Tribute to Peter Green: Fleetwood Mac in Concert

In loving Memory... Peter Green (1946-2020)

I learned the sad news this afternoon that Peter Green, the founder of Fleetwood Mac had passed this morning.  He was 73 years old.  Not many people seem to be aware, but Fleetwood Mac began in the ‘60s as a Blues band.  I tell that story in a blog post back in 2011, found here: Fleetwood Mac.

Since tomorrow night is the last Sunday of the month and I usually play a concert, I thought it would be a fitting tribute to do a Fleetwood Mac concert.  The only one I have featuring Peter Green was the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, on 25 January 1969.  The picture of Peter Green above was taken at that show.  Peter Green would leave Fleetwood Mac in 1970.

The problem using that concert for my set tomorrow is that the performance is only 43 minutes long, far short of the two hours I need to fill.  I looked at other Mac concerts and I soon noticed that I had one that filled the space close to perfectly.  It also happened to be my favorite Fleetwood Mac concert.  It was the last concert ever played by the classic lineup of the late ‘70s, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christie McVie, Lindsay Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks.  I add this concert to the set and I now have just over 2 hours and should only go less than 5 minutes over.

This concert was actually a reunion, ten years after they went their separate ways.  They got together for a single live performance on 23 May 1997, in Burbank, California.  What made this show remarkable was the encore.

After finishing Go Your Own Way, each band member says good night and exits the stage.  The house lights stay down and the crowd roars for an encore.  Then in the darkness, drumming can be heard.  Mick Fleetwood had returned to the drums and was playing the opening beats of Tusk.  The rest of the band comes back on stage and joins in.

The crowd is so mesmerized that no one noticed what was happening behind them.  The USC Marching Band had lined up at the top of each of the aisles.  The USC Marching band had made a guest appearance on the studio record of this song back in 1979.  As Fleetwood went into a drum solo, the band descended down all of the aisles, marching double-time, amid the spectators.  Most were startled or taken by surprise.  First the USC drumline joined in with Fleetwood’s drumming.  Then the rest of the band joined in, reprising their part of 18 years earlier.

It was one of those moments in Rock history where if you witnessed it, every hair on your body stood on end.  The entire auditorium was charged with electricity and Fleetwood Mac and the USC Marching Band played on stage together.  But they were not done!

After Tusk ends, Christie McVie can be heard to say, “I’ve never done this one with a brass section before.”  They then went into Don’t Stop, one of their biggest hits ever.  The USC Band stayed on stage and did it with them, playing and dancing along.  Halfway through the song, the members of Fleetwood Mac began to put down their instruments, one-by-one, and slowly leave the stage, eventually leaving the USC Marching Band to finish the song without them.  Mick Fleetwood was the last to exit the stage and the classic lineup of Fleetwood Mac had played their final notes together.

We will relive those moments at the end of tomorrow’s concert.

Join us tomorrow at AWT, 7-9 PM, as I first Play a Fleetwood Mac concert from 1969 as a tribute to the late Peter Green, and then a second Fleetwood Mac concert, one of their best, ever.  Hope to see you there.

Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham on Stage with the USC Marching Band

DJ Sue’s Oh $h!t Jukebox from Hell

Today’s set is an idea or request from Kita.  We were talking a few days back and she suggested I do a set of old commercials.  I occasionally throw in an old commercial and I think that gave her the idea.  I figured a two-hour segment of just commercials would go over like a turd in the punch bowl, so instead, I decided to just add the commercials between the songs of a regular show.

These commercials were going to be "blasts from the past," the type that would make you go, “Oh my God, I remember that,” or, “I haven’t thought about that in decades!”  Then I got to thinking.  Why couldn’t the songs do the same thing, bringing an overall theme to the whole show and have it all be “Oh $h!t, I haven’t heard that in years!”

These would be songs that were the type that you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing for several weeks but then disappeared forever.  Since some of them were silly, we’d often feign groaning when it came on the radio but would catch ourselves humming or sing it when we were alone.  Now it is just fun to remember how much we pretended to hate them, or maybe we just like shaking our head at things that were actually put out there.

Either way…

Join me tonight from 7-9 PM at AWT, as I present to you, DJ Sue’s Oh $h!t Jukebox from Hell.  From Billy, Don’t Be a Hero, by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, to They’re Coming to Take me Away, by Napoleon XIV, and don’t forget the commercials, including ones for cigarettes and beer.

Hail and Farewell 2019

Clockwise from upper left: Art Neville, Ric Ocasek, Peter Tork, the Captain & Tennille, Eddie Money, Leon Redbone, and Ginger Baker

I guess this has officially become a tradition and once again, I find myself preparing one of these.  We lost 37 in 2019, which isn’t bad.  In deciding who to include, I’ve followed the same formula as the past few years.  Again, these are the ones that I know about and I may very well have missed someone.  The second factor is that I must know about them musically.  I either know the person, their song(s) or their band.  They are not listed here unless I am familiar with at least one of those three things.  At the end of the day, I kind of hate to say this, but I stick to the ones that I have music for in my library.

We lost Peter Tork of the Monkees on February 21.  Stephen Stills had originally auditioned for the part on the Monkees but didn’t make the cut.  He suggested his friend Peter for the role and Tork eventually landed the part.  He became the lovable buffoon to millions of fans.  He was 77 years old when he slipped away peacefully and succumbed to cancer.

"There are no words right now...heartbroken over the loss of my Monkee brother, Peter Tork."

                                                                                           Micky Dolenz

Hal Blaine was not a household name, but you all know his drumming from many popular hits through the decades.  He was a part of a loose conglomeration of session musicians in the L.A. area known as the “Wrecking Crew.”  In fact, Blaine gave them that nickname.  He was never a member of any band nor do I expect you to know his name, but he drummed on hundreds of top 40 hits that you probably know.  A list of just a few artists he drummed for would include:

The Beach Boys

The Byrds

Frank Sinatra

Dean Martin

Johnny Rivers

Simon & Garfunkel

Neil Diamond

John Denver

Barbra Streisand

Captain & Tennille

The Carpenters

The 5th Dimension

And many more.

At 90, he is the oldest on our list, having been born in 1929.  He was a generation older than many of the rock stars he worked with.  He was presented a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2018.

Scott Walker was a child actor on TV and on Broadway.  He became something of a teen idol but after he grew up, he was a founding member of the Walker Brothers.  Who can forget that amazing voice on their big hit, The Sun Ain’t Going to Shine (Anymore), which went to number 13 in 1966? He was 76 years old when he passed away on March 22.

J.R. Cobb was 75 when he passed on May 4.  He was a member of the Classics IV and wrote all of their hits, including Spooky and Stormy.  He went on to become a member of the Atlanta Rhythm Section and continue to write hits including Do It or Die and Champagne Jam.  He also worked as a studio musician and wrote hits for many other artists.

Leon Redbone had one of the most distinctive voices in the music industry.  Although he was very elusive about his origins, we do know that he was from Cyprus and of Armenian descent.  While his music covered many genres, his biggest love was Tin Pan Ally Jazz.  He was 69 years old.

We lost another session drummer on June 22.  Jerry Carrigan drummed for so many Country and Rock artists that a list couldn’t begin to do justice but would include Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Johnny Paycheck and Kenny Rogers.  He was also a record producer.

Art Neville passed on July 22 at the age of 81.  He was a founding member of the funk band, the Meters and had a long career as a session musician, songwriter, and performer with several groups, including the Neville Brothers.  In the studio, he recorded keyboards for the likes of Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer, Dr. John and Patti LaBelle (keyboards for Lady Marmalade).  I had the privilege of seeing him perform over 25 years ago, the only one on the list that I have heard live.

Larry Taylor was the bassist for Canned Heat.  He was also a session bassist for acts like the Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis.  He was the younger brother of Mel Taylor, drummer for the Ventures.  Larry was 77 when he shuffled off the mortal coil on August 19.

Daryl Dragon was the “Captain” half of the Captain & Tennille.  They had many top 40 hits in the ‘70s including Love Will Keep Us Together.  And love did keep them together through 39 years of marriage.  Despite some differences and a divorce near the end, Toni Tennille was holding his hand when he took his last breath on August 27.  He was a Beach Boy for a number of years, and it was Mike Love who gave him the nickname of “Captain.”

Robert Hunter made my list despite never being a member of a significant band, nor ever recording a song that you have heard.  He made the list because he wrote the words to so many hits, especially for the Grateful Dead.  He wrote the words to so many of their big hits and the hits of other artists.  You may not know Robert Hunter but I’m sure you sing along with his lyrics often.  We said goodbye to Robert on September 23.

And where do I begin to discuss drummer, Ginger Baker?  He was the drummer for Cream, Blind Faith and Ginger Baker’s Air Force, to name but a few.  He would eventually move to Africa where he studied and recorded the native music there.  He was an active drummer until a couple of years before his death this past October 6 at 80 years of age.

Here is the complete list of those we lost in 2019…

Eric Haydock, (died Jan. 5) bassist for the Hollies (1943-2019)

Clydie King, (died Jan. 7) Singer (1943-2019)

Lorna Doom, (a.k.a. Teresa Ryan) (died Jan 16) bassist for the Germs (1958-2019)

Paul Whaley, (died Jan. 28) drummer for Blue Cheer (1947-2019)

James Ingram, (died Jan. 29) singer/songwriter, Grammy Winner (1952-2019)

Harvey Scales, (died Feb. 11) lead singer Harvey Scales & the Seven Sounds (1940-2019)

Gus Backus, (died Feb. 21) singer with the Del-Vikings (1937-2019)

Peter Tork, (died Feb. 21) guitarist for the Monkees (1942-2019)

Mark Hollis, (Feb. 25) lead singer for Talk Talk (1955-2019)

Frankie Smith, (Died Mar. 8) singer/songwriter (1983-2019)

Hal Blaine, (died Mar. 11) drummer for the Wrecking Crew (1929-2019)

Danny Kustow, (died Mar. 11) guitarist for the Tom Robinson Band (1955-2019)

David White, (died Mar. 16) singer/songwriter with Danny and the Juniors (1939-2019)

Scott Walker, (died Mar. 22) singer/songwriter for the Walker Brothers (1943-2019)

Paul Raymond, (died April 13) keyboardist/guitarist for Plastic Penny, Chicken Shack, Savoy Brown, UFO and the Michael Schenker Group (1945-2019)

Boon Gould, (died April 30) guitarist for Level 42 (1955-2019)

J. R. Cobb, (died May 4) guitarist/songwriter with the Classics IV and the Atlanta Rhythm Section (1944-2019)

Huelyn Duvall, (died May 15) singer/guitarist who worked with many including Eddie Cochran, Johnny Horton, Bobby Darin, Dale Hawkins, and the Champs (1939-2019)

Leon Redbone, (died May 30) singer/songwriter/guitarist (1949-2019)

Dr. John, (died June 6) singer/songwriter (1941-2019)

Jerry Carrigan, (died June 22) session drummer for many artists including Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers, Waylon Jennings, Tony Joe White and many more (1943-2019)

Gary Duncan, (died June 29) guitarist/singer with the Brogues and the Quicksilver Messenger Service (1946-2019)

Russell Smith, (died July 12) singer/songwriter with the Amazing Rhythm Aces (1949-2019)

Art Neville, (died July 22) singer/keyboardist for the Neville Brothers (1937-2019)

Ian Gibbons, (died Aug. 1) keyboardist for the Kinks (1952-2019)

Larry Taylor, (died Aug. 19) bassist for Canned Heat (1942-2019)

Daryl “Captain” Dragon, (died Aug. 27) keyboardist for the Captain & Tennille (1942-2019)

Eddie Money, (died Sep. 13) singer/songwriter (1949-2019)

Ric Ocasek, (died Sep. 15) singer/songwriter for the Cars (1944-2019)

Robert Hunter, (died Sep. 23) Lyricist for the Grateful Dead and many others (1941-2019)

Ginger Baker, (died Oct. 6) drummer for Cream, Ginger Baker’s Air Force, Blind Faith and others (1939-2019)

Larry Junstrom, (died Oct. 6) bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd and .38 Special (1949-2019)

Steve Cash, (died Oct.14) vocals and harmonica for the Ozark Mountain Daredevils (1946-2019)

Paul Barrere, (died Oct. 26) vocalist/guitarist for Little Feat (1948-2019)

Jackie Moore, (died Nov. 8) singer (1946-2019)

Iain Sutherland, (died Nov.25) singer/frontman for the Sutherland Brothers (1948-2019)

Roy Loney, (died Dec. 13) guitarist for the Flamin’ Groovies (1946-2019)

Please join me on Sunday, January 5th, from 7:00 to 9:15 PM (note the extra 15 minutes) at a Woman’s Touch as we pay a final tribute to those we lost in 2019, and wish them a fond, Hail and Farewell.

"If there's a rock and roll heaven, well you know they've got a hell of a band."

                                                                                 The Righteous Brothers, 1973

The Concert for Bangladesh

A couple of months ago, I started a new program where on the last Sunday of the month, I play an entire concert, as it happened.  This is not just a compilation of live recordings but an actual place and date, reconstructed historically with the actual recordings.  I have already done this yearly with Woodstock and now I can take you back to other places and times like you were there.

I guess I was destined to do this one from the start.  The Concert for Bangladesh is largely forgotten today but it was one of the most pivotal events that would change the music industry forever.  It all started with this hand painted sign in front of Madison Square Garden, in New York City, back in 1971.

In 1970, the Bhola cyclone (a hurricane in that part of the world) struck East Pakistan, causing massive devastation and creating a great humanitarian plight.  It is still the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded, killing 300,000 to 500,000 people.  If that wasn’t enough, 1970 also saw the beginning of Pakistan’s genocide against the Bengali people.  Those that weren’t killed, were left starving in the wake of the cyclone.  In March of 1971, the Pakistani government launched Operation Searchlight against the people of East Pakistan and President Yahya Khan said, “Kill three million of them and the rest will eat out of our hands.”

It is estimated that up to 3 million people were killed and that 10 million fled over the border into India and the humanitarian crisis took an unprecedented toll.  George Harrison, a former Beatle, had strong ties to India and was deeply moved by what he was witnessing.  Harrison had traveled to India to learn the Sitar back in 1966 and was a student of the great sitar master, Ravi Shankar.  If you recall my Woodstock recreations, Ravi Shankar played the festival in 1969.  Harrison and Shankar knew they had to do something.

The Concert

Other concerts of this kind would have a line-up of artists and each would play a set during the show.  The Concert for Bangladesh was different in that all the invited artists would form a single “super group” on stage.  Ravi Shankar was an exception to this and did an Indian music set at the beginning of the show, usually referred to as “part one.”  After Shankar, the “super group’ took to the stage and played the entire “part two” together with a couple of exceptions noted below.  Here was the line-up…

George Harrison (guitar): Harrison was a former Beatle and organizer for this concert.  Besides being good friends with Ravi Shankar, he was also close to Eric Clapton.  After securing his commitment, he made his plea to other artists.  So moving was his pitch, many artists cancelled paying gigs to be there to donate their performance to the cause.

Eric Clapton (guitar): Clapton was very sick the day of the concert with heroin withdrawal, but he wasn’t about to let his friend, George, down or the people of Bangladesh.  He took the stage despite his illness and still did a moving rendition of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.  He had originally appeared as a guest artist on the recording of that song for the Beatles White Album.

Ringo Starr (drums): Ringo is also a former Beatle.  He was spotlighted and did his song, It Don’t Come Easy, which was currently topping the charts.  It would reach #4 in both the United States and the UK.  Author, Nicholas Schaffner, was in the audience and reported that Starr’s rendition of his current hit received the “biggest ovation” of the show.  The addition of Billy Preston’s organ and Clapton’s distinct guitar makes this version a real treat.  I’ve always been amazed at Ringo’s ability to both drum and sing at the same time.

Billy Preston (Hammond Organ): Preston was a notable studio musician, and did work for the Beatles, before becoming a Grammy winning artist himself.  He was a prolific songwriter and is credited with co-writing You Are so Beautiful for Joe Cocker.

Leon Russell (bass/piano): He was probably one of the most prolific musical collaborators in the industry and toured with hundreds of artists.  He also recorded and performed on his own and his music crossed all genres including rock, soul, country, gospel and even surf, to name but a few.  He also wrote a song for Joe Cocker, Delta Lady.

Bob Dylan (guitar): This man needs no introduction but the story of his appearance here is one of the highlights of the concert you will hear.  Harrison had worked on getting Dylan to come out of his seclusion and do the benefit.  Dylan had been in a motorcycle accident in 1966 and completely withdrew from public appearance.  Some have even theorized that the “accident” was just an excuse for him to escape the public eye.

Harrison had taped the set list to the back of his guitar and had just written “Bob?” at the point in the show where Dylan was scheduled.  He was supposed to come on in the middle as a surprise, but Harrison had his doubts that Dylan would come through.  It wasn’t until he saw him in the wing that he knew he would show.  All of the concert promotions just said "George Harrison and Friends,"so no one knew who was appearing. When Dylan took the stage for the first time in five years, it was a surprise to the audience.  During the concert on Sunday you will hear that electric moment as the crowd goes wild when Dylan steps on the stage to join the “super group.”

Badfinger: Who better to round out the sound and add some more depth than the band that had been so closely compared to the Beatles themselves.  In fact, they were signed to Apple Records.  My favorite moment in the concert came when George Harrison and Pete Ham of Badfinger did a song that was my favorite Beatles song done by my favorite Beatle George.  He and Pete Ham did a moving rendition of Here Comes the Sun on two acoustic guitars.  There were no drums or other accompaniment other than the Soul Choir doing backing vocals.

The Hollywood Horns: Additional session musicians.

The Soul Choir: Backing vocals.

Legacy

After Operation Searchlight the previous March, Bangladesh officially declared their independence from Pakistan, beginning the Bangladesh Liberation War.  The war waged on, further contributing to the humanitarian crisis, as Harrison and friends performed their relief concert in New York on August 1, 1971.  The following December, India officially recognized Bangladesh and went to war with Pakistan to defend her.  Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, had decided that it was in India’s best interest to go to war with Pakistan in consideration of the 10 million refugees crossing their border.  Bangladesh was now an independent country.

While all of this was going on, the release of the album was hung up by record company greed.  The musicians had donated their performances for the relief of the people of Bangladesh and Apple records was donating the manufacturing and packaging for free.  Somehow, Capitol Records insisted that it be compensated to the tune of $400,000 (over 2.5 million in today’s dollars) for “production costs.”  Harrison thought that everyone else was giving and that Capitol should be charitable too, but they weren’t backing down.  Neither was Harrison.  Capitol took a beating in the press and eventually did back down and settled for 25¢ from each album sale.  The album was finally released on December 20, four days after the Pakistani military surrendered to the Bangladesh-India Allied Forces.

A few weeks later, a 13-year-old DJ Sue went to the record store and paid her $12.98 (a lot of money back then), knowing that she was helping to feed the starving people of Bangladesh.  In the early ‘70s, $13.5 million was raised for humanitarian relief for the people of Bangladesh through the concert, album and movie.  In 1990, ownership rights to the music, films and recordings were transferred to UNICEF and by that time the effort had made about $45 million.  There would be no more record company greed as UNICEF now owned the concert outright, along with all money generated.

The Concert for Bangladesh continues to make money today for relief in Bangladesh as the “George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.”  It was the first ever endeavor of its kind and other such benefit concerts like Live Aid, Farm Aid, the Secret Policeman’s Ball, etc. owe their existence to the prototype, the Concert for Bangladesh.

So, Join us…

This Sunday, November24, and I will recreate the Concert for Bangladesh at 7:00 PM SL time.  I will magically transport us back to Madison Square Garden on August 1, 1971.  We will relive one of the most important and memorable events in music history.  If you really want to fully relive the experience, consider donating $25, the cost of a ticket in 1971, to the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.  The link is below…

George Harrison Fund for UNICEF

"In one day, the whole world knew the name of Bangladesh. It was a fantastic occasion." 

Ravi Shankar