Roy Harper
sang lead vocals on “Have a Cigar” making it one of two Pink Floyd songs
featuring a guest singer (The Great Gig in the Sky). The song is about the
music industry and loss of innocence and idealism in the corporate world. The work includes the line “By the way, which
one is Pink?” David Gilmour reminisced that people used to ask the band this
question all the time mistaking the group’s name for a person.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Jeff Beck w/Rod Stewart: People Get Ready (1985)
Curtis
Mayfield wrote this spiritual in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement He
employed Gospel and religious themes to create a social and political
awareness. Jeff Beck released an amazing cover version in 1985 with Rod Stewart
on vocals. Beck played the song with Sting on vocals at the 2009 Rock n Roll
Hall of Fame concert.
With Sting:
Curtis Mayfield:
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Ozzy Osbourne: Crazy Train (1980)
"Crazy
Train" is about nuclear annihilation. The Cold War had grown colder
following the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and collapse of Detente. As a result, people worried more and more about nuclear war. The song
is memorable for Randy Rhoads guitar work. Later, Ozzy released a video for the
song as a tribute to Rhoads, who died in a plane crash in 1982.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Bill Haley and the Comets: Shake, Rattle, and Roll (1954)
Big Joe
Turner recorded "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" and scored a #1 R&B
hit. Bill Haley covered the tune, but removed any illusions to sex. At the
time, many white artists recorded songs written or recorded by black artists.
Many of the black artists failed to gain compensation or notoriety from their
work. However, in this case, Haley's recording helped Turner's version, which
increased record sales for both. The pair eventually became fast friends.
Haley:
Turner:
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Warren Zevon: Werewolves of London (1978)
Despite a
long and varied career, Warren Zevon is best known for "Werewolves of
London." The song has a catchy up tempo hook while Zevon has lyrical fun.
The werewolves both have tailors, dance with the queen, and drink pina colada's
while at the same time mutilate old ladies and "rip your lungs
out." Zevon gives a shout out to both Lon Chaneys and is accompanied on
the record by John McVie and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac. Kid Rock sampled
the song for his own hit, "All Summer Long."
Zevon:
Kid Rock:
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Beatles top 10 songs
My own top 10 Beatles songs...just my favorites....extremely difficult to compile and subject to change on a whim...
I Am the
Walrus
Please
Please Me
A Day in
the Life
Drive My
Car
Get Back
Hello,
Goodbye
I Should
Have Known Better
Helter Skelter
Revolution
Strawberry
Fields Forever
Friday, December 13, 2013
John Lennon: Mother (1970)
John Lennon
unleashes childhood pain in 1970’s “Mother.” His mother was killed by a drunk
driver when he was 17 and his dad abandoned the family when he was a baby. The
song begins with church bells, which sound a bit like AC/DC’s intro to “Hells
Bells” a decade later. The song is dark, sad, and very personal.
Monday, December 9, 2013
R.E.M.: Don't Go Back to Rockville (1984)
Mike Mills
wrote this piece as a plea to his girlfriend to not leave for her parents’ home
in Rockville, Maryland. The band originally conceived the song in punk fashion,
but changed it to its now familiar country sound as a joke. In the band’s later
years, Mike Mills took over vocals on the song.
Acoustic:
Studio:
Mike Mills:
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Black Sabbath: End of the Beginning (2013)
It's the
era we live in when a group of 60-somethings have one of the year's better
songs. Sabbath debuted their modest rock hit (#38 on the rock charts) on CSI. The band even appeared on the show.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
1955 in music
“Rock Around
the Clock” appears on the British charts for the first time. The song would not
become a hit in the U.S. until the film Blackboard
Jungle is released later in the year. The song ignited the First Rock Era
(1955-59). The song reaches #1 on the charts. Shortly thereafter, Little
Richard records “Tutti Frutti” and Elvis hires Colonel Tom Parker to manage his
career. Additionally, Pat Boone debuts
and 45s outsell 78s for the first time in history.
#1 song of
1955:
Other hits:
Friday, December 6, 2013
Isaac Hayes: Shaft (1971)
Shaft is a
defining song of the seventies. The song dramatically influenced funk and soul
throughout the decade as well as black culture. Hayes won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, which
was a first for a black artist. The film also influenced the decade and
filmmakers beyond the seventies. It opened the door for the black action hero
and blacksploitation flicks.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
David Bowie: Changes (1972)
David Bowie
spent his entire career reinventing himself. As a result, “Changes” is
something of a theme song for the crooner. The song truly introduced Bowie to
Americans and was the last song he ever sang live prior to his retirement
(although he has since released new material).
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Montrose: Bad Motor Scooter (1973)
The song
begins with a guitar emulating a motorcycle. Ronnie Montrose came across the
sound accidently while a tape inadvertently rolled. As a result, the band
captured the intro which they felt the song desperately needed. The song has
since been a staple of Sammy Hagar’s live performances.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Black Sabbath: Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2006
Black
Sabbath emerged from the working class factory town of Birmingham, England.
Originally, they were another blues-rock act, but decided to distinguish
themselves by dipping into the occult. Ozzy Osbourne figured people paid money
for horror movies, so why not provide horror rock.
Drug use
led to Ozzy's removal. They replaced him with Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio
in 1979.
They
experienced rotating lineups throughout the late 80s and into the 90s.
The
originals reunited in 1997 for a live album. As of 2013, they are touring and
recording with Ozzy.
End of the
Beginning (2013): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0W91FrTlYk
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Blondie: Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2006
Chris Stein
and Deborah Harry formed Blondie in the mid-70s. The band was at the forefront
of the punk and new wave music revolutions of the period. They were eclectic in
the extreme.
They scored
overseas, but did not break in the US until 1978 when they released the classic
Parallel Lines.
They
provided an all-time classic and one of the great songs of the 80s for American Gigolo.
The first
song with a rap to hit #1:
The totally
changed their sound for their next album.
Tensions in
the band, a drop in album sales, drugs, and Chris Stein mortality in the face
of pemphigus broke the band up in 1982.
Blondie
reunited in the late 90s. They became the only band with #1 hits in three
decades. The band continues to tour...
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss: Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2006
Herb Alpert
and Jerry Moss formed A&M Records. Alpert has sold over 70 million records
as an artist. His work encompassed jazz,
latin, funk, and pop. Alpert is the only person to hit #1 with an instrumental
and as a vocalist.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Miles Davis: Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2006
Miles Davis
is the greatest jazz man of the 20th century and one of the most influential
artists of all time. He led the development of several jazz schools including
be bop, cool jazz, and jazz fusion. His work has been widely sampled by hip hop
artists. He died in 1991.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2006
Ronnie Van
Zandt formed The Noble Five in 1964. They changed their name the next year to
My Backyard and won a battle of the bands in 1968. In 1970, they changed their
name to Lynyrd Skynyrd to mock one of their high school teachers. They were
finally discovered in 1972.
They had a little back and forth with Neil Young (see Southern Man). It was all in good fun.
In 1977, a
plane crash killed six, including three band members. The band broke up after
the disaster, but returned a decade later and have been recording and touring
ever since.
Last of a Dyin’
Breed (2012): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHtju4vvCpI
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
The Sex Pistols: Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2006
The Sex
Pistols formed in 1975 and ignited Britain’s punk movement. The band tended to
create controversies with their anarchic tendencies and bad manners. They liked
to attack social norms, conformity, and authority.
The band
broke up in 1978 when Johnny Rotten realized they had become part of the
establishment.
Sid Vicious
died in a bizarre murder-suicide in 1979. The surviving Pistols have reunited
on occasion through the years.
Monday, November 18, 2013
The Doors: Waiting for the Sun (1970)
The Doors
released the album Waiting for the Sun in
1968, but the single did not appear for two years. “Waiting for the Sun”
finally makes an appearance on Morrison
Hotel. The song was just not ready in 1968. Soundgarden later covered the
track in 1996. On a side note, it has one of my favorite lines of all time
“This is the strangest life I have ever known.”
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