most would agree, the figure most responsible for turning soul music into the funk of the late '60s and early '70s.

Here's a discography, if you're interested.

Let's go with the obvious clip: "I Feel Good." If the information accompanying the YouTube clip is accurate, this is from a 1989 concert in Italy, which brought together a number of pioneers of rock 'n' roll in addition to Brown including Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Fats Domino, and B.B. King. Now that would have been a show.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - January 7, 1955: Marian Anderson becomes the first black singer to perform at the Met

By Richard K. Barry

While I will claim a decent working knowledge of a number of musical genres, Opera is not one them. I have been to a couple of performances. I am always in awe of the talent on display. It's probably a class thing. I didn't grow up with it, and can't relate to it, though at some level I still grasp the beauty of it.

Marian Anderson (1987-1993) was an African-American contralto and one of the most important singers of the twentieth century.

She was also a significant figure in the civil rights movement, having once famously performed at an open-air concert on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after having been refused permission by the Daughters of the American Revolution to sing to an integrated audience at Constitution Hall.

Later, on January 7, 1955, she became the first black person to perform at The Metropolitan Opera in New York City. For the opera buffs among us, she performed as Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera (The Masked Ball). In one reference, it was stated that she was "the first black singer as a regular company member." Perhaps someone could explain the difference.

Anderson was an important presence throughout the civil rights movement, having, for example, sung at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, which also featured Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Among honours awarded were the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the National Medal of Arts in 1986, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.

Below is a clip of the aforementioned performance at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. Still powerful.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - January 6, 1958: Gibson Guitars launches its "Flying V" electric guitar (see Albert King below)

By Richard K.  Barry

I'm not much of an electric guitar player. Give me my Martin D-28 acoustic, but I do have a couple of electrics around the house and can play a blues scale if absolutely forced. But none of my guitars is as groovy as the Gibson "Flying V" -- meant to suggest a futuristic theme by the maker.

Who could blame them? It was 1958. The promise of spaceflight was all around. Lots of Hollowood B movies to fuel the imagination. One could almost imagine Robby the Robot kicking back with one of these in between missions. It's kind of a cool guitar in its own space nerd, trying-too-hard, Big Bang Theory kind of way. I like it.

The model originally sold poorly and was discontinued by 1959 but after some better known players like Lonnie Mack and Albert King starting using it, some interest was generated, which may have been why the company reissued the instrument in 1967 in mahogany. After that a whole bunch of "Guitar Gods" like Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Billy Gibbons, and Lenny Kravitz decided they just had to play one too. And that's generally all it takes.

Lest you think this is all trivia, I draw your attention to the fact that the 1958-59 korina "Flying V" is one of the most valuable production-model guitars on the market, ranked at No. 5 on the 2011 Top 25 published by Vintage Guitar, and worth between $200,000 and $250,000.

So if you see one at a garage sale, shoot the guy a few bucks and take it home very quickly.

Here's Albert King with what looks like a "Flying V," unless someone can tell me different. Maybe an expert can also tell me what year the guitar was made and if it's modified in any way. Anything like that. I'm willing to learn. The tune is called " "Blues Power."

And if you're really into the guitar thing, check out this link with numerous Gibson "Flying V"s on display. Go nuts!

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 30, 1942: Frank Sinatra performs solo for the first time

By Richard K. Barry

Apparently, for the first time as a solo act, Frank Sinatra stepped out at the Paramount Theatre in New York City on this date in 1942 to throngs of screaming bobby soxers, no doubt. Follow the link if you don't know what bobby soxers were. I'm not making this up. What, you think this started with The Beatles or Elvis?

I must admit, I didn't exactly grow up listening to the music of Frank Sinatra. A bit before my time. But I like him. And love that jazz standards / Great American Songbook stuff.

My favourite of his has always been "It Was a Very Good Year," though I couldn't find a great YouTube clip, not one that was in sync anyway. I always thought this one was interesting because it was originally recorded by Bob Shane of the Kingston Trio, having been composed by Ervin Drake in 1961. In fact, I discovered one performance in which Sinatra refers to it as a folk song.

So many great songs to choose from, though.

Here's a nice version of "Fly Me To The Moon," a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. It seems that the Apollo 10 astronauts played Sinatra's 1964 recording of the song on their lunar-orbital mission and Buzz Aldrin played it again on the Moon itself during the Apollo 11 landing. I guess we could have seen that one coming.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 22, 1958: Alvin and the Chipmunks' "The Chipmunk Song" hits #1

By Richard K. Barry

"Christmas Don't Be Late" may or may not be the better-known name for the song, but it's formally called "The Chipmunk Song." Whatever the name, for those of a certain age, this is one of the worst ear worms of all time. If you don't know what an ear worm is, it's a song or melody that you can't get out of your head, no matter how hard you try.

"The Chipmunk Song" was written by Ross Bagdasarian (a.k.a. Dave Seville) in 1958. You may recall that Dave was the name of the Chipmunks' adoptive father who, strangely enough, was a human cartoon character, while the Chipmunks were cartoon chipmunks, if you know what I mean. I'm sure there's a backstory, I just don't really care.

I assume that most people are familiar with The Chipmunks, or at least the remake. Although Bagdasarian wrote and sung the song, credit is given to The Chipmunks, a fictitious singing group consisting of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, who are chipmunk brothers. The sound of The Chipmunks was created, as you might imagine, by speeding up the playback.

Although the song was produced as a one-off novelty number, The Chipmunks was later made into a cartoon of its own, airing from 1961 to 1962. This would have been where I was introduced to them. Although it only lasted one season on CBS, it went into syndication and lived on from there.

As for "The Chipmunk Song," it won three Grammy Awards in 1958: Best Comedy Performance, Best Children's Recording, and Best Engineering Record (non-classical).

Like I said, it's an ear worm. I apologize ahead of time for what this might do to your day.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 21, 1966: The Beach Boys' Good Vibrations is certified Gold

By Richard K. Barry

And what, you may ask, is involved in certifying a record "Gold"? Well, the wiki on this offers the following:

Presently, a Recording Industry Association of America-certified Gold record is a single or album that has sold 500,000 units (records, tapes or compact discs). Originally, the requirement for a Gold single was one million units sold and a Gold album represented $1 million in sales (at wholesale value). In 1975, the additional requirement of 500,000 units sold was added for Gold albums.

And, if you're a lawyer and have the patience, you may want to check out the RIAA website here. They'll be happy to confuse you.

Bottom line is that a Gold record means a lot of sales and a lot of cash for someone, probably the record company.

Here's "Good Vibrations" from a 1967 performance:

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 16, 2007: American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg dies in Maine at the age of 56

By Richard K. Barry

I went through a period in my twenties during which I loved Dan Fogelberg's music. I discovered him while away at college at Oswego State University in upstate New York. He was very popular among the student population at the time.

"To the Morning" is still one of my favourites. "Part of the Plan," "Run for the Roses," "Longer" -- so many great tunes.

Fogelberg died of prostate cancer at the age of 56 in 2007. As I recall, he didn't have much of a chance for survival once diagnosed. Apparently, it was caught late.

I've always loved his songwriting. It may not be your cup of tea, but it's really not easy to write good lyrics. I know. I've tried. But Fogelberg always seemed to be able to do that. The opening lines of "Go Down Easy," for example, are, to me, so lovely and painful:

Linda lost her lover in the early part of autumn

And she moved out to the country, hoping all would be forgotten.

The last time that I saw her, she was making sure that winter

wouldn't come through that old door frame

where the door is several inches from the ground, the cold hard ground.

Love of certain artists is so situational. As I came upon Fogelberg's music while first being away at college, it holds a special place for me for that reason if no other. I guess the senses are open to new things and the music that's all around becomes memorable. Something like that. 

For whatever reason, I still love his music. He captured something for me. I was sorry to see him go. 

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 15, 1984: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" enters the UK charts at #1

By Richard K. Barry

Just because Michael has been begging, literally begging, me to post as much Christmas music as I can this season (ed. note: not true! -- MJWS), I'm going to put up the truly awful "Do They Know It's Christmas?" -- the fundraising production for famine relief in Ethiopia recorded in 1984.

If you're old enough, you will recall that it was pulled together by former Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof. He gathered together some of the biggest names in pop music at the time to record a one-off single, raise some money and, I suppose, do some good.

Featured are Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Paul Young, Culture Club, George Michael, Sting, Bono, Phil Collins, Kool and the Gang, and others.

Maybe it's me and the fact that I hated so much of the music of the '80s, but this doesn't do it for me. Maybe you always loved it.

Hearing the title, "Do They Know It's Christmas (in Africa)?" always made me wonder: if they knew, would they care? Just a tad Eurocentric, don't you think? And the line, "and there won't be snow in Africa?" A bloody good thing, I'd say. Do they really need that headache too?

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 13, 1975: Chicago IX - Chicago's Greatest Hits goes to #1

By Richard K. Barry 

The album started a five-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. charts on this day. This really is one of my all-time favourite albums. When you're a young sax player, and most of what you hear on the radio is guitar-driven rock, you gotta love Chicago, a group that described itself as a "rock and roll band with horns."

I was a little too young to get caught up in the Blood, Sweat & Tears thing, a fabulous horn band, and was told by older friends that Chicago was a pale imitation of BS&T, but Chicago was my generation, and I loved them. I came to love BS&T later.

In truth, this album came out during my senior year of high school, and it's hard not to be crazy about music that came out during that period of one's life. Is it because teenage romance is usually in the mix? Probably. 

Because I can't help myself, I'll list the tracks.

Side One

1. 25 or 6 to 4

2. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

3. Colour My World

4. Just You 'n' Me

5. Saturday in the Park

6. Feelin' Stronger Every Day

Side Two

1. Make Me Smile

2. Wishing You Were Here

3. Call on Me

4. (I've Been) Searchin' So Long

5. Beginnings

The last one, "Beginnings," is probably my favourite track, though "Searchin' So Long" is up there.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 8, 1980: John Lennon is shot outside the Dakota building in New York City

By Richard K. Barry

As we all know, John Lennon died of his wounds at 11:30 that evening. I was walking into a kitchen/commons room at a student co-op housing unit I shared with about a dozen others in Toronto when I was told. I arrived in the city three months earlier from New York to begin graduate school.

I remember it as a sad event, not necessarily life altering, but sad. Maybe by 1980 we were starting to think it wasn't all that remarkable that famous people sometimes get shot.

Not to make light, just trying to remember what I was thinking at the time. Perhaps if I had actually been a child of the '60s, I'd have felt it differently. It did feel like the end of something. Not sure what.

Maybe my mood was influenced by the fact that Ronald Reagan was elected president a month before.

John Lennon's "Imagine" is still probably my favourite of his.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 7, 1987: Harry Chapin is posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his humanitarian work

By Richard K. Barry

In addition to his successful music career, Harry Chapin was engaged in humanitarian efforts to end world hunger. In 1977, he played a key role in establishing the Presidential Commission on World Hunger.

In 1987, he was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for that work.

Chapin is best known for songs like "Cat's in the Cradle," "Taxi," "Circle," and "W*O*L*D."

He died in a traffic accident on July 16, 1981 at the age of 38 having dedicated much of his life to various philanthropic endeavours. The title of the Washington Post obituary at the time was "Harry Chapin's Riches: The Troubadour Who Laughed at Fame & Gave Away His Fortune."

 

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 6, 1975: Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years goes to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart

By Richard K. Barry

Still Crazy After All These Years was Simon's fourth studio album. It was a great effort that produced four U.S. top 40 hits: "Gone at Last" (#23), "My Little Town" (#9, credited to Simon and Garfunkel), "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (#1), and the title track (#40).

It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1976.

As a saxophone player, I have a special place in my heart for recording artists who know how to make use of the horn. David Sanborn, Michael Brecker, and Phil Woods played on the album, which is a pretty serious bunch of people to be wielding Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax's invention on one recording.

This is really a good record. The title track is fabulous, but I've always been partial to "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." Great use of percussion. And it did get to No. 1 as a single, arriving on February 7, 1976.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 4, 1965: The Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn!" hits #1

By Richard K. Barry

"Turn! Turn! Turn!" was written by folk music icon Pete Seeger, who recorded the song before The Byrds covered it as a follow-up to their hit "Mr. Tambourine Man."

In a book called Songwriters on Songwriting, by Paul Zollo, Seeger says the following about the lyrics of the song, which are based on a passage from Ecclesiastes:

I don't read the Bible that often. I leaf through it occasionally and I'm amazed by the foolishness at times and the wisdom at other times. I call it the greatest book of folklore ever given. Not that there isn't a lot of wisdom in it. You can trace the history of people poetically.

I got a letter from my publisher, and he says, "Pete, I can't sell these protest songs you write." And I was angry. I sat down with a tape recorder and said, "I can't write the kind of songs you want. You gotta go to somebody else. This is the only kind of song I know how to write." I pulled out this slip of paper in my pocket and improvised a melody to it in fifteen minutes. And I sent it to him. And I got a letter from him the next week that said, "Wonderful! Just what I'm looking for." Within two months he'd sold it to the Limelighters and then to the Byrds. I liked the Byrds' record very much, incidentally. All those clanging, steel guitars -- they sound like bells.

"Turn! Turn! Turn!" became an international hit in late 1965 when it was covered by the American folk-rock band The Byrds, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #26 on the UK Singles Chart. 

The Byrds went through a number of changes in personnel from the time they formed in 1964 until they disbanded in 1973. The lineup at the beginning was Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke, and then Chris Hillman joined them shortly thereafter.

Although The Byrds managed to attain the huge commercial success of contemporaries like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Rolling Stones only for a short period of time (1965–66), they are today considered by critics to be one of the most influential bands of the 1960s, particularly in their early influence in the folk-rock genre.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 3, 1966: The Monkees make their stage debut in Honolulu, HI

By Richard K. Barry 

I was a kid when The Monkees were big. I had no idea what good music was then. So, of course, I loved them. I watched the weekly television show when it originally aired and then on Saturdays when it went into re-runs. I apologize. I really do. 

As the story goes, the group was created for an NBC television show. 437 young men auditioned for the roles, mostly struggling musicians and actors. Steven Stills and John Sebastian both auditioned and were turned down.

Tork, Nesmith, Dolenz, Jones

The Monkees were: Mickey Dolenz, Peter Nesmith, Davey Jones, and Peter Tork. And I can assure you that I did not have to look those names up. I still remember them.

Fifty-eight episodes were made and it lasted only two seasons from 1966-1968. It's not hard to imagine that the idea for the fictional group came from the 1965 Beatles' movie A Hard Day's Night.

At first, the group did not play their own instruments -- their vocals were recorded over tracks recorded by a group of session musicians who played on many hits from the '60s. A turning point of sorts came in 1967 when they insisted on playing their own material and getting producer credit as well.

The Monkees were the object of scorn among some music fans who felt they were a product of deceptive corporate entertainment, taking up airspace that would be better suited to more authentic musicians. And they also kind of sucked.

I can't remember if they were called the "Prefab Four" back then or if that came latter with The Rutles. Good joke, in any case. 

Still, I loved them when I was eight years old. "Day Dream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Mary, Mary." On the last one, and this always struck me as strange, I'm pretty sure the Paul Butterfield Blues Band recorded it.

Okay, to be absolutely fair, Monkees band member Michael Nesmith wrote "Mary, Mary," but mostly they didn't play their own instruments or write their own songs. Now we just call that American Idol.

In truth, I can still listen to The Monkees. Must be nostalgia blinding or deafening me. 

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 2, 1957: Sam Cooke's "You Send Me" hits #1

By Richard K. Barry

Cooke had 29 Top-40 hits in the U.S. between 1957 and 1964. Major hits like "A Change is Gonna Come," "Cupid," "Chain Gang," "Wonderful World," and "Twistin' the Night Away" are some of his most popular songs.

Cooke died at the age of 33 on December 11, 1964, at a motel in Los Angeles. Bertha Franklin, manager of the motel, told police that she shot and killed Cooke in self-defense because he had attacked her. Police found Cooke's body in Franklin's apartment-office, clad only in a sports jacket and shoes, but no shirt, pants or underwear. The shooting was ultimately ruled a justifiable homicide.

A strange death of one of the great talents in popular music. 

"You Send Me" was one of his best. 

(Cross-posted Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - December 1, 1987: The Supreme Court upholds the sacking of a Kentucky teacher for showing her class Pink Floyd's The Wall

By Richard K. Barry

Sometimes you come across these little bits of information on the web, and you really have to make sure it's not an Onion-type send up. But, no, this appears to be real.

In December of 1987, a Kentucky teacher lost her appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court over her sacking after showing Pink Floyd's film The Wall to her class. The court decided that the film was not suitable for minors with its bad language and sexual content.

I found a very interesting discussion of the case at a website called The First Amendment Center. This concerned the Sixth Circuit ruling on the case, but the same legal principles no doubt applied for the Supreme Court.

The comment below was in response to a question asking if a teacher could be punished for teaching subjects school officials or parents deem unsuitable:

Probably. Teachers must remember that most courts consistently rule that teachers do not have a First Amendment right to trump the curriculum mandated by the school board. Furthermore, some courts take a narrow view of what constitutes "communicative conduct" that implicates the First Amendment.

For example, the Sixth Circuit ruled that school officials did not violate the First Amendment rights of a teacher when they fired her for showing the R-rated movie Pink Floyd -- The Wall in her classroom. Even though the Supreme Court has determined since the 1950s that movies are a form of expression protected by the First Amendment, the Sixth Circuit determined that the teacher's conduct in showing the R-rated movie was not "expressive or communicative, under the circumstances presented."

And besides all that, we wouldn't want students exposed to themes like alienation, social isolation, drug use, marital infidelity, and violence. Best to keep shit like that out of the classroom and leave it on the street where it belongs. Better they should muddle their way through the really big questions in life without any help. They don't need no education like that. 

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - November 30, 1977: Big Crosby and David Bowie perform "Little Drummer Boy" and "Peace on Earth" on Crosby's Christmas special

By Richard K. Barry

I am well aware of the danger of getting totally sick of Christmas before we even get into December, but please indulge me on this one. I love that Bing Crosby-David Bowie duet that we have all seen so many times. For the record, this unusual performance was part of Bing Crosby's annual Christmas special in November of 1977 and, I'm sure you would agree, has become a classic.

I'll try to keep the Christmas music posts to a minimum -- or maybe I won't. I haven't decided.

(Ed. note: I'll do my best to keep things under control. -- MJWS)

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - November 29, 1959: Bobby Darin wins a Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Mac the Knife"

By Richard K. Barry

Bertolt Brecht

Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht wrote "Mac the Knife" in 1928 for the German play The Threepenny Opera. "Mack" is Macheath, the title character, a criminal. Despite the bouncy melody, the song is actually about a murderer.

Bobby Darin decided to perform this song when he saw a production of the opera in Greenwich Village in 1958. He found a way to make it his own and started performing it in his nightclub act, where it become a popular number.

Beside winning a Grammy for the song, Darin was also named Best New Artist at the awards in 1959.

It really does seem like an awfully upbeat melody for such a dark topic.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - November 28, 1966: The Righteous Brothers album Soul and Inspiration is certified Gold

By Richard K. Barry

The Righteous Brothers were Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975 and then on and off until Hatfield died in 2003.

Their first major hit was "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" in 1965, which was produced by Phil Spector. They went on to have other hit singles in 1965, all produced by Spector. These were "Just Once in My Life," "Unchained Melody," and "Ebb Tide."

Perhaps not at all surprising is the fact that the singers did not get along well with Spector, which meant the end of their collaboration.

The next release after the break with their famous producer was "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration," which sounded much like the other tunes produced by Spector. It was written by Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, who had co-written "Lovin' Feeling," and arranged by Jack Nitzsche, who had done the earlier work.

"Soul and Inspiration," the title track of the album, was a hit, but it was the last major hit for the duo in their post-Spector incarnation. The album peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

The value of good production aside, Medley and Hatfield were incredible singers, as this clip of "Soul and Inspiration" attests. Looks like Nancy Sinatra is doing the introduction on this segment of Hullabaloo, from which this 1966 performance is taken.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - November 27, 1942: Jimi Hendrix was born

By Richard K. Barry

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix would have been 69 today. He died on September 18, 1970 at the age of 27. A few days ago, Rolling Stone magazine released its list of the Greatest Guitarists of All Time, with Hendrix on top.

Always been partial to "All Along the Watchtower."

.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)