Radio DJ Drowns

It is with profound sadness that I report the passing of a great female DJ and radio personality.  Allison Harte, who became famous on Michigan’s classic rock radio station, WLAV FM, was taken off life support today after being found unresponsive in her swimming pool Tuesday night.  Allison rose to fame in the early 1980s at the classic rock station where she was much beloved by her listeners and helped to build WLAV’s fan base, giving them a preeminent place in the market.

She is survived by her husband, Roger Dykstra, daughter, Brittany, two stepsons, her parents and siblings.  WLAV has posted a remembrance page that can be found here.  You are invited to post your thoughts and memories.  On that page, a couple of people refer to her by her real name, Prudence Dykstra.  The Dykstra family is in our thoughts and prayers tonight.

The Righteous Brothers said that Rock and Roll Heaven had a hell of a band.  They now have another jock to play their records.

Fleetwood Mac

There is a greatness about Fleetwood Mac that one just can’t write about or put in words.  They have worn so many hats, succeeded in so many things and the list of people who have been with them reads like a page out of Who’s Who in the Music Industry.  I put it that way because they were not just pop sensations.  They were rock greats and yet, they started strictly as a blues band and made a name for themselves in that genre first.

The story begins in the mid-60s when Mick Fleetwood was playing with a band called Peter B’s Looners along with a guitarist named Peter Green.  This band morphed into the Shotgun Express and had a young singer named Rod Stewart as a member.  In 1966, Peter Green left the group to replace Eric Clapton in John Mayall’s band, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.  Later, when the Bluesbreakers needed a new drummer, Peter Green suggested Mick Fleetwood who now became a member of the Bluesbreakers.

They recorded an instrumental piece and Green named it after both the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassist for the Bluesbreakers, John McVie.  He called it Fleetwood Mac, “Mac” being McVie’s nickname based on his last name.  At this point, it was the title of a song and nothing more.

Green and Fleetwood broke away to form their own band in 1967.  They invited McVie to join and when he refused, they named their new band Fleetwood Mac in order to further persuade him.  He wouldn’t budge.  The band began touring and recorded their first single without him.  He eventually relented but he was not a part of the band from the very beginning, despite it being indirectly named for him.

They released their first album, the self-titled Fleetwood Mac, in early 1968. It made it to #4 on the British charts and Fleetwood Mac had become a blues band to be reckoned with.  They followed it up with a couple of successful singles, including one written by Green called Black Magic Woman.  This song would later become a big hit for Santana but was originally a Fleetwood Mac tune.  They continued to come out with albums and to tour.  They were a success by any standard and the story could end here and be considered happy, but there is much more.

Let me introduce you to Christine Perfect.  She began playing keyboards for Fleetwood Mac early on as an uncredited session musician.  She had played with a band called Chicken Shack, and during this period, came out with an album on her own simply titled Christine Perfect.  She was a successful musician in her own right and even sang lead vocals for Fleetwood Mac, despite not being a member of the band.  She wound up marrying bassist, John McVie and joining Fleetwood Mac officially in 1970.  Christie McVie would become a familiar name and member we all associate with the Mac.

Fleetwood Mac continued to steadily tour, turn out albums, and chart.  There were personnel changes and by 1975 the band consisted of Fleetwood on Drums, John McVie on Bass, Christie McVie on Keyboards, Stevie Nicks on Vocals, and Lindsey Buckingham on guitar.  This is the classic lineup that most people recall from the 70s and the one depicted in the photo above.  (l to r: Buckingham, C. McVie, Fleetwood, J. McVie, and Nicks).

They released a self-titled album in 1975 and it went to the number one position on the charts.  I was watching CBS Sunday Morning a couple of years ago and was taken aback by their piece on Fleetwood Mac.  It stated that the band formed in 1975 and that this was their first album.  Their version of history completely removed their first nine albums and all their success on the charts since 1968.  To be fair, not many bands have two self-titled albums, and the fact that the Mac did as their first and tenth did confuse things.  The 1968 album has since been referred to as Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac.

Their next album, 1977’s Rumours, was one of the most successful records of all times.  It hit #1 on the charts (and held #1 for 31 weeks in the USA!) around the world and had four singles in the top 10 in the United States.  It remains one of the ten best top-selling albums of all time.  Behind the scenes, this album was fraught with personal angst.  Nicks and Buckingham had broken up and Buckingham’s song, Go Your Own Way (#10 on the Billboard charts), was a result of that.  In 1976, the McVie marriage started to fall apart and they divorced in 1977 as Rumours was released.  Christie McVie’s Don’t Stop (#1 on the Billboard charts) was part of her efforts to put that behind her.  Many have said that it was this emotional turmoil that Fleetwood Mac drew upon and directed into the music that helps to make this album great.

Through the years, they have continued to record and tour.  There have been personnel changes but the members of that late 70s superstar lineup continue to return and there have been concerts and even an album by that particular group.  In 1997, Fleetwood, J. Mcvie, C. McVie, Buckingham, and Nicks took to the stage together in front of an audience.  This performance resulted in the album, the Dance.  After they had finished Go Your Own Way, each member of the band came to the microphone to say good night and goodbye.  They left and the house lights were down.  Everyone knew that an encore would follow.  Soon a hypnotic drum beat was emanating from the stage and as the lights came up, Mick Fleetwood was at the drums.  Lindsay Buckingham strummed a loud chord on his guitar and band was playing Tusk, one of their old hits from the 70s.

Partway through, Mick Fleetwood when into a wild drum solo, and as he did, the USC Trojan Marching Band marched down the aisles and joined the Mac on stage.  Tusk was originally recorded with the Trojans backing them in 1979.  The end result was incredible and everyone’s hairs stood on edge.  As a second encore, they did their only #1 hit, Don’t Stop.  The Trojans remained on stage dancing with the Mac and part way through the song, joined in.  You had Fleetwood Mac and the USC Trojans playing Don’t Stop and producing a sound that can only be described as awe-inspiring.  Towards the end, the members of the Mac quietly each left stage.  The Trojans finished the number on their own… The band played on.

Today I will be doing a set of Fleetwood Mac.  I plan on ending it with that performance of Tusk/Don’t Stop.

The Left Banke

The Left Banke undoubtedly wrote some of the most melodic and calming music to come out of the 60s.  In a time of peace and love, it is almost disturbing to learn that writers and performers of such tunes were so totally engulfed in strife and conflict.

They were formed in New York in 1965 by Tom Finn, George Cameron and Michael Brown.  Finn & Cameron (bass and drums respectively) were already friends.  Finn got to know Brown (a keyboardist), whose father owned a recording studio.  Steve Martin, a vocalist, had just moved to New York and got to know Cameron.  Since one of their dads had a recording studio, and all four were musicians, it was a natural thing for these four teens (yes, TEENS!) to play around and make some recordings.  Brown’s father was so impressed by what he heard that he offered to become their manager and the Left Banke was born.

Their first hit, Walk Away Renee, was written by Michael Brown who was just 17 at the time.  The song is supposedly written about Renee Fladen who was Finn’s girlfriend at the time and Brown had an intense infatuation for.  She was present for the recording and Brown was so nervous that he couldn’t get the harpsichord parts right.  He had to come back later and record them when he was alone.  The song was released in February 1966 and rose to #5 on the charts.  Their unique sound with the harpsichord and classical arrangements required the industry to concoct a new term just for their music, “Baroque Rock.”

Supposedly, Pretty Ballerina and She May Call You Up Tonight were also inspired by Brown’s infatuation with Fladen.  Pretty Ballerina would reach #15 on the charts in 1967.  Brown eventually decided he didn’t want to tour and would rather just record in the studio, while the course to rock stardom that the other three members wanted to follow required touring to promote their newly recorded album.  This led to two factions forming with Brown and his father claiming rights to the band name and replacing Finn, Cameron and Martin.

When the single, Ivy Ivy, hit the market in 1967, the other three used their influence with the Fan Club to get the record boycotted.  This move was successful and the record flopped.  Interestingly, among the session musicians used for this song were Bert Sommers, who would later play Woodstock as a solo musician, and Michael McKean who would later be a part of Spinal Tap (after also playing Lenny, of Lenny & Squiggy, on Laverne & Shirly).  Attorneys were hired and things would never be the same.  They did manage to reunite later in 1967 and recorded some more songs, including Desiree which was their third and final song to chart.  The damage had been done and they never really attained the success they could have.  Their records received little airplay as stations were reluctant to promote them due to all of the controversy.  However, during this period it is worth mentioning that a rather young singer did backing vocals for them by the name of Steve Tyler.  Tyler would later become the front man for Aerosmith.  This last material was gathered, along with a couple of songs by Brown & his session musicians, and released as a second album, the Left Banke Too.  They played live performances for a while longer but soon disbanded.

I plan a mini set today during my show of the Left Banke.  I hope to cover a bit of what I have talked about above and it will consist of…

Pretty Ballerina, 1967
Claudia, never released
Desiree, 1967
Nice to See You, 1968 (Steve Tyler of Aerosmith on backing vocals)
Walk Away Renee, 1966

Rob Grill of the Grass Roots (1943 – 2011)

It was during my set yesterday that a DJ friend of mine, Feliciana Zabaleta, broke the sad news to me.  Rob Grill of the Grass Roots had passed away at age 67.  I played a few Grass Roots songs as we put the word out of his death and both of us plan to play a few Grass Roots songs during our back to back sets today.  Let’s take a look at Rob Grill and the Grass Roots.

The band was originally the brainchild of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri.  The two were looking to put together a band to perform the songs that they wrote.  They actually went through two versions of the Grass Roots in 1966, recorded some singles and had some success, but they failed to keep either group together.  It was the third version of the Grass Roots that we remember from the 60s and 70s today.

Rob Grill was part of this version of the Grass Roots and played bass and sang.  Their first Top 10 hit was Let’s Live for Today in 1967.  Between 1967 and 1972, they achieved the unprecedented feat of not going a single week without a song on the Billboard Charts for 307 weeks, charting 29 singles!   

In many ways, Rob Grill was the Grass Roots.  Of the original lineup, he remained the longest until starting a solo career in 1979.  He reformed them again in the 1980s with all new musicians and he continued to play with them well into this century. 

Bob suffered a stroke several weeks ago and injured his head when he fell.  He had been in a coma ever since.  He passed away in a hospital in Orlando, Florida, last Monday.  He was a native of California and attended Hollywood High School.  Before becoming associated with the Grass Roots, he was already friends with John Kay, later of Steppenwolf, and Cory Wells, later of Three Dog Night.

Feliciana and I both have mini set tributes planned for today.  My set is up first and I plan to play the following…

Heaven Knows, 1969

Where Were You When I Needed You, 1967
Two Divided by Love, 1971
Things I should Have Said, 1967

Probably not the best known tunes by them, but some great tunes by a great band nonetheless.  My friend Feliciana will also be playing some Grass Roots during her set.  She plans to play the following, though I’m unsure of the order…

Live for Today, 1967

Midnight Confessions, 1968
Temptation Eyes, 1970

We could wait a million years, walk a million miles, cry a million tears, swim the deepest sea, climb the highest hill and we will still never find another Rob Grill.

The Grateful Dead

And I thought I had trouble finding where to begin yesterday talking about ABBA.  It was child’s play compared to having to discuss the Grateful Dead.  This is an extremely complex band, but it is tough because they are also a cultural phenomenon.  My first memories of the Dead were in the late 60s through my older brother who was a big fan.  He ran away from our home on the East Coast in 1967 to be a part of the Summer of Love in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco.  He undoubtedly heard them play many times in Golden Gate Park in those days.  He would come home to visit and bring his love for the Dead with him.  I was so into music at a young age that it was infectious to me.  It didn’t take long for me to see a picture of them or a film clip and then it struck me.  They had two drummers!  I had never seen a band with two drummers and it fascinated me.

In 1977, the Grateful Dead Movie came out and was showing at a theater nearby.  A bunch of us got high and went to see it at a midnight showing.  It opened with a seven minute cartoon that, in our stoned state, mesmerized us.  In it, a skeleton dressed as Uncle Same rode a motorcycle through all sorts of psychedelic imagery.  The Dead was it… They were cool, but I never became the fanatical follower that many of my friends did.  I never became a total Deadhead. 

When I was in college, my best friend Kerry sublet the basement of the house she rented to Deadheads.  They traveled in their VW bus and followed the band from city to city.  They seldom had their rent money, but they could always afford pot and they had a pair of microphones that were a thousand dollars apiece, just to record the Dead.  They had a library of hundreds of tapes with just cities and dates written on the covers.

The Grateful Dead formed out of the remnants of Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, a Palo Alto band, in 1965.  They were originally called the Warlocks but by the end of 1965, had changed their name to the Grateful Dead.  Their first appearance under that name was at one of Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests in December of that year.  They came out with their first album in 1967 and continued with a steady career until Jerry Garcia’s death forced them to disband in 1995.  In 1969 they played the Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York.

Tonight my set is dedicated to the Grateful Dead and I will play many of their greatest songs, and maybe a few rarer or unusual gems.  Look forward to seeing you there.

ABBA

What can I say?  I can’t even come close to scratching the surface on all that could be said in a single blog post.  If you were alive anywhere on the planet in the 70s, you remember ABBA.  Some of us associate the name with the exotic or Swedish, others recall the flashy clothing, yet others are brought back to the disco floor.  For a decade Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Usually just referred to as “Frida”) dominated the international charts.  If you note the bold letters, their name was derived from the first initial of each of their first names. Bjorn and Agnetha were a married couple as Benny and Frida would eventually become.

Last week, a bunch of us were at AWT during one of my sets and the subject of ABBA came up.  By popular demand, a date and time slot was chosen and today I will be Djing a show dedicated to ABBA at 2 PM Second Life time.  (Pacific Time, USA)

All four displayed great talent before forming ABBA in 1972 in their native Sweden.  Agnetha had a #1 record in Sweden at age 17 (1967), which I will play during my set today.  Benny was a member of the Hep Stars, known as the Swedish Beatles, at age 18.  Bjorn was a member of the Hootenanny Singers, a Swedish folk group, at the age of 18 too.  Frida had a rather successful solo career for about five years before forming ABBA.

Their breakthrough came when they entered their song, “Waterloo,” into the Eurovision competition in 1973.  It eventually won and Europe had its new sensation.  It didn’t take the rest of the world long to hear about ABBA.  They topped the charts worldwide until their break up in 1983 and sold over 375 million records.  They still sell upwards of 3 million a year and are inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Both couples were divorced prior to ABBA’s break up.  They went on to successful careers both as performers and writers.  In 2000, they are reported to have turned down a 1 billion US dollar deal to do a reunion tour.  It wasn’t until 2004 that all four members were seen together briefly.  There have been a few other occasions where they have come together briefly in public, including the premier of the movie Mama Mia, originally a musical stage production.  Mama Mia has helped keep their music popular today.

The Star Spangled Banner

The story of our (United States) National Anthem is well known, but bears repeating and reflecting upon on this, the 235 anniversary of our independence.  As every school child is taught, it was written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812, but what is often overlooked is that this was only the lyrics.

Key was on a mission to secure the release of prisoners held by the British.  During negotiations, Key and his contingency became knowledgeable of portions of the battle plan for the attack on Baltimore. Because of this, they were held by the British on board ship.  This gave them a good view of the battle and Ft. McHenry, where the flashes from the rockets and bombs lit up the night sky and showed that the fort’s flag still flew above.  This was proof to them that it had not fallen into British hands.  In the morning, the flag (shown above) still flew over Ft. McHenry and inspired Key to write the poem that would later become our National Anthem.

Soon after, the poem was put to the music of To Anacreon in Heaven, which was the official song of a London Gentlemen’s club and is often referred to as a drinking song.  Soon it was being played at July 4th celebrations and other national occasions.  However, it didn’t become our National Anthem until 1931, over a hundred years after the poem was written.

Though it had been played at sporting events before, it wasn’t until World War II that it became customary to play it before every baseball game, and soon every sporting event.  Through the years, many famous, and not so famous, performers have recorded renditions of the Star Spangled Banner.  I plan on sharing three of the many recorded versions tonight during my Independence Day set.

The Star Spangled Banner…

Opening the set: Boston (1997)

During the Set: Jimi Hendrix (Recorded live at Woodstock, 1969)

Ending the Set: Kiss (1993)

There are four stanzas or verses to the piece.  There have been variations, and even a fifth unofficial Civil War verse, through the years.  The four official verses I give you below. Normally only the first verse is sung but occasionally on formal occasions the fourth is added.

O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
’Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust;”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!