The Late Great Otis Redding

Last week, I did a piece on the 27 Club. That was a collection of tragic stories that have become all too common in Rock ‘n’ Roll history. The story of the “King of Soul,” Otis Redding, fits right in there with the rest of them. He was born in a small town in Georgia in 1941 and soon moved to Macon, Georgia. He grew up singing in the church choir and entering talent shows, winning several. In 1962 he recorded These Arms of Mine, which became a minor regional hit on Volt Records, a subsidiary of Stax Records.

The house band at Stax Records was Booker T. and the MG’s, and they often served as Redding’s backing in the studio. His association with Stax was a fortuitous one. One of the movers and shakers at Stax Records was Steve “The Colonel” Cropper who was the guitarist for Booker T. and the MG’s and went on to further fame as one of the Blues Brothers in the studio, appearing in the movie and touring with them. Cropper began corroborating with Redding and he co-wrote Redding’s greatest hit with him (Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay. It is the Colonel’s haunting acoustic guitar that opens the tune and resonates throughout the 2:38 of the song. The song was written by Redding while on a house boat he was living on, docked at Sausalito, California, on the shore of San Francisco Bay.

A few days after (Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay was recorded, Otis boarded a plane, along with members of his backing band, the Bar-Kays. On December 10, 1967, their Beechcraft 18 crashed into a lake near Madison, Wisconsin. Otis Redding was dead at age 26, one year shy of gaining entrance to the 27 Club I wrote about last week. (Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay was released the following January and became Redding’s only number 1 hit on the charts. In fact, it was the first time in history that a record made number 1 posthumously. Redding and the Colonel won a Grammy for the song. Ironically, in my piece on the 27 Club last week, I talked about the Janis Joplin and her death. She was the second one to get a posthumous number1 with her song, Me and Bobby McGee.

Today’s mini set will include the following…

• Respect - 1965
• Mr. Pitiful - 1964
• Tramp (with Carla Thomas) - 1967
• (Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay - 1968

(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay has always been a special tune for me. It has always instilled in me that glorious emotional feeling you get when you just stand and watch a breath taking sunset. I often picture sunsets when I hear this tune. As the whistling begins that closes the number, the final rays of light fade away from the sunset  Just like the final notes ever recorded by this great sign him off, never to record again.

The Times They Are a-Changin'

I recall hearing a number of years ago, a quote from Bob Dylan.  It must have been in the 1990s and Bob said the following:

"Technology to wipe out truth is now available. Not everybody can afford it but it's available. When the cost comes down, look out!"

To help put it in context; he was referring to technologies like those to manipulate photographs.  Traditionally, if we wanted to prove something in a court of law, producing a photograph would prove an event happened beyond any shadow of a doubt.  “I’ve got the pictures to prove it.”  With programs like Photoshop, we see daily examples of photographs of things like Abe Lincoln walking arm in arm with Marilyn Monroe, and you can’t always tell that they have been faked short of the fact that the two personalities lived 100 years apart.  We also have audio recordings of the Late Nat King Cole singing a duet with his daughter, and what appears to be file news footage of Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) with President Lyndon Johnson.  So I ask you, where does that leave the state of proof when it comes to these media?

In Japan today, there are pop stars that are referred to as “idols.”  They are usually young, attractive and female.  These pop stars appear in the public eye for brief careers measured in months.  During that time they make public appearances, do guest appearances on TV shows, record hits songs, etc.  I would like to introduce you to what is probably Japan’s most popular current idol, Aimi Eguchi (left).  This teen is a member of the all-female pop group, AKB48.  (Membership in that group is rather fluid.)  She is the perfect idol in that she has perfect pitch, has perfect skin, never misses a dance step and is as cute as anyone has ever been. Besides appearing with AKB48, she has appeared solo and is currently featured in a candy commercial.

So, what does this have to do with Bob Dylan’s, “technology to wipe out truth?”  It has now come to light that Aimi is not real.  There isn’t even an actress we can point to who plays her.  If you are old enough, you might recall a TV personality named Max Headroom (below right).  He was a completely computer generated character.  Well, he was voiced by an actor, but the visual image of Max was computer generated.  No one would believe for a minute that Max was real by looking at him, but it was a neat novelty at the time.  It has now come to light that Aimi Eguchi is completely computer generated, like Max Headroom.  Unlike Max, Aimi fooled the public. 

I have included a short video of her at the bottom of this post.  You can see for yourself how real she appears.  We have now taken the “technology to wipe out the truth” one step further.  We now have the technology to create any truth we like.  Like Dylan said, “When the cost comes down, look out!”

The 27 Club

As long as I can remember, people have talked about the deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin together as if they were related events.  Let me make one thing clear from the start, these deaths were completely unrelated in circumstance, and merely happened to have occurred within ten months of each other.  Jimi Hendrix died on September 18, 1970 after choking on his own vomit after drugs and drinking.  Sixteen days later, Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose on October 4, 1970.  One needs to understand that back then, Rock music was the music of the young, performed by young people, for a young audience.  It was inconceivable that we could lose two of our legends at so young an age and, with only sixteen days separating these events, people looked for answers and closure for both at the same time.  The closeness in time forever linked the two, so when another great, Jim Morrison of the Doors, died nine months later under rather mysterious circumstances, it became natural to link his death to the other two.  What was going on here?  Many started to even explore the possibility of a conspiracy?  Could this have been a government plot to squash the counter culture movement?

Another thing bonded these three deaths together.  All three were 27 years old when they died and the group was soon dubbed the “27 Club.”  It didn’t take long to notice that another death on July 3, 1969, exactly two years to the day before Morrison’s, should be included.  On that day, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones drowned in his swimming people.  Now there were 4 members of the 27 Club.

It remained those four, whose first and last deaths were exactly two years apart to the day, until 1994.  In that year, on April 5^th, Kurt Cobain, front man for Nirvana, decided to end his own life with a shotgun. He was 27 years old.  Soon, stories started to circulate that Cobain had been known to have claimed that he would someday be a member of the 27 Club.  It raises an interesting question.  While the first four deaths were accidents, Cobain’s death was a suicide.  Did we have a case of someone joining the club intentionally?  Could his suicide have been the fulfillment of a childhood wish?

No one will argue that these greats were taken away from us too soon.  There are many that have looked at the 27 club phenomenon and said that there are an inordinately large number of musicians who died at age 27.  While I don’t know enough about statistics, life expectancy, etc. to comment on what is a reasonable number and what is disproportionately large, I will list a few others that died at age 27:

Pete Ham of Badfinger

Ron McKernan of the Grateful Dead

Alan Wilson of Canned Heat

Rudy Lewis of the Drifters

Malcolm Hale of Spanky and Our Gang

Gary Thain of Uriah Heep

Pete de Freitas of Echo & the Bunnymen

Freaky Tah of the Lost Boyz

My friend Lanie, who frequents my shows, has requested in the past songs by bluesman Robert Johnson.  Johnson died in 1938 at the age of 27, supposedly poisoned.  Is this some strange phenomenon or is it just the results of rebellious youths living hard and reckless lives?  My mini-set today will consist of the following…

• Paint it Black – Brian Jones (The Rolling Stones)
• All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
• Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin
• L.A. Woman – Jim Morrison (The Doors)
• Smells Like Teen Spirit – Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)

When you listen to Paint it Black, listen to Brian Jones’s sitar.

As I write this, a song has been going through my head, a 1974 hit by the Righteous Brothers...

“Jimi gave us rainbows…

"Janis took a piece of our hearts…

"Remember Jim that way…

“If there's a rock and roll heaven
Well you know they've got a hell of a band.”

The Status Quo

The Status Quo…  No, this post is not going to be a social or political commentary as one might expect from the title. The Status Quo is a British rock band that has been with us now for well over forty years. Many commentators, especially in the United States, often refer to them as a “one hit wonder,” which is quite incorrect.  They have remained steadily active since 1967, both in the studio and touring. This past May (2011) saw the release of their 29^th studio album, Quid Pro Quo, and they have managed to put a song or album on the charts most years of their long existence.  I don’t see how “one hit wonder” can be used to describe the Status Quo.  The misconception stems from the fact that they had one great commercial success in the States, Pictures of Matchstick Men, which peaked at #12 in the charts in the USA in 1968.  There was a second song, Ice in the Sun, which also charted later that same year and peaked at #70. They would never have commercial success in the United States again.

The band was first founded in 1962 as the Spectres in London.  The Spectres had a few singles, but none of them succeeded in charting.  In 1967 they changed their name a few times, first to Traffic, then Traffic Jam (to avoid confusion with Steve Winwood’s band), and finally to the Status Quo.  Quite fittingly, that last name has stuck to this day with just the “The” at the beginning being dropped in the early 70s.

Their first album, Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo (pictured at the top), did well and charted both in the USA and Europe. However, Pictures of Matchstick Men remains their only Top 40 hit in the United States.  Their albums have continually been released in the USA, but they have failed to sell.  In their native UK, Scandinavia and other places, they have remained a consistent Rock ‘n’ Roll powerhouse to this day.

During today’s show, I plan to do a mini set of the Status Quo.  Here are a few of my favorites I plan on sharing:

• Down Down (1975)
• Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘n’ You (2011)
• Mister Mind Detector (1969)
• Gerdundula (1971)
• Pictures of Matchstick Men (1968)

Green Grass and High Tides

Today I would like to talk about a great rock anthem, Green Grass and High Tides.  My friend and fellow DJ, Feliciana, plays it often and lately I have been getting many requests for it.  I’ve always loved this song but I am a bit surprised that a ten minute long Southern Rock anthem has become a staple at our club, along with Pink, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and others. Don’t get me wrong, I’m quite happy, just a little surprised.

It is the last song on the Outlaws’ self-titled debut album (shown above), released in 1975.  It was written by band members, Hughie Thomasson and Monte Yoho, at least that is what it says on the disc in my hand.  I recall hearing, soon after its release, that it was about marijuana.  That was plausible since both “grass” and “high” appeared in the title.  However, Henry Paul, a founding band member, has claimed that the title has nothing to do with drugs.  He said that it was written about rock legends like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, and that the title was a rearranging of the words making up the 1966 Rolling Stones album, High Tides & Green Grass (shown below).

There is another version of this story floating around and it’s a much darker version.  There is actually nothing in it that contradicts the above account.  In fact, it probably sheds light on it, but we must remember that it is strictly based on what some people, close to the situation claim.  There seems to be a ring of truth to it if you ask me.  Supposedly, their road manager, James Brittain, wrote poetry and one day Hughie Thomasson read one and thought it would make great lyrics.  So James wrote the Lryics to Green Grass and High Tides and Hughie wrote the music.  The lyrics, while they seem to be written about more than one rock legend, were supposedly inspired by the death of Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones in 1969. The song was recorded and to be included on the band’s first album, but according to rumor, Arista Records wanted no names on the record, except those of the band members.  James Brittain would not be recognized as one of the writers of this classic rock anthem. He began a downward spiral of drinking and depression, which eventually lead to his death.  Though I can’t substantiate it, I’ve heard that “Green Grass and High Tides Forever” is carved into his tombstone

So what is the truth?  Who knows? According to my CD, Thomasson & Yoho wrote it.  Wikipedia, under the article for the album, just lists Thomasson, but in the article for the song, it lists Hughie Thomasson and James Brittain. If you take both accounts you can see that they can be fitted together nicely like two adjacent jigsaw pieces.  Maybe that is the truth.  I don’t think we will ever know for certain.  I wonder if James Brittain didn’t have a flash of premonition when he wrote these lines…

"Those who don't believe me, find your souls and set them free

Those who do, believe and know that time will be your key

Time and time again I've thanked them for a peace of mind

That helped me find myself amongst the music and the rhyme that enchants you there

"Green grass and high tides forever

Castles of stone, soul and glory

Lost faces say we adore you

As kings and queens bow and play for you"

This is a much played and beloved classic rock song.  It never charted because it was never released as a single but the album made it to #13.

Ganymed

There are people who come to my shows who try to stump me with requests.  They make a big deal when they do, despite the fact that I always say that it isn’t that hard.  Such was the case last night when one of the attendees, Annie Bouevier, sent me a Youtube link to a video, asking me if I was familiar with a band. The video was of a performance of a song called It Takes Me Higher by a band called Ganymed (no final “e” as in the Greek hero or the Jovian moon).  She got me and, like I said, it’s not that hard to do.  The truth is, I don’t think she was trying to stump me at all and was just making good conversation.

Here was a band I had never heard of, so I did a little research after my set.  Wikipedia describes them as an “Austrian/German space disco band.” I watched the video and was reminded of another European Disco band I had never heard of until my friend Ashra Lang introduced me to it, Boney M.  It turns out they had three albums and experienced a modicum of success.  I have now assimilated Ganymed into my music library and they are available for requests.

I was originally going to make this entry as a comment to my Disco post yesterday, but with graphics and such, I felt it warranted its own short write up.  Below are their three albums and at the very bottom is the video that started off this quest of mine.  Enjoy.

Takes You Higher (1978)

It Takes Me Higher

Robot Love

Wonderful Girl

Ju-Jupiter

Movin’ All Stars

Hyperspace

Saturn

Movin’ on a Disco Planet

Come on and Dance

S’punk

Music Drives Me Crazy

Future World (1979)

Future World

Black Hole Five

Prelude

Captain’s Wife

Interlude

We Like You (the Way You Like Us)

Stand By Your Love

Dancing in a Disco

Dimension No. 3 (1980)

Bring Your Love

I Want You

One Day Fool

Life Can Be Some Better

Rollerskater

Hypershooter

Death to the Alien

Here is the video.  I warn you that the sound is soft.  You will need to turn up the volume to hear it.  Don't forget to turn it back down.

Disco

When I hear the word “Disco,” it instantly conjures up images in my mind of guys in bad polyester leisure suits and too much Hai Karate aftershave. Thankfully, the styles have long ago fallen out of fashion but the music remains.  I have a confession to make. I was one of those people who proudly displayed their “Disco Sucks” button.  Yeah, I hated Disco.  It was taking radio airtime away from my beloved Who and Rolling Stones. I was even forced to listen as the Bee Gees, great rockers of the 60s and early 70s, defected to the Disco Camp and sold out to the Man.

Of course any such thoughts of the Bee Gees are unfounded.  I’m not sure when it happened but I eventually warmed to Disco, even found it curiously nostalgic.  Yes, that’s right, nostalgic.  As the decades passed, I found myself tapping my foot and bobbing my head to disco tunes. I even caught myself turning these songs up. What happened? I now have a “Disco” folder in my iPod and I sometimes listen to it and ENJOY it!

The music does bring on some intense nostalgic feelings for me.  Maybe I really loved hating Disco but I think the answer is somewhat more germane to the music.  In the late 70s, when I was a teen, Disco was everywhere, in the media, on the radio, coming from the 8-Track players of cars driving by. In many ways, it was the soundtrack of my teen years.

Today, I no longer hate Disco but embrace it. I will be doing a Disco show, a full two and a half hours, at a Woman’s Touch tonight.  Please come join me as we relive those days.  I’m already seeing visions of John Travolta and Studio 54, necklaces with little coke spoons or razor blades, shiny mirrored disco balls and flashing dance floors. I was living in New Jersey, a short distance from New York City, back then. As these thoughts race through my head, I can’t help but recall the Son of Sam killings too. In my mind, I’m now looking through my old Bermuda purse and noting how strange that I didn’t have a cell phone or a bank card. I get into my car and turn on the radio (AM only) and there it is… Ah ah ah ah stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive… ah ah ah ah stayin’ aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!

Clarence Clemons (1942-2011)

It is with great regret that I must report the passing of a modern music legend.  Saxophonist, Clarence Clemons, passed away last night.  He was 69.  Monday, during my set, I had reported that he had suffered a serious stroke.  After two surgeries, doctors were hopeful for a recovery, but sadly that was not to be.

He was best known as the saxophone player for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.  How he met the Boss and became a member of the band has become something of a rock legend.  There are varying versions of the story but the fact that he and Bruce became good friends is common to all of them.  The song, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, tells the story of how the E Street Band came to be and Clemons is referred to as the “Big Man.” A loud saxophone note can be heard underlining that line after it is sung.

“When the change was made uptown
And the Big Man joined the band”

He attended Maryland State on both a music and football scholarship.  He had a good shot at an NFL career but injuries from a car accident ended that possibility.  He played with various bands and artists around the Jersey Shore and when her first met Springsteen he was playing with Norman Seldin & the Joyful Noyze.  He has played with numerous big name artists and bands throughout his career, including the following…

Jackson Browne

Lady Gaga

Twisted Sister

Aretha Franklin

Ringo Starr

Gary U.S. Bonds

Luther Vandross

Great White

Roy Orbeson

Joe Cocker

The Four Tops

Todd Rundgren

Janis Ian

The Grateful Dead

And MANY more

He also starred in many TV shows and movies in an entertainment career that spanned five decades.

I plan on remembering this music great today during my show with a mini set.  I went into Sue’s vault and carefully picked six songs that spanned his career and spotlighted him nicely.  The set will consist of the following:

• Days of Love by Norman Seldin & the Joyful Noyz (1969)
• Spirit in the Night by Bruce Springsteen (1973)
• Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out by Bruce Springsteen (1975)
• Freeway of Love by Aretha Franklin (1983)
• Be Chrool to Your Scuel by Twisted Sister (1985)
• The Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga (2011)

According to Billboard, Bruce Springsteen released this statement upon learning of his friend’s death.

"Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years. He was my great friend, my partner and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band."

The “Big Man” is gone and his saxophone is silenced forever. However, he will live forever in the countless recordings he has left us to treasure.

Welcome to my Blog!

Yes!  I’ve started a blog.  Why?  Lots of reasons.  Very often, the songs in my sets start discussions.  When I’m DJing, it’s not always easy for me to say everything I want, or to share all the information that I know.  This seems to be a perfect place for me to share, and for all of us to discuss the music.  Please feel free to leave comments and discuss the music and other pertinent topics.

I have also done what I call “mini sets” in the past.  These sets will spotlight a particular artist or band with four to six songs in a row.  I have done this when an artist has passed away, or just to remember an almost forgotten band.  I hope that I can provide more information on these spotlights here.  I will try to even put up the post before the set so you can know the mini set will be featured and read up ahead of time.

Besides discussing the music, this blog will afford me the opportunity to share with you what I’m working on, and where I will be doing special sets.  Often I do benefits and other special gigs and this blog can serve as a place to collect all of these announcements into a single location instead of being shared piecemeal in notices to various groups.  I will also be able to share some of the remixes I have done, or will do.  There are already two uploaded that you can listen to near the bottom of the home page.

I hope this can be a place where you can share your ideas with me for new sets and themes.  Last night, through discussion at AWT (the set wasn’t even mine), I find myself doing a special retrospective on Michael Jackson.  Please share your suggestions in the comments area.  Maybe others will chime in with their thoughts and special sets, or mini sets, can be put together.  I hope this can become a musical community of sorts.

I doubt I will post for every set, but I hope to at least once a week.  So please check back often, or better yet, click on the button near the top of the right side column on this blog and follow me.