Happy Anniversary to ME!!!

DJ Sue Poster from the summer of 2010

It was seven years ago today that I opened an account and made my first post on this blog.  Can it really be that long?  It doesn’t seem like it.  It’s now 7 years, 83 posts and 16,355 views later.  I started this blog as a place to continue the discussions on the music I played as a DJ in Second Life.  Through the years it has been that but it has also grown into a place that I can safely share about myself and bare my very soul to all of you.

Through the years, I’ve used the blog to promote various formats for my DJ shows, like “Two fer Tuesday” where I played two songs in a row by each artist, or “Vinyl Siding” where I went back to the days of LP records and that search for the perfect record side where you’d drop the needle and not need to attend to anything for about 18 minutes as the side played through.  There were also the Sojourns, which I will talk about in a bit.

So how did I get here?  In the words of the Grateful Dead, “What a long strange trip it’s been.”

From my earliest memories, I had a great love for music, especially Rock ‘n’ Roll.   I’d save my coins and buy records from the local “five & dime,” but playing them was never enough for me.  I had to share the music with friends.  In high school, I religiously listened to WPLJ FM in New York and my idol was a female jock there, Carol Miller.  She was a big influence on me and I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

My senior year in high school I began the task of studying for my FCC license.  I wanted a job at an FM station with an AOR format (Album Oriented Rock) so I could share the music I loved, like the Doors, Led Zeppelin, the Jefferson Airplane and Steppenwolf.  The following summer, I passed my exams and was the holder of an FCC Third Class Radiotelephone License with an FM Broadcast Endorsement.  With this “card” I was legally able to operate, repair or modify any FM radio station in the United States as long as I didn’t alter the broadcast frequency or the power output.  With this, I was marketable because I could legally operate a radio station after hours ALL BY MYSELF!  More importantly, this ticket would allow me to share music with the masses.

In the fall of 1977, I got a job at an AOR radio station up in New England.  I’ve told much of the story here already, especially through the Sojourns so I won’t repeat it all again.  I couldn’t tell you the first song I played on the air but I distinctly remember the last.  I have not told the story of my final moments on the air but I think it’s worth telling.

DJ booth of the era and very much like the one I used to use.

My last day was my regular show on a Friday afternoon in the summer of 1980.  My relief, Dave, was standing in the booth behind me holding the records he had pulled from the music room.  It was a couple minutes before 4:00 and the one song ended.  Dave and I had this moment planned.  There needed to be a station ID at the top of the hour and instead of playing a pre-recorded one, we thought it fitting that I say good bye and work the station call sign, and other info, into my address to the listeners.  (The legally required station ID is in bold below) I will try to recreate what I said, as close as I can remember. The call sign and other names are all fictitious.

“We are here at the top of the hour and the end of my show.  Dave Christians is here to take you through to 6 pm. As I said earlier, today is my last broadcast here at 97.3 FM.  I would like to thank the staff and management of WTMG, Springfield, for allowing me to share music with all of you out there.  It is with a heavy heart that I leave but it is to better things. I especially want to thank you, the listeners, and wish you all of the happiness in the world.  It has been an amazing three years and I will miss you greatly.  So long, everyone.”

I flipped the switch and the turntable started to play Drivers Seat by Sniff 'n' the Tears.  I may not recall the first song I ever played but I remember that last one I played as I broke down and began to weep.  I had managed to keep my composure as I said the actual goodbye, though my voice began to waver and crack a bit by the end.  I took off the headphones, got up and got a big hug from Dave.  I went back into the music room to put my records away.

The very last record I cued and played on the air.

When I was done, I walked through the control room to the outer studio.  People had gathered there, maybe a dozen.  Most worked at the station and I was touched that some had come in on their time off just to say goodbye.  I was even more deeply moved by the fact that three or four listeners had come down to see me off too.  One woman had heard my good bye on the air and was near the studio, so she dropped by.

After the goodbyes, people cleared out and it was time to leave.  I picked up my backpack which I had filled earlier with my stray possessions left around the station.  I walked up to the bulletin board, where all of our FCC licenses were thumbtacked for the world to see and I located mine.  I removed it and placed it in my pocket.  As I walked out the door, I knew I would never be on the air at WTMG again but I thought I would eventually go back to being an on air radio personality again.  I had no idea that I had just walked away from my last broadcast of my life.

I got in the car and drove away all weepy.  I’d be heading for college shortly and had my whole life was ahead of me.  I was listening to the radio in the car and I heard Dave break in after a couple songs and commercials.

“Sue, I know you are probably listening and I wanted to wish you good luck and thank you for all of the times you have brightened my day.”

I went to college, earned a degree and then eventually became a paramedic.  I never went back to radio.  During college, I did get to DJ some private parties and events but it wouldn’t be until 2010 that I found Second Life.  It didn’t take long for me to become a DJ and find myself sharing music once again.

Last year, I did a weekly feature called “Sue’s Sunday Sojourn.”  I would showcase a particular artist or band during my entire two hour set.  Each week, prior to the set, there would be a blog post where I wrote about my memories, favorite stories or share other interesting tidbits about the artist.  The idea here was not to tell the story of the band or play two hours of their greatest hits.  The idea behind Sue’s Sunday Sojourn was for you to spend time with me, down in my music vault.  As I would put together the set, I would reminisce and share special memories.  “I remember when this came out,” or, “I recall hearing this for the first time and I thought…”  I might share little known facts, favorite memories, fun stories or maybe even some personal experiences.

The sets had plenty of the big hits but there were also a few obscure tunes that were my personal favorites.  I would include a few rarities or possibly unreleased material, along with other assorted curios.  By the time I was done they had turned into something more, something I had not anticipated.  They became a way to let everyone I know in Second Life, into my world safely and to allow them to get to know me in ways I’ve not shared online.  During the Sojourns I told many stories about my days in radio and I shared a lot about other facets of my life.

If you want to read more about my days in radio, read my blog.  The Sojourns are especially good for this and getting to know me.  Here are a few suggested ones:

The Moody Blues:

There is quite a bit in this one about being on the air and talking to listeners.

The Doors:

Probably my favorite band of all times and there is a bit about me at the radio station in here too.

The Electric Light Orchestra:

A peek into my teen years.

The Jefferson Airplane:

This is maybe my second favorite band.  In this Sojourn you learn a bit about my family, my love for music and my childhood.

DJ Sue’s Theme and Upcoming Sojourns:

This is a filler piece between Sojourns but there is a bit about DJ Carol Miller and another bit on DJ Sue’s Theme.

Bob Seger:

Bob Seger seemed to sync up with my life in many ways.  This is basically my life story related through the music of Bob Seger from a kid, through high school, to being a DJ and much more, including my PTSD.

Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Sometimes Young):

In this one I begin to tell of the complex but extremely close relationship with my oldest brother.

Phil Ochs (Tapes from California):

This one really lets you in, up close and personal.  It focuses on me and my older brother, his death and my coping with those demons.

The Middle of the Road:

This one is not a Sojourn but a bit about being on the air is in it.

What Does Sue Listen to: Pt. 1 Farfisa and Fuzz:

This one is a really old post and was from way before the Sojourns.  It tells about the music I truly love to listen to.  This is part one but I never got around to writing part two.

So it’s been eight years since I’ve started DJing I SL and seven since I started this blog.  The picture at the top of the entire blog until recently has been there since 2014.  Before that, it was the picture at the top of this post.  Now I’ve decided that this anniversary was a good excuse to update the color scheme with a more vampire feel.  I also felt that it was time for a new picture of top of the vampire DJ myself.  Here is to another seven years of posting and eight years of spinning tunes.

DJ Sue's official photo.

It Happened 53 Years Ago

Bob Dylan recording in the studio 53 years ago this week

It happened 53 years ago this week.  Bob Dylan would go into the studio and record a song that would profoundly change him and the music world forever.  During the spring of 1965, the writing was on the wall and Dylan was seriously considering leaving the music world.  He probably would have too if it wasn’t for that one recording session that produced Like a Rolling Stone. The song would spend 12 weeks on the Billboard charts and reach #2.  While that fact shows success, maybe I should mention that Rolling Stone Magazine gave it the #1 position on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” list!

The song started out quite different from the final version we are all familiar with and that story is fascinating and worth telling on this anniversary.

As mentioned above, Dylan was in a bad place during the spring of 1965 and Like a Rolling Stone started out as a rant of hatred written in verse.  Dylan himself described it later as a “long piece of vomit, 20 pages long.”

Dylan and a handpicked troupe of studio musicians, including Mike Bloomfield of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band on guitar, entered the studio to record the song on June 15, 1965.  Bob Dylan played piano and the song actually started out as a waltz in ¾ time.  There were five takes recorded that day and only the fourth (I’ll play it on Wednesday) made it through to the chorus.  Dylan’s voice was going and they called it a day after one more take.

The following day, June 16, they took a different approach.  Bob Dylan would abandon the piano and take up his Fender Startocaster guitar, an electric guitar, and Frank Owen would play the Hammond organ to replace the piano.  While waiting for a couple of necessary people to arrive, they recorded an unofficial take in which you can plainly hear that the song is no longer a folk tune done as a waltz.   With two electric guitars, an electric organ and now in 4/4 time, it had suddenly become a rock and roll song, literally overnight.  It was an improvement but Dylan still knew it was missing something.

In attendance in the studio that day was a 21 year old session guitarist by the name of “Al Kooper.”  (Not to be confused with Alice Cooper.)  He was a guest and just there to observe.  Before the first official take, there was another change made and Frank Owens was moved from the organ to the piano.  With the organ vacant, Kooper saw his chance and asked Producer, Tom Wilson, if he could play the organ.  He claimed to have an organ part in his head that would fit the song really well.  Wilson began objecting, pointing out that Kooper was a guitar player and not an organist. Before he could say “no,” he was called away to take a phone call.  Since Wilson hadn’t actually said “no,” Kooper sat down at the organ.

No one took him seriously.  Wilson came back into the studio and didn’t bother to remove Kooper.  After all, with each instrument recorded to a different track, it would be no problem just removing him from the final mix.

That first take only made it through the first chorus but as they played it back, Dylan noticed the organ and insisted it be turned up in the mix.  There it was and despite the objections of Wilson that Kooper wasn’t an organ player, and despite the fact that Kooper had missed cues and was off in timing, Dylan insisted that it would remain.  The song was now complete and had almost reached its final form.

I say “almost” because there was no written music, just ten pages of verse that Dylan had for lyrical reference.  This led to each take being quite different and Dylan even varied the lyrics from take to take.  It all came together on the fourth official take that day and they found a certain magic on that rendition.  It was the first time they had made it all the way through the song.  Even Wilson admitted, “That sounds good to me.”  They would record eleven more takes that day but none compared to the magic of Take #4.  Take #4 would be mixed down and become the master for the final finished song we all know and love.  It was destined to make history.

21 year old Al Kooper helps Dylan make history

Like a Rolling Stone had gone from a folk tune, written as a waltz to an electric rock and roll tune.  Furthermore, the twenty pages of vomit and hatred that had been its lyrics were now not belittling the listener.  Instead, they were showing the subject that they were lucky and revealing unseen hope to them.  Finally, Dylan has described this song and session as his breakthrough.  He now wanted to move forward with his musical career.  He would go on to make 30 more studio albums and release countless compilations, live albums, videos and more.

The story is far from over and the rollercoaster ride had just begun.  Soon after it was recorded, Columbia Records cancelled its release.  The song was just too “electric” for a folk artist.  Furthermore, at a full six minutes in length, it broke the three minute rule.  For a song to make money, it had to be played on the radio.  Radio stations shunned playing songs over three minutes in length and this one doubled that.

The Newport Folk Festival

Back in 1965, the acoustic folk guitar was sacrosanct to folk music.  Dylan was going to break with tradition and create a great controversy with his song that Columbia relegated to the trash bin.  It was five weeks after the recording session when Bob Dylan did something never done by an artist at the Newport Folk Festival.  He took to the stage with an electric guitar and two musicians from that recording session were among those on stage with him.  Mike Bloomfield also had an electric guitar and now keyboardist, Al Kooper, sat at an electric organ.  They played Like a Rolling Stone to both cheers and boos and many Dylan fans were appalled.  Bob Dylan had sold out…  Bob Dylan had gone electric!

Dylan goes electric at Newport, July 25, 1965

And from the Ashes, the Phoenix Doth Rise

There was one executive at Columbia Records, Shaun Considine, who felt Like a Rolling Stone deserved a chance.  At about the same time as Bob Dylan was pissing off legions of folk music fans at Newport, Considine rescued a discarded acetate of the song.  An acetate is a metal disc with hot vinyl applied to one side and after being pressed, it makes a one sided record.  The entire unit, metal platter and all, can be used temporarily until the official release.

One weekend, he took this acetate to a popular club in New York City and got the DJ to play it.  It was a big hit and the crowd insisted that it be played many times that night.  Soon radio stations were getting requests to play it and it was the radio stations that insisted that Columbia release the song.  Columbia did something that had never been done before.  It broke the rules and immediately released a six minute single. (see below)

Bob Dylan went from being a folk singer to being a rock star.  The rest is, as they say, history.

The six minute single that broke the rules

What you will hear on Wednesday

To say you will experience a metamorphosis is an understatement. As mentioned above, the song starts out as a folk music waltz with a rant of hatred as lyrics.  Through the process of the musicians adlibbing each part and other changes made intentionally, you will hear it transformed to what is arguably the most critically acclaimed songs in music history.  The list below looks like a lot to listen to but it really isn’t. Most takes don’t make it beyond the first chorus and a couple last only 15-20 seconds each.  However, through this you will hear the amazing change.  Here is the list:

June 15, Take #4

June 16, Practice Take

June 16, Takes #1-3

Like a Rolling Stone (Final Release; June 16, Take #4)

Without playing the final version, the remainder of the list only takes about 6 ½ minutes to play.  It really isn’t a lot but I hope you find the changes throughout fascinating.

 June 15 Take #4

This take has Bob playing piano and is done as a waltz.

June 16, Practice Take

While waiting for others to show, some musicians do a practice take. Bob is now on electric guitar along with Mike Bloomfield and Frank Owens is on organ.

June 16, Take #1

Frank Owens is moved to piano and Al Kooper now plays organ.  This is the take where Dylan realizes he has found what was missing.

June 16, Takes  #2 & 3

Both only last 15-20 seconds each.

Like a Rolling Stone

I will play the final release which was produced from that magic Take #4.

Fun Facts

Fun Fact #1: On June 24, 2014, Sotheby’s sold Bob Dylan’s original hand written lyrics for Like a Rolling Stone for a record 2 million dollars.

Fun Fact #2: In the choruses, Dylan makes many rhymes with the word “stone.” Like “complete unknown,” or “direction home.”  At one point he considered lines using “Al Capone.”

Fun Fact #3:  The song originally started out in the key of “A” before changing into the key of “C” in the studio.

Conclusion

This is a song that broke all of the rules and really never should have been.  Despite being too long, it managed to get a lot of airplay and even charted at #2.  It was a song by a folk artist that broke the rules of his genre and went electric.  It defies categorization.  It is undoubtedly a folk tune but no one would deny it is one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded.  In it you can also hear doses of country and the blues.  Top it all off with an organ that gives it a gospel revival touch.  Not only did it save Bob Dylan from quitting music, it changed the course of music history forever.  No longer were artists fettered by an industry demanding conformity.  This song took the British Invasion and tore it up and stuck it back in the faces of the likes of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Join me this Wednesday, June 13, as we watch a plain lump of coal get subjected to such great societal and industrial pressures until all that can emerge is the most beautiful of diamonds.  Join me as we bear witness to greatness being born before our very ears.

“When you ain't got nothin', you got nothin' to lose.
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel?”