D-Sides, Orphans, and Oddities
Episodes
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
For my 200th Podcast, I wanted to thank you all. Greatest Hits, Part 1.
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
Sunday Apr 17, 2022
There are enough people out there who yearn for the arcane, the odd, the unsuccessful, the strange, and the historically overlooked to justify 200 podcast episodes of D-Sides, Orphans, and Oddities.
This makes me happy, and the topics are inexhaustible. From the strange singles of Freddie Cannon and Lou Christie to the occasionally wonderful singles of Les Humphries Singers, Doris, Os Mutantes, to the strange paths to fame like The American Breed ("Bend Me Shape Me") evolving into Rufus, and then Chaka Kahn, and then "I Feel For You", her biggest hit, written by Prince, but the Kahn version was actually the 4th release and, had Patrice Rushen opted to try it (she turned it down), the 5th. A Prince song with Stevie Wonder playing harmonica over his own voice being sampled.
To me, pop music is styles and the biggest records tend to be styles smooshed together. People like dangerous white music and safe black music. People like rap, but with a melodic vocal hook. While the Bee Gees were not a disco group, the Saturday Night Fever movie was a perfect petri dish. Combine Travolta's white-hot star power with the zeitgeist of Disco and the very odd recordings the Bee Gees were doing at that time. It was the success and the playing it safe in the movie's wake that doomed them.
The Beatles were preternaturally gifted with a work ethic that would kill the musicians of today. But their fame was also born of withering luck. A producer and a manager (and record company) that didn't really know what they were supposed to do with these four tough guys. None of them tried to make The Beatles pick a lead singer, so, like their live act, all four would do it. Because they had the shocking temerity to say "Nope, we're not doing that song...", it was like saying to someone with a gun In your face, "Go ahead. We've come this far. You don't know WHAT we've seen. We see through you, over and over. In Germany. In Sweden. In Wales. We never said 'no' to a gig, no matter how much driving or begging or lack of sleep, and if the Reeperbahn couldn't stop us, what makes you think YOU will?" And their genuine love of Black music somehow broke the barriers for generations of singers, players, etc.
Imagine that moment. You're in The Beatles, you've struggled and burned the roads up and played innumerable gigs, and sat, nose to nose, creating songs in your room that people would be singing and playing for 60 years hence. But now, the sessions begin, and the man in the tie wants you to record a "ringer". And you try it, but it doesn't really do anything. It's ok. But you have to decide. Play the game? Or risk this dude's red pen.
Or show up with something better.
And the guy with the tie has been through some shit as well. And he's tired of being relegated to 2nd string and he resents being put in a place where these four punks dare question his choice. Do better. I'm tired of this shit.
And "Please Please Me" is as black a record as anything any band from England before them had tried. And that little phrase can be attributed to everything they tried after that. Because they proved it, in that ONE shot across the bow that would resonate for what will be eons, that your old choices for ringers, publishing company favors, Brill building production lines, plug-and-play Motown stuff, etc., were going to either fade or have to adapt.
I stop my show pretty much at 1980 because that's when drum machines and synths became songwriting devices. I never liked Joy Division. I just don't get it. At that point, and with exceptions, sure, drum programming and synth programming made songwriting easy. That didn't make the songs any better. Just easier to make. Someone else can do that show.
Anyhow, this is to say thank you to all the folks that have listened and downloaded.
THIS show is me delivering a preamble and then playing 4 hours of music from past shows that I really like. Let's call this "Part 1" because the show, as I originally tried to put it together, lasted 10+ hours. So consider this show when you're on a long drive, doing work, making love to your woman, or man, or both, or none.
So......
This is the setlist, but they’re not all ‘good songs’. Some are meant to show you the arcane nature of what I find most enjoyable. Song-poems (“The Beatle Boys”), artists coping with the end of their heyday (Gary Glitter) and ill-prepared for life after that, or artists way before they found their niche (The Gap Band). And, of course, groups I love like Rose Tattoo, The Free Design, and SAHB.
Leo’s Sunshipp - Give Me The Sunshine (1978)
The Free Design - My Very Own Angel (1969)
GLS United - Rapper’s Deutsch (1980) Samples “Rapper’s Delight”, which samples “Good Times” by Chic, “Here Comes That Sound Again” by Love De-Luxe with Hawkin’s Discophonia (which i played on one of my previous shows), and a quote from the movie Five on the Black Hand Side, specifically, a scene in the barbershop that predated the advent of Rudy Ray Moore’ Dolemite character by 2 years.
Louis Armstrong - The Creator Has a Master Plan (1970) w/ Leon Thomas
Rick Wakeman - I’m So Straight, I’m a Weirdo (1980) I just like playing this awful oddity from the keyboard player from Yes. This record defies description. But if you see the video on Youtube, look for a young Boy George.
James Last - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (1971) From the album Voodoo-Party.
Billy Preston - My Sweet Lord (1970) One of two albums he released on Apple Records.
Rod Rogers (really, Rod Keith) and the Swinging Strings - The Beatle Boys (196?)
The Gap Band - Magician’s Holiday (1974)
Gary Glitter - A Little Boogie Woogie in the Back of My Mind (1977)
The Free Design - There Is A Song (1972) I will never stop praising this wonderful group.
Stuart Damon - Eros (1970) Dr. Alan Quartermaine from General Hospital had a brief singing career.
The Millennium - There Is Nothing More To Say (1968) Lou Christie lifted this wonderful melody for his own “Canterbury Road" later that year. From the film “Till [sic] Kingtom Comes”.
XTC- Across This Antheap (1987) I never tire of this amazing track. It’s my show.
Aerosmith -Nobody’s Fault (1976) I like Aerosmith’s ’70s albums very much. They were all loaded with hidden gems, and to me, “Nobody’s Fault” was just the most succinct example of a band that made consistently good/great albums.
Frank Zappa - Andy (1980) A great, difficult tune (you try it with your band.) Recorded live in Buffalo.
Annette Peacock - The Succubus (1979)
The Red Shadow - Anything Good (1975)
Carpenters - B’wana She No Home (1977)
Bruford - Back To The Beginning (1978)
Frank Sinatra - Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown (1974)
Barry McGuire & The Doctor - South Of The Border (1970) I love this song. We are on the eve of destruction indeed. Might as well…
Beach Boys - Rollin’ Up To Heaven (1972?) This is so insane, and especially from a major artist, that it defies categorization.
Rose Tattoo - We Can’t Be Beaten (1982) Ferocious.
Billy (Crash) Craddock - Knock Three Times (1971)
Led Zeppelin - Black Dog (1972) Unbelievable live version from “How The West Was Won”. Listen to those bass drum tricks. Especially during the coda. I wish Robert Plant never smoked. A normal drummer would go crazy with fills. Bonham put them where they belonged, no more. He showed amazing restraint at times. You wouldn’t think so, but he was a grooving monster above all else.
Black Oak Arkansas - Hot And Nasty (1971)
Michael (Mick) Jackson - Blame It On The Boogie (1978)
Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle (1969)
The Kids From The Brady Bunch - Candy (Sugar Shoppe) (1972) So inappropriate that I wonder what the record company/TV show producers were thinking. Good song and a nice performance by the studio band.
Bread - Everything I Own (1972)
Carla Bley - Rawalpindi Blues (1972)
Nick Mason - Do Ya? (1980)
Liberace - Say Ciao (1970) Liberace puts it into words and music..."Never Say Goodbye, Say Ciao"...capturing the mood of Ciao Liqueur...the imported new liqueur with the elusive new taste. I can’t find another song that Liberace wrote himself.
Crack The Sky - Surf City (Here Come The Sharks) (1975)
Les Humphries Singers - Dancing Queen (1976) You can still hear Jimmy Bilsbury’s straining, smoky tenor in the choruses. “Having the time of your life…” Poor guy.
Eddie Kendricks - Me 'N Rock 'N Roll Are Here To Stay (1974)
Denny Greene - The Great Escape (1981) Ex-Sha Na Na member trying to break type like J Jocko tried a few years before. I love this. This is a dance mix of the original he did in 1977.
Dennis Wilson - River Song (1977)
Doris - Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby? (1970) No one knows who Doris is. I’d rather listen to her and this crazy Swedish band for a year before I ever give any time to Janis Joplin.
Rotary Connection - Didn’t Want To Have To Do It (1967)
Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol (1972) This is a wonderful remix of the original fluke hit.
The Move - Do Ya (different version) (1971)
Jeff Lynne - Doin’ That Crazy Thing (1977)
Rick Nelson - Don’t Blame It On Your Wife (1968)
Sha Na Na Anti-Drug PSA (197?)
Doris - Beatmaker (1970)
Dschinghis Khan - Rocking Son Of Dschinghis Khan (1979)
Edith Head Fashion Prescription
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Trilogy (1973)
Utopia - Eternal Love (1976)
Alix Dobkin - View Form Gay Head (1973)
Fats Domino - Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey (1968)
John Farrar - Falling (1980)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Feelin’ Blue (1969)
Laverne and Shirley - Five Years On (1976) Written by Michael McKean. His story is too long for me to get into. For POACA he was "Lenny" of Lenny and Squiggy. Or he was David St. Hubbins in Spinal Tap. Or he was Saul Goodman's brother in Better Call Saul.
Genesis - Fly On A Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974 (1974)
Fonzie Impressionist Track (Aaaaay, Cool, Nerd, Sit On It) (1976) One of the weirdest things in my collection. Why does it exist? And then it repeats in reverse!!
Friday Mar 18, 2022
One Bad Apple
Friday Mar 18, 2022
Friday Mar 18, 2022
John Paul Joans - Got To Get Together Now (1970)
John Davidge was a politically motivated and confrontational stand-up comedian In 1970, he made a record for the UK Christmas market. His manager arranged for Eric Stewart, Lol Creme, and Kevin Godley (later of 10CC) to write the song with him. It was "Man From Nazareth" with the flip side "Got To Get Together Now". Both were recorded at Strawberry Studios and released on Mickie Most’s RAK label.
The song was tipped as a 1970 Xmas #1 but lost its momentum because the other John Paul Jones objected, necessitating that all the records be recalled, destroyed, and reprinted! The song peaked at No. 25 in January 1971 after a belated post-Xmas Top of The Pops performance.
A selection from Andrea True's Europe-only third album War Machine (1980)
Open Up Baby/Hootchie Kootchie Floozies/War Machine
Babatunde Olatunji - Soul Makossa (1973) Originally recorded by Manu Dibango, and borrowed for Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."
Earth and Fire - Memories (1972)
Earth and Fire - 21st Century Show (1970)
Earth and Fire - Circus (1975)
Serge Gainsbourg - Joanna (1965)
OST from the film "ComeTogether" - ComeTogether/Get Together (1971)
Something Weird: Come Together is one of those great, unique, hard-to-categorize European films that would best be described as a slice of life from the "free love" hippie generation.
TONY ANTHONY plays Tony, a free-wheeling American stuntman working in Italian films, who tries to pick up two swinging American tourists, Lisa (LUCIANA PALUZZI) and Ann (ROSEMARY DEXTER). His persistence pays off and he gives them a tour of Rome in his new sports car. As the trio develop a friendship, we find that Ann is still suffering stress from an abortion, and Lisa was recently involved in a messy affair with an older married man. Tony has his own mental baggage: he was the only survivor when his unit was massacred in Vietnam. All three are searching for an intimate relationship.
Tony is hired to play a Mexican bandit in a spaghetti western in Spain -- fans of the genre won’t want to miss these scenes -- and finds himself missing the two girls. When he returns, the three take a trip to Pompeii, get turned on by the ancient erotic paintings (not an easy thing to do) and plunge into a ménage à trois. However, Tony is pretty freaked out by this and drives off to sort things out. It doesn’t take him long to return and accept the relationship for what it is. It all comes to a head with a jaw-dropping out-of-left-field ending that would never fly with today’s test audiences...
Mr. Anthony, "best known" [quotes mine] for his spaghetti western Stranger character (Stranger in Town), is hilarious (sometimes unintentionally) and his ’60s voice-over philosophy is a hoot. He’s also a real fashion casualty of the times in his floppy hippie hat and Mickey Mouse denim jacket. A standout scene shows him as a gigolo in bed with a whacked-out client, lots of poodles, and a vibrator. Gorgeous Luciana Paluzzi is best known as James Bond’s love interest in Thunderball.
Hardcore Beatles fanatics should be alerted that the soundtrack for Come Together was released on Apple Records. Co-director SAUL SWIMMER was also involved with Let It Be, and Ringo Starr and Tony Anthony starred together in Blindman.
Justin Hayward and John Lodge - Blue Guitar (1975) With 10CC.
John Lodge - Street Cafe (1980)
Robert Lamm - Song for Richard and His Friends (2006?)
Robert Lamm - Temporary Jones (1974)
The Four Seasons - Silver Star (live) (1980)
Laura Brannigan - Deep In The Dark (1983)
Dave Clark 5 - Children (197?)
The Osmond Brothers - Flower Music (1967)
Firyuza - Native land (1979)
The Searchers - Love Potion #9 (1975) A pointless reinvention.
The Residents - Bach Is Dead (first version) (197?)
Robert Lamm - A Lifetime We (1974)
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Thursday Dec 02, 2021
Bruford - Age Of Information (1980) I guess, if I'm going to call the Bowie band of 1975-1980 the best band of the decade, this group would come close to that. With the inimitable style of Jeff Berlin on bass and the wonderful Bill Bruford on drums, this album might have been the closest Prog came to the elusive jazz/pop hybrid bred into the bone for so many of the Prog hopefuls of the era.
Jan Hammer Group - Don't You Know (1977)
Can - I Want More (1976) Can was a sometimes impenetrable German Prog outfit. Their music in the early part of the decade wasn't something I could say I liked, even though I tried like heck. This was a single, which kinda makes sense. All Prog was catching a terminal disease at this juncture, but no one knew it.
Renaissance - Flight (1983) I messed this song up on my show, but this is not a bad record. Renaissance had some great moments in the '70s, and if you are interested, go find Scheherazade and Other Stories from 1975. Like Close to The Edge, it only has three songs, but I think that record is their apex by a mile, and I like the other albums. This was from their last "Golden Era", Time-Line album, although it had been a while since they could get a record company to pony up the do-re-mi for an orchestra.
Discogs: Renaissance was originally formed in London, UK, in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds vocalist Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty who wanted to explore a new sound blending elements of rock, folk, and classical music. Relf assumed the role of guitarist, and they were joined by bassist Louis Cennamo, keyboardist John Hawken, and vocalist Jane Relf. This lineup recorded the first self-titled album and most of the second album, Illusion (1971). A rapid series of personnel changes followed. Guitarist and composer Michael Dunford first appeared on Illusion. Before his departure from the band Hawken recruited new vocalist Annie Haslam. By 1972, when the Renaissance recorded their third album, Prologue, none of the original members remained though McCarty still wrote music for the band.By 1973 the lineup had stabilized with Haslam, Dunford, keyboardist John Tout, bassist and vocalist Jon Camp, and drummer Terry Sullivan. This lineup produced a string of relatively successful albums over the remainder of the decade. They had one Top 10 single in the U.K., "Northern Lights", from the album A Song For All Seasons (1978).By 1980 Sullivan and Tout departed leaving Haslam, Dunford, and Camp as the stable core of the group with various other musicians coming and going through the early and mid-1980s. The group released two albums, Camera Camera (1981) and Time-Line (1983) which were not well received by either fans or critics. Renaissance went into the studio to record a further album but found themselves without a label willing to release it. Material for this album as well as discarded tracks from the sessions for the previous three releases finally saw the light of day as Songs From Renaissance Days in 1997. [Ed: Which I gobbled up the day it came out, as there was no other domestic CD of this group available at the time.]
Yes - The Revealing Science of God (1973) There are moments in this song that, to me, are just amazing, transcendent, and still cause chills maybe 40 years after the first time I heard them ("Getting over overhanging trees...") like almost all of Yes' epic side-long monsters. There's a reason Prog fans like me are filled with sadness that the people who made this magic for us cannot seem to just stop recreating or trying to recreate these moments with an ever-shifting group of lesser talents. The Beatles did it right. They just stopped, resisted the potentially lucrative urge to make themselves stand there again, together, and recreate sounds from which they had long ago moved past. I like this. There's a real fire that people might have forgotten these very young men possessed.
King Crimson - Thela Hun Jinjeet (1981) So this might be #3. Tony Levin played on some later Yes albums, as well as Peter Gabriel (he plays the Chapman Stick, a strapped upright instrument with both tenor and bass strings). He also played with Paul Simon and hundreds of others. Robert Fripp played with David Bowie on his Berlin Trilogy, and Bill Bruford was amazing in Yes, his own band, Bruford, and...Genesis during a tour! Bowie and...Adrian Belew!! Who is here after stints with Talking Heads, Zappa, Tom Tom Club....it goes on and on, but I really like anything Bill Bruford played on.
Bruford - Gothic 17 (1980) I've played stuff from Bruford's first record with Annette Peacock. This is in that funky, other-worldly combination of jazz and pop. I love Jeff Berlin's voice. I wish they had dome more records together. Go find "Joe Frazier" off this album. Whoo boy.
Gentle Giant - Interview (1976)
Genesis - One For The Vine (1977) Genesis at their peak. It's hard to believe it now, but this was composed solely by Tony Banks. The scope and drama, pathos, and virtuosity amaze me especially when one considers that he (and they) never created anything this beautiful again. Who was the best keyboard player in Prog? I think about it and Kerry Minnear comes to mind, as he really was the creative force in Gentle Giant. But neither he, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, or any of the others, as good as they were, authored something as wonderful as this.
Rush - Jacob's Ladder (1980) I don't care what you say. This album is peak Rush. After years of album/tour/album/tour, "The Spirit of Radio" captured their amazing musicianship, their cool humor, and the fact that you could be groovy in 7/8. I think of this record as the end of the beginning, but not in a good way. I played this in a band once. We were terrible. I had a tiny Casio keyboard (it was all we could afford) and I couldn't play the last bit on bass with anything resembling speed. Our drummer was great.
Discogs: Rush's seventh studio album.The cover depicted the famous incorrect headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" on a newspaper in the bottom left corner.However, the Chicago Tribune (the paper that originally published the error) pressured the band to remove the headline. Some versions appear altered with either "Dewei Defeats Truman" or a blanked section.The billboards in the distance (mid-right) originally read "Coca-Cola." However, the cola company objected to the use of their logo and the cover was changed to display the band members names in a similar typestyle to the original logo.Trivia: The woman on the cover of this album is model Paula Turnbull. Contrary to rumor, the guy waving in the background on the cover is not one of the members of Rush, it's actually Hugh Syme, the art director of the album.
UK - In The Dead of Night/By The Light Of Day/Presto Vivace and Reprise (1978) One of the first Prog supergroups, members of other big groups smooshed together. In this case, John Wetton of King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, Mogul Thrash, etc., Bill Bruford, the amazing Allan Holdsworth (Soft Machine, Gong) , and Eddie Jobson (Zappa, etc.) make a great album. Then Bill leaves, and Terry Bozzio (Zappa) records another record and a live album, and then...Asia.
Joe Simon - Before The Night Is Over (1977)
I don't consider The Moody Blues or Pink Floyd prog.
Wednesday Nov 17, 2021
Chris Dedrick
Wednesday Nov 17, 2021
Wednesday Nov 17, 2021
Gilbert O'Sullivan - We Will (1972) Just a nice pre-'US fame' song I thought you might like.
Michael Johnson - Rooty Toot Toot For The Moon (1973) His big hit was "Bluer Than Blue" in 1978. Produced by Chris Dedrick.
Merry Clayton - Sly Suite (1980) Arranged by Chris Dedrick. Merry Clayton was the backup singer on the Stones' "Gimme Shelter".
From Brute Force's 1980 album (released in 2009), Planetwork. All tracks were arranged by Chris Dedrick.
Driving to the Stars
Fantasy of Nationality
Spinning Rock Lullaby
Spinning Rock
Our man recorded one solo record in 1972 (Be Free), but it wasn't released until 2000.
Chris Dedrick - Begin Work
Chris Dedrick - I'll Go Away
Chris Dedrick - I'm a New Man
Chris Dedrick - Someday
Halo - Have You Ever Felt That Feeling (1981) Produced by Lawrence Hilton Jacobs of Welcome Back, Kotter fame.
Halo - Let Me Do It (1981)
Hudson and Landry - Hippie and the Redneck (1971)
Carpenters - California Dreamin’ (1967/1999)
Hudson and Landy - The Gas Man (1974)
Pere Ubu - 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (1975)
Pere Ubu - Heart Of Darkness (1975)
Rob Agerbeek - Ob-la-di Ob-la-da (1973)
Rob Agerbeek - The Word (1973)
The Chantels - It's Just Me (1966)
Y Dyniadon Ynfyd Hirfelyn Tesog - Dyddiau Fu (1970)
Gene Marshall - Shake Your Good Stuff (?)
Jeff Reynolds - Music For Four Footers (?)
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Some Great Songs From Past D-Sides Episodes!
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Saturday Nov 13, 2021
Stevie Wonder - Light My Fire (1970) Listen to that bass player.
Syreeta Wright - Spinnin' and Spinnin' (1974) No one was EVER as hot as Stevie in the '70s, and the album this came from proves that even occupied with his own music, he can lovingly produce one of the best female-sung records of the '70s. I love this factoid from Wikipedia:
Three artists who performed on this album (Stevie Wonder, Deniece Williams, Michael Sembello) would all have Billboard number one songs ("I Just Called to Say I Love You", "Let's Hear It for the Boy", and "Maniac", respectively) within a year of each other, a decade after this album's release. Another artist on this album, Ollie Brown of Ollie & Jerry, would have a Billboard top ten single, "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us", in the same one-year period.
The song "Come And Get This Stuff" was originally intended for Rufus, but lead singer Chaka Khan refused to do the song. Instead, Stevie wrote "Tell Me Something Good" for them which appeared on their album Rags to Rufus.
There's no word to describe how good he was in this five-year period.
This song made it to #49 in the UK, and never a peep in the US, which is a shame.
Gentle Giant - Weekend Cowboy (1970) I love their sound on these early demos. Less prog than they would become, a sort of The Band meets Harry Chapin. Through the filter of England, of course.
Godley and Creme - Random Brainwaves/I Pity Inanimate Objects (1979) When Gary Storm played this on Buffalo's WIZR 107.7, I had never heard anything like it. I still love what they did with the backing vocals.
Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Dance Across The Floor (1978)
Lawrence Hilton Jacobs - Larry's Theme (1978) He was Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington on Welcome Back, Kotter and Michael Jackson's father Joe on The Jacksons: An American Dream ("Get the switch!") but I actually find his albums in the late '70s very listenable, especially this. So much shit came out from TV stars around that era. Scott Baio was the worst.
Les Humphries Singers - Mexico (1972) Included here because doing this show helped me discover them. My one-man raison d'être is to make you a believer! It's not that good. Just a strange pre-sampling curio.
Nino Tempo and April Stevens - Love Story (1972) From Buffalo, NY! Their biggest hit was "Deep Purple" from 1963. They were siblings. God, she was beautiful. Her first record came out in 1950 (!) but her biggest solo hit was "Teach Me, Tiger" from 1960. She reprised this in 1965, but this was virtually the same recording, with dialog implying that she had kidnapped one of The Beatles in order to seduce him. Just wow. I love it.
Men At Work - Down Under (original, non-hit version) (1980)
A brief retelling of The Greg Ham Story. Don't Do Drugs.
Mudcrutch - Don't Do Me Like That (original, non-hit version) (1974) The almost note-for-note prototype for the Tom Petty hit a few years later.
The Osmonds - War in Heaven (1973)
Sammy Davis Jr. - John Shaft (1972) Ok, ok. Shaft. Ok! Shut up and let me finish my dinner.
Sha Na Na PSA (1972)
Pink Floyd - Scream Thy Last Scream (1967) I was surprised to learn that Nick Mason sang this.
Bee Gees - Lovers (1976) This is a very strange and wonderful album track from a band on its....third ascension?
Sensational Alex Harvey Band - The Dolphins (1979) I love this song as much as any I have ever played on D-Sides. I never would have heard it if not for this show.
The Langley Schools Music Project - The Long and Winding Road (1977) You should read about this. I think I read about this in RE/Search magazine.
The Residents - Give it To Someone Else (1980) Every song on The Commercial Album is about 60 seconds long. There are 20 per side.
Wild Cherry - Baby Don't You Know (1977) A wonderful, horrible attempt to recapture the lightning of the last single, "Play That Funky Music". THIS is how you follow up a fluke hit:
One more timeWell we play that funky musicAnd we were looking so good yeahElectrified funky feelingWas coming down like I thought it wouldSo we went out on the road yeahTry to get ourselves aheadAnd on the way I was surprised to discoverThat all those funky peopleHad been misled, they were shouting outBlack? NO! White? Right!, Oh what a sight!I really didn't know the suckers was whiteBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowThat the honkey's got soulBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowThat the honkey's got soul
Roger Nichols and Small Circle of Friends - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1968) So beautiful, especially the "Middle 8". Just amazing harmonies.
The Free Design - Day Breaks (2001) This will be my funeral song. I don't WANT a funeral. Just a little party for people to remember funny stories about me. In life, very few people are still in touch with me in an earnest sense. People have come and gone and sometimes I look around and wonder if someone should have bought me a ball gag long ago. Still, even after all the mistakes I have made in my life and my dealings with people I have lost, I know deep down that some people will be genuinely touched by the fact that we met and decided to be in each other's lives for as long as we had. If you listen to this song and put yourself in that place, celebrate the people who DID choose to be with you, no matter WHAT you said. Everyone is broken. Everyone. You're not alone.
Co-written by my friend Bruce Dedrick.
The Free Design - Friendly Man (1971)
Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol (1972) This song is being used for a commercial in the US. I like to think it's because of me.
The Beatles - Revolution (Take...Your Knickers Off!) (1968)
Thursday Nov 04, 2021
The DAM Trio with David Bowie.
Thursday Nov 04, 2021
Thursday Nov 04, 2021
Joe Simon- Come Back Home (1974) I have to play you a Joe Simon song that was used as a sample for a VERY famous Hip Hop song. Not many people know.
Helen Reddy - I Am Woman (1971) The original, superior (to my ears) version. She has appeared on my show singing in ads for cigarettes in Australia, as well as later misses like "Handsome Dudes."
Barbara, The Grey Witch - Witch’s Love Song (1971)
Obituary
Barbara Roehrs, also known as Barbara the Gray Witch of Raven House, passed away on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, at Healthwin in South Bend, IN, after suffering the long-term effects of a stroke. She was born Barbara Ann Hostetler on May 9, 1944, in South Bend. She was the youngest child to John and Anna May Hostetler, both of whom preceded her in death.
Barbara was a talented and accomplished artist. She was a larger-than-life personality and public figure. She hosted a U93 radio show and appeared yearly at the Niles Haunted House. She was a beloved friend and counselor to many and had a large and loyal following. She was an animal lover. She loved spending time with her dogs – especially her beloved ‘familiar,’ Gabby. She also loved back road adventures in her Volkswagen Beetle, meeting new people, and seeing new places. She loved fishing and having a good time.
The family would like to extend a thank-you to the Heart to Heart Hospice team and the healthcare workers at Healthwin for caring for Barbara so well.
So for my money, the best band of the 1965-1980 period was the band that David Bowie assembled for his Station To Station/Low/"Heroes"/Lodger/Stage phase. They were loose and tight. Funky and capable. With him as a singer, there's no way the band could lose. But these dudes were special. Carlos Alomar, Dennis Davis, and George Murray. Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew functioned at a right-angle in the proceedings, but that, too, made the ensemble special. I rank them higher than Led Zeppelin for their harmonies, Bowie's lyrics, and just the bravery. Higher (ever so slightly) than The Beatles for their live performances, and the fact that their music was really one guy showing up with an unfinished idea and the band using the ideas as clay. They could jam but they never recorded anything that wasn't precise and good fun.
David Bowie - Fashion (1980)
David Bowie - It’s No Game (1980)
David Bowie • Station To Station (Live) (1978)
Children of the Night - Dracula's Undying Love (1976)
This collection of 1970's "Rock & Roll" songs tells the story of a big party at Count Dracula's house. The between-song skits have a pretty cut-rate vibe throughout (Dracula sounds remarkably like Dan Ackroyd doing his SNL Yortuk Festrunk "Wild & Crazy Guy" character, The Mummy introduces himself with the lyrics to the Bob McFadden & Dor single "The Mummy")...
Count Lorry & The Biters - Frankenstein Stomp (1974)
David Bowie - “Heroes” (Live) (1978)
Electric Food - Nosferatu (1970) German heavy prog rock band which included all Lucifer's Friend musicians except John Lawton. You know who John Lawton was. He was in Les Humphries Singers! Sang their biggest hit, "Mama Loo" and enjoyed a stint with Uriah Heep.
Dick (Ghoulardy) Knight - His Ghoul (1973) By the time this single was released, the name "Ghoulardi" was owned by Storer Broadcasting out of Cleveland, OH. Hence the different name. Go here to read about Ghoulardi, a story that could never happen now. You can see the "T.K. Productions" on the bottom of the label here. Read their story. You wouldn't know it from this but T.K. ended up owning the charts in the late '70s. The part The Bee Gees didn't devour, that is.
Iggy Pop - Sister Midnight (1977)
Jimmie John - What Happens When We Die? (1964)
Jo Banks and the Soul Train - The Toy Shop Killer (1979)
David Bowie - What In The World (Live) (1978)
Johnny Fever - Zombie (1967)
Mickey and His Mice - Cracker Jack (1970)
Discogs: Wilfred "Mickey" Fields was a saxophonist from the Baltimore area, a local legend who refused to play outside his Baltimore area, although he was invited several times to take the road for tours with many famous bands. He is recognized as one of Baltimore's best-known jazz saxophonists and has mentored many other jazz musicians, including Paul H Brown. Mickey created the "Monday Night Jam Session" at Sportsman's Lounge, allowing many young jazz musicians to perform. He was also known for his constant encouragement of young artists. Fields began his career with the blues jump band The Tilters. As a solo artist, he recorded on Atlantic Records and Groove Merchant. Howard Earl Washington, a Baltimore area jazz drummer, was another member of the Tilters. The Tilters played for the great Ethel Ennis. Fields then recorded several songs with his group "Mickey And His Mice", entitled "Cracker Jack", known as one of the 100 most funky titles ever created and the popular "Little Green Apples". He then recorded an album with the great Richard "Groove" Holmes, for the label Edmar (New Jersey). Fields also played with his talented sister, Shirley Fields, who has been a singer for many years and who has also played an important role in the Baltimore Jazz Company.
Monsters - Transylvania Disco Hustle (1977) Produced by the same guy that produced "Dracula's Undying Love." In fact, three of the guys that played on that record played on this!
Screen Idols - Blind Man (1979) Notable for the presence of one Woody Woodmansey, ex-Spiders From Mars drummer. Right after Woody Woodmansey's U-Boat.
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
Hodge Podge of Rarities
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
Saturday Oct 09, 2021
Gaylord & Holiday - Dixie (1977) A remnant from the Amherst Records Story show.
Santiago - Nice And Slow (1976) A remnant from the Amherst Records Story show.
Bobby Hatfield - Messin' In Muscle Shoals (1971) One half of the Righteous Brothers records some forgettable pseudo-Americana, but you can't take the pure show-biz mawkishness out of the delivery.
Bruce Haack & Miss Nelson – (Excerpt from) Dance, Sing, And Listen Again & Again! (1963) Included here because this was an early attempt to use synthesizers for more than burps and squeaks. A children's album that's pretty strange but not bad.
Charles Dodge – (Excerpt from) Synthesized Voices (1976) Liner notes: "A1 and B realized at the Columbia University Center of Computing Activities and the Nevis LaboratoriesA2 realized at the Bell Telephone Laboratories"
Pretty strange synthesized vocal music.
Cradle - Man Is A Man (1970) The Quatro sisters record a kind of Moody Blues meets Blue Cheer hybrid of prog. Suzi Quatro quit to become a solo star (mostly in England) and as Leather Tuscadero on Happy Days. Patti Quatro appeared on Fanny's Rock and Roll Survivors album. The single from that album was a cover of "I've Had It", which I remember them performing on American Bandstand, but it didn't help. I still felt kinda funny watching them.
Don Powell - Black Man (1972)
Tronquista - Hoffa's Blues (1966) Rare 1966 blues release by an anonymous R&B / blues singer in a tribute to Teamster’s President Jimmy Hoffa who was very popular with African-Americans for his stand on equal rights. It was pressed in 1966 for the Teamster’s convention in Miami and was available only at this event. The name Tronquista is the name used for the Teamsters union in Puerto Rico so this may be a clue to the identity of the artist and suggests it was privately pressed in the Miami area rather than union headquarters in Detroit.
John Strand - Remembering Laci (2003)
From WFMU:
"Remembering Laci" was written and performed by John F. Strand, a guard at Tracy, California's Deuel Vocational Institution.
Here's the Wikipedia article.
Lila - Step Into Time (1978)
Liner notes:
Dear Friend,
We are happy you are listening to our songs of the Mother. This album was inspired by the ideals of Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886) and his wife Sarada Devi (1853-1920), great devotees of the mother, who dedicated their lives to loving tolerance and appreciation between devotees of all religions and all paths. "All the main religions and spiritual paths are true", Ramakrishna said, after practicing 80 of them one by one. "God is Form and Formless Mother, and Father, Son, Friend, Beloved. He is available in whatever way the individual heart yearns for him". We hope our songs help you in your own way. We bow to your soul and individuality.
Everyday day at noon, we pray for a new world of Love and Harmony. Join with us if you would like.
Lila
Lou Christie - Mickey's Monkey (1969) You know I am a big fan (for various reasons) of Lou Christie's Buddah Records period. From the late '60s to the early '70s, he made some pretty odd recordings, but he also made the wonderful Paint America Love. This was the album before that.
The Mam'selles - Oye Coma Va (1969)
Voodou Juju - The VooDou Ju Ju Obsession Part 1 (1969)
Richard O'Brien - Shock Treatment (1981) You kids love that Rocky Horror Picture Show. But you might not know is that there was a sequel. It was called Shock Treatment. It was not very good. And it went virtually unnoticed. In fact, it only showed at midnight movies (as did the Rocky Horror zeitgeist in time). But without the electric Tim Curry on screen, it was just another "let's make a move, guys!" dynamic. I saw RHPS once and I felt horribly embarrassed. And it takes a lot to embarrass a man who mixed plaids with stripes. I cannot imagine this. This version of the theme song is not on the OST, as it is slightly more radio-friendly (in its time) than the cast version.
Bobby Pickett and Peter Ferrara - Star Drek (1976) Yeah, the same Bobby Pickett that had a big hit with "Monster Mash". That one oddball hit kept him in cheap capes and attempts at all sorts of permutations, including comedy and disco.
Stephen Kalinich - If You Knew (1969) In 1969, he recorded his only album, A World of Peace Must Come, with production by Brian Wilson. It was unreleased until 2008. The Beach Boys appear on some of the tracks from the album. While under contract as an artist signed to the Beach Boys' Brother Records, Kalinich co-wrote several songs released by the group including "All I Want to Do", "Be Still", "Little Bird", as well as "A Time to Live in Dreams" with Dennis Wilson. Many Beach Boys completists are unaware of their collaborations with Kalinich and Charles Lloyd. These people are idiots.
Stephen Kalinich - The Magic Hand (1969)
Stop Smoking...Stop Over-Eating With Reveen (1978) Excerpt from this nutty record out of Canada. Peter Reveen quickly gained fame across North America with his stage shows.AKA Reveen The Impossibilist.
Supernatural Family Band - Thank You (Falettenme) (1976) "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" was a 1969 hit for Sly and the Family Stone. This is a crazy cover with young girls offering up the least soulful interpretation since Ann Margret. But somehow all the craziness works for me. I don't know. The tuba? The harmonica?
The Average Disco Band - I Want You (She So Heavy) (1976) A remnant from the Amherst Records Story show. Listen closely and you can hear a swarthy male voice intone "J'taime". Maybe some Serge Gainsbourg floating around? This song bears almost no resemblance to the Beatles version.
The B.C. & M. Choir - Stealing In The Name Of The Lord (1969) "B.C.& M." stands for "Baptist, Catholic & Methodist Choir."
The Eric Burdon Band - City Boy (1975)
The Mighty M.C.'s - Drugs, Don't Get Involved (1986)
The Minute Men - Please Keep The Beatles In England (1964)
The United States of America - Osamu's Birthday (1968) To be rerecorded by Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies the following year. In THAT version, the vocals were recorded phonetically with backward backing, then reversed. Interesting, but she was no Dorothy Moskowitz.
Bruce Haack & Miss Nelson – (Excerpt from) Dance, Sing, And Listen Again & Again!
Bill Niles and His GoodTime Band - Bric-a-Brac Man (1967)
Bill Spiller - Hot Pants Girls (1971)
Byron MacGregor - How Good You Have It In America (1974)
Carol Channing & Jimmy C. Newman - Lousiana Cajun Rock Band (1978)
Senator Sam Ervin - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1974)
Stop Smoking With Reveen Excerpt (LP)
Sunday Aug 22, 2021
This setlist might be my best ever! Hollywood stars and groovy ads!
Sunday Aug 22, 2021
Sunday Aug 22, 2021
Brenda Lee - Takin’ What I Can Get (1976)
Carla Bley - Rawalpindi Blues (1971) From the great artist herself.
The first piece we wanted to record was RAWALPINDI BLUES, which featured Jack Bruce and trumpet player Don Cherry, but it seemed impossible to get them both in New York at the same time. By the time Jack could get away (he was working almost every night in London with Tony Williams’ band) Don had to leave for commitments in Europe. So we split the music into two parts and recorded Don’s parts first. This actually enhanced the piece since it was intended to be a dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures. The first session, featuring Don Cherry and the “eastern band”, took place on Nov. 30th, 1970...The band’s improvised sections were of the highest quality, rare and effortless. Don left the country the next day and on Dec. 7th Jack arrived and went right into the studio and recorded for 2 days and nights almost straight through. Luckily John McLaughlin was also in town so we were able to use him on electric guitar. With Jack on bass guitar, Paul Motian on drums and myself on organ, we had the “western band” Again, I was amazed at how great the playing was. We finished up RAWALPINDI BLUES and also recorded BUSINESSMEN, DETECTIVE WRITER DAUGHTER, parts of … AND IT’S AGAIN, and a few other bits and pieces. Jack and John went back to London and I settled down to putting RAWALPINDI BLUES together.After listening to the material we had so far I decided to bring in another singer to do parts of RAWALPINDI BLUES that hadn’t been suitable for Jack or Don. I needed someone who could slide his voice around. Steve Ferguson, formerly of NRBQ, was a country singer from Kentucky, but I heard a connection between the way Steve moved his voice and the way it’s done in Eastern music. He came in on Dec. 18th and it worked out well.
Using the best of the things we had so far, we put a tape together. RAWALPINDI BLUES was really difficult to mix. We had indiscriminately filled up all 16 tracks right at the beginning and then crammed in other elements wherever there was the slightest space. So when we finally got down to mixing it, it was all hands on the board and took two full days. One of the most un-nerving and time-consuming parts was a process I used a few times called cross-fading, which involved mixing two 16-track tapes down to a 2-track tape all at once. They used to flinch at RCA when we called in and told them how many machines we would need that day. From then on we tried to keep things simpler. We didn’t want Ray Hall to grow old before his time.
We ended up calling it (the album) a chronotransduction, which was a word coined by Sherry Speeth, a scientist friend of Paul’s (Paul Haines, the lyricist), although we still call it opera for short.
I find this whole album amazing, frustrating, thrilling, devastating. I LOVE Jack Bruce on this. Linda Ronstadt sings on this album as well. I highly recommend it. "Hotel Overture" might be the most amazing horn-playing (French horn player Bob Carlisle) I've heard on record.
Chuck Berry - Little Marie (1964) Sort a sequel to "Memphis". No, it's a sequel to "Memphis".
Dave Clark and Friends - I’m Sorry Baby (1972)
Davey Johnstone & China - One Way Ticket (1977) Ass-kicking music from Elton John's band. I love it. Released on his label.
Frank Sinatra - Everybody’s Twistin’ (1962)
Dolly Parton & Porter Wagoner - Mendy Never Sleeps (1970) Even before my time, Dolly Parton was a young talent brought into the fold of Nashville society by Porter Wagoner, more or less, by starting out as a singer on his TV show. She was too talented, too gifted a songwriter and singer, too unconventionally beautiful, and too ambitious to stay there for long, even though she stayed two years past her initial agreement. Dutifully, she stayed longer than she should have, and in fact, the hit "I Will Always Love You" was written for him.
Petula Clark - L’Agent Secret (1969)
Bill Haley and the Comets - A Little Piece At A Time (1971)
Billy Thorpe - Drive My Car (1975) His next album would be his breakthrough and zenith in the US, "Children of the Sun".
Kevin Coughlin - I Gotta Be Me (1969)
Soupy Sales - Muck-Arty Park (1969) From the album, "A Bag of Soup". Soupy Sales was a television comedian whose antics delighted children and enraged adults. He flirted with mainstream success with comic pop songs on television and radio, but in the end remained a cult personality, albeit one who pushed the envelope of what was possible in TV comedy. He played a big role in the growth of "pie-in-the-face" comedy.
The Residents - Elvis and His Boss (1978)
Tom Jones - Never Had a Lady (1979)
Me singing over an instrumental song I programmed.
Noel Harrison - A Young Girl (1969)
Coca-Cola - Keep Things Jumping (?)
Burgess Meredith - The Capture (1966) Played The Penguin in the TV series with Adam West. There was a whole series of Batman records released to promote the 1966 TV series where they got the actors from the show to do these "in character" songs.
The Cowsills - The Milk Song (1969) This is the band that served as the prototype for The Partridge Family. But the mother was not seen as attractive enough. So Shirley Jones would have to be the one to sing "Whale Song" and make me feel funny. Down there. I didn't understand these feelings.
Datsun - All You Really Need (1972?)
The Dave Pell Singers - Oh, Calcutta (1972) Oh, Calcutta was an off-Broadway musical that got pretty bad reviews but thrived in the era of flower-power as a corporate weapon. Loosen up, brother!! Anyhow, it enjoyed a long run, eventually reaching Broadway, with revivals running for years and years. One skit's first draft was written by John Lennon of The Beatles.
Stereo Speaker Test (?)
Dick Clark - The Wasting of Wesley Joe Grimm (1969)
John & Ernest - Super Fly Meets Shaft (1973) Produced by Dickie Goodman, the then-king of the cut-in record.
The Garden Club - Little Girl Lost and Found (1967) One member was Tom Shipley, later of Brewer and Shipley, who had a Top 10 hit with "One Toke Over The Line". Which Lawrence Welk covered on his TV show.
The Gentle Touch - Among The First To Know (1967)
Hank Levine - Let Us Begin Beguine (1964)
George Burns - The Sun Shines On My Street (1969) ANOTHER take-off/tribute based on The Beatles' Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band cover. There were many. Who was George Burns?
POACA might recall that before television was the king of everything, radio was the thing. And no one was bigger in that medium than the plain-spoken, often exasperated but always kind and honest George Burns. He and his wife/comic foil Gracie Allen reigned supreme for decades. It would not be exaggerating to say that she was the most famous radio star for years. Gracie Allen ((in real life, an amazing intellectual who held her own on the very difficult quiz show "Information, Please" (which you should research but you will not because no one reads this)) had a singular ability to make audiences love her. From the '30s to the '50s, Burns and Allen were one of the most beloved shows in all of America. And George Burns won an Academy Award in 1974 for his appearance in The Sunshine Boys (when he replaced another giant of radio, Jack Benny, who died before the movie was made.) He also appeared in the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with Peter Frampton. No one won an Oscar for that. He also reached the Top 20 in the country chart with "I Wish I Was Eighteen Again".
Jayne Mansfield - That Makes It (1966) Basically, The Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" from a woman's point of view. Jayne Mansfield was an attractive, versatile Marilyn Monroe-esque It-Girl who gave birth to Mariska Hargitay of "Law and Order SVU".
Julie London - Marlboro Song (1963)
The Lettermen - Touch Me (1970)
Mike Curb and Bob Summers - Teenage Rebellion (1969)
Orson Welles - I Know What It Is To Be Young (But You Don't Know What It Is To Be Old) (1984) Ah, the French.
The Partridge Family - Summer Days (1971)