This day in music - March 20, 1971: Janice Joplin's version of "Me and Bobby McGee" hits #1

By Richard K. Barry

I guess most people know that "Me and Bobby McGee" was written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster. Interesting to note that it was originally performed by Roger Miller. You know, the guy who did "King of the Road," "Dang Me," and "England Swings." I'm a big fan of ol' Roger Miller, but I can't quite imagine him doing this one. Could be great.

Janice Joplin hit No. 1 with the song in 1971 on the U.S. singles chart, after her death, which made the song the second posthumous No. 1 single in U.S. chart history after "Sittin' On the Dock at the Bay" by Otis Redding.

As you can imagine, "Me and Bobby McGee" has been recorded many times. The wiki entry on this has a list of almost 40 performers who have turned their attention to it including Gordon Lightfoot, the Grateful Dead, Jerry Jeff Walker, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, and Johnny Cash. On the weirder side, I see that Olivia Newton-John, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Anne Murray have also taken a shot. Okay. 

Yeah, Joplin's version is kind of the one for me.

I don't know whether it's worth mentioning, but the song comes in at No. 148 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, not that there is anything subjective about this kind of ranking. No, it's entirely scientific.



(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - March 2, 1983: The first CDs become available in the U.S.

By Richard K. Barry 

(Ed. note: I would just like to note that this post violates my rule that this blog, like my car, be a Billy Joel-free zone, with the possible exception of "Piano Man." I like that song a lot. But far be it from me to censor Richard. Blame him, not me. -- MJWS)

Apparently, on March 2, 1983, CBS Records released 16 titles on CD in the U.S. The first CD to be manufactured was The Visitors by ABBA in Germany in 1982. The first album to be released on CD was Billy Joel's 52nd Street, which reached the market alongside Sony's CD player CDP-101 on October 1, 1982 in Japan. I guess that means the ABBA recording was produced before 52nd Street but released after.

And, to confuse things further, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA was the first compact disc manufactured in the United States for commercial release, when CBS opened its CD manufacturing plant in Terre Haute, Indiana in September 1984. Discs previously had been imported from Japan.

I am not entirely sure which 16 titles were released in the U.S. by CBS on March 2, 1983, but 52nd Street was put out by CBS Records, so it stands to reason that it was one of the 16.

For the record, Rolling Stone magazine lists 52nd Street as among the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Here's "My Life" from the album, which, according to the YouTube post, was taken from a November 2006 performance in Tokyo.

(Cross-posted Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - February 23, 1925: "Tea for Two" is at #1 on the charts

By Richard K. Barry

Marion Harris in 1924

I am not exactly sure what charts were being used in 1925, but I found this on the web, so it must be true.

"Tea for Two" is a song from the 1925 musical No, No, Nanette with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Ceasar.

I did know, even without looking, that the song also later became a jazz standard pretty much played by everyone at one point or another, people like Art Tatum, Django Reinhardt, and Tommy Dorsey.

One thing I did not know, and perhaps didn't need to know, is that "Tea for Two" was the most played song on the Lawrence Welk Show, having been performed 67 times in the more than 1000 show run. Wow, who was counting?

One thing that a lot of people think they know is that No, No, Nanette was financed by selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, though, apparently, it was in fact a show called My Lady Friends, produced in 1919, that had been directly financed by the Ruth sale. But even with this there appears to be some confusion because, it seems, My Lady Friends was in fact a non-musical stage play, which later became No, No, Nanette. Okay.

Whatever show was involved, this sale of Ruth by the Red Sox to the Yankees was called the "Curse of the Bambino," which, according to legend, was the reason the Red Sox didn't win a World Series for 86 years. Then the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and that was that.

According to the aforementioned website, "Tea for Two" was a hit in 1925 for someone by the name of Marion Harris (1896-1944). To be sure, I mean no disrespect to Ms. Harris, who appears to have been quite a star in her day on vaudeville, the theatre and on records.

For the sake of authenticity, the recording below is from 1925, but it is a duet performed, in this case, by Helen Clark and Lewis James, likely as preformed in the production of the musical.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

February 13, 2011: Arcade Fire's The Suburbs wins Album of the Year at the Grammys

By Richard K. Barry

Arcade Fire is an indie rock band based in Montreal. Their success has been big news for us Canadians (or Canadian-American dual citizens, in my case). Not only did they win the Grammy for Album of the Year for The Suburbs in 2011, but they also won the Juno for Album of the Year. You may have to follow the link to figure out what that means, but I'll let you do that. 

In Canada, it's okay to recognize your own artists as long as the Americans tell you it's okay. 

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - February 3, 1959: The day the music died

By Richard K. Barry

Ritchie Valens

J.P. Richardson 

"The day the music died" is what Don McLean called it in his song "American Pie." February 3, 1959, in a small-plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and Ritchie Valens, along with the pilot, Roger Peterson, died.

The plane went down and three pioneers of rock and roll perished.

Richardson was a DJ, singer, and songwriter best known for his recording of "Chantilly Lace."

Ritchie Valens was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and although his recording career lasted only eight months, he had several hits including "La Bamba" and "Donna."

And Buddy Holly was, well, Buddy Holly, one of the most innovative and influential forces in early rock and roll with an incredible list of hits to his credit including: "That'll Be the Day," "Words of Love," "Not Fade Away," "Everyday," "Oh, Boy," "Peggy Sue," "Maybe Baby," "Rave On," "It's So Easy," "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," and "True Love Ways," just to name a bunch.

His influence on The Beatles, Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton is well documented. He was in the first class of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and in 2004 was ranked by Rolling Stone as #13 among "The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time."

Imagine if he had been allowed to live a normal life span. Incredible that he was only 23 when he died.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - February 2, 1927: Saxophone great Stan Getz is born

By Richard K. Barry

This is just an excuse to post a clip by Stan Getz, one of my all-time favourite musicians. As a sax player myself, I've always loved the guy and loved the stuff he did over the years.

This is apparently a bossa nova medley recorded live in California in 1983.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - January 31, 1968: The American Breed's "Bend Me, Shape Me" is certified Gold

By Richard K. Barry

I remember this song. Can't say that I really remember the group, though. Well, sort of. To be fair, they did chart with a few other songs, though "Bend Me, Shape Me" was their biggest hit. If you were a fan, you will know that other efforts by the band that charted include "Step Out Of Your Mind" and "Green Light." Okay.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the group is that they eventually morphed into an R&B/funk band with the name Rufus featuring a singer by the name of Chaka Khan, and in 1974 had a top ten hit with "Tell Me Something Good." That I remember.

Anyway, The American Breed was a Chicago-based group that lasted from 1966 to 1969 before going in a different musical direction. And in their first incarnation they even got a gold record out of the deal.

I love the general grooviness of the video of "Bend Me, Shape Me" and, what the hell, you'll find a clip of "Tell Me Something Good" just below it featuring Chaka Khan.

By the way, "Tell Me Something Good" was written by Stevie Wonder and is among the earliest songs to make use of a guitar talk box. If you know the song, you'll know what that means. 

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - January 27, 1970: The Partridge Family's "I Think I Love You" hits #1

By Richard K. Barry

The Partridge Family

When I decided to have some fun with this feature, I told myself I wouldn't impose my own opinions about what was good music and what was "less good." For all sorts of reasons, different artists and songs mean things to other people beyond the understanding of some of the rest of us. Clearly the fact that The Partridge Family had a #1 hit with "I Think I Love You" means that a lot of people went out and bought the record. I can respect that.

The Partridge Family was a television sitcom that aired between 1970 and 1974 on ABC and has lived on in syndication for a long time after that. The basic idea for the show was that a widowed mother and her five children would embark on a music career. This allowed for normal family-type hijinx, with a couple of pretty teenagers (David Cassidy and Susan Dey) in the cast to occupy the hormones of any peers who might be watching.

And then there was the obligatory song in each episode always somehow woven into the plot. As for the music, only David Cassidy, who sang lead, and Shirley Jones (the mother), who sang backup, were featured on the recordings.

One of the more obscure pieces of information about the song "I Think I Love You" is that it made The Partridge Family the third fictional group to have a #1 hit (after The Chipmunks and The Archies). To give the man his due, "I Think I Love You" was written by veteran American songwriter Tony Romeo, who also wrote for a lot of other people.

I remember watching The Partridge Family as a kid. It seemed to pass the time as well as anything else. I doubt the show ever did anyone any real harm, and as pop music goes, it wasn't the worst.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - January 25, 1964: The Beatles score their first #1 U.S. single with "I Want To Hold Your Hand"

By Richard K. Barry

A nice clip of the lads playing "I Want to Hold Your Hand," with an intro by their producer, George Martin. What more needs to be said? (I think you have to click through to the YouTube site to get it, but that doesn't appear to be too difficult.) 

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

This day in music - January 17, 1990: The fifth class is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

By Richard K. Barry

The class included Hank Ballard; Bobby Darin; The Four Seasons; The Four Tops; The Kinks; The Platters; Simon & Garfunkel; and The Who. It also included Louis Armstrong; Charlie Christian; Gerry Goffin and Carole King; Holland, Dozier and Holland; and Ma Rainey.

I like to tell the story about the time I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, or, I should say, the time I walked past it. A good buddy had invited me down to see a Cleveland Browns game and, to get to the stadium, you have to walk right past the Hall of Fame. I do love football, but I could just as easily have made the right-hand turn and spent the day checking out Rock and Roll history.

It was a beautiful day at the stadium and a good time was had by all, though I haven't been back to Cleveland since. Some day.

From the class of 1990, I'll pick a clip of The Platters doing "The Great Pretender," performed in 1955.

Though there were many personnel changes for the group, the most successful line-up was lead tenor Tony Williams, David Lynch, Paul Robi, Herb Reed, and Zola Taylor.


(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)

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.)