This Monday finds me with few words and a 60 song playlist that features several artists new to me.
When I stumbled onto Dori Freeman's new album Ten Thousand Roses, I started to go through my normal routine of sampling an album. I usually glide across several sections of a song daring the artist that is new to me to stop my incessant 'skip clicking' and slap me to attention. I love it when my search mode mentality stops and my active music listening mode starts. Is there gold here?
Dori certainly got my attention in that she has a wonderful voice to go with her straight forward songwriting. What makes a person gravitate to a singer-songwriter artist over another? Of course you have your personal taste even within a genre like Americana, but there's a magic to finding someone that sings and speaks to you. It's rare when I feature all or almost all the songs from a new album, it just doesn't happen that often. I've included all ten songs from Ten Thousand Roses across the playlist this week. I'll now be going to listen to her other three albums.
When a big album like John Lennon's Imagine hits the fifty-year mark, there's a fair amount of press to celebrate the occasion. I've decided to just include it here in the fraternity of September, 1971 albums that take us back to a great year in rock 'n' roll.
The song, Imagine was John's biggest single as a solo artist reaching #3 on the Billboard charts. It also took off again after his death in 1980, and for me, made my list of Great Songs Ruined By Radioin its continual overplay as one's mind rebels to the satiation. How can something once so lovely slowly torture the listener to sadly change the dial, or today hit the 'Skip' button .
No need for greed or hunger - a brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world...
was just a tad over the top when juxtaposed with the video of the loving couple's walk up to Tittenhurst's spacious white mansion. Okay my cynicism aside, what got my attention about the video was John singing directly into the camera, communicating his message to all of us. It's like only 26 seconds of the video, but it was stunningly fabulous! During the video shoot, someone should have suggested, "a little more John at the piano?"
In the Imagine, Ultimate Mix (2020) liner notes description, I do like John's later words giving credit to Yoko for their collaboration on the song.
John: ‘Imagine’ was inspired by Yoko’s Grapefruit [Book]. There’s a lot of pieces in it saying like ‘Imagine this’ or ‘Imagine that’. If you get a copy of Grapefruit and look through, you’ll see where I was influenced by her. ‘Imagine’ could never have been written without her. And I know she helped on a lot of the lyrics but I wasn’t man enough to let her have credit for it. So that song was actually written by John & Yoko, but I was still selfish enough and unaware enough to take her contribution without acknowledging it. The song itself expresses what I’d learned through being with Yoko and my own feelings on it. It should really have said ‘Lennon/Ono’ on that song, because she contributed a lot of that song.
In the playlist this week, I end with the beginning in the sense that the people doing John's archives found the 'original demo' tape of Imagine and it was released in 2018. I especially love Beatle demo's because they are just as brilliant in their raw form. Here's the video liner notes on the demo.
While sifting through boxes upon boxes of the original tapes for Yoko Ono, engineer Rob Stevens discovered something truly remarkable that had gone unnoticed all these years. “Early 2016, during the gestation period of this project, I'm in the Lennon archives with my people going through tape boxes that have labeling that's unclear, misleading, or missing entirely”, says Stevens. “There's a one-inch eight-track that says nothing more on the 'Ascot Sound' label than John Lennon, the date, and the engineer (Phil McDonald), with DEMO on the spine. No indication of what material was on the tape. One delicate transfer to digital later, the “Imagine” demo, subsequently enhanced superbly by Paul Hicks, appears within this comprehensive set. It was true serendipity.”
I love this original demo and the video with just the animated clouds, and hey this version is not played on the radio. Also, check out the 2018 Documentary, John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky on Netflix.
...
Another big album in 1971 was John Prine's debut album, John Prine. It actually wasn't so big when released but over time like the man himself became a classic for all time. Rolling Stone magazine had it ranked last year in their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time at 149. Prine himself has always been uncomfortable about the recording of John Prine as he said, "I was terrified. I went straight from playing by myself, still learning how to sing, to playing with Elvis Presley's rhythm section." (Wikipedia). I do sense a little tenseness in his voice in this first recording as later recorded versions bring out John's comfort and joy in performing his folksy masterpieces. He also shared his displeasure in an interview with the hokey country photo shoot.
"I had never seen a bale of hay in my life! I tried to explain that to Jim Marshall when he took the picture in his studio in San Francisco. We were making small talk when a pickup truck arrives with three bales of hay. He said, “I’m gonna do a head shot of you and the straw will make an interesting background.” Next thing I know it’s about five days before the album comes out and I’m at the record company in New York and I saw the cover photo, and there I am sitting on a bale of hay. And I pipe up that while I like country music, this looks like “Hee-Haw.” But it was too late to change it, and I’ve been making up for it ever since. (jpshrine.org)
Bob Dylan's quote at John Prine's passing in 2020 has always stuck with me and seems a good time to bring it out on the 50th anniversary of just a remarkable album of songwriting. "Prine's stuff is pure Proustian existentialism. Midwestern mindtrips to the nth degree."
The writer, Patrick Doyle has stated, "John Prine is the Mark Twain of songwriting."
For me, John Prine the album is just a variation of the great American novel. Here's some selected lyrics I have picked from each song on the album, a masterpiece of Americana songwriting.
Illegal Smile
When I woke up this morning, things were lookin' bad Seem like total silence was the only friend I had Bowl of oatmeal tried to stare me down, and won And it was twelve o'clock before I realized I was havin' no fun
Spanish Pipe dream
She was a level-headed dancer On the road to alcohol And I was just a soldier on my way to Montreal
Hello in There
Me and Loretta, we don't talk much more She sits and stares through the back door screen And all the news just repeats itself Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen Someday I'll go and call up Rudy We worked together at the factory But what could I say if he asks "What's new?" "Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do"
You know that old trees just grow stronger And old rivers grow wilder every day Old people just grow lonesome Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello"
So if you're walking down the street sometime And spot some hollow ancient eyes Please don't just pass 'em by and stare As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello"
Sam Stone
Sam Stone came home To his wife and family After serving in the conflict overseas And the time that he served Had shattered all his nerves And left a little shrapnel in his knees But the morphine eased the pain And the grass grew round his brain And gave him all the confidence he lacked With a purple heart and a monkey on his back
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose Little pitchers have big ears Don't stop to count the years Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios
Paradise
Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man.
And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County Down by the Green River where Paradise lay Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away
Pretty Good I heard Allah and Buddha were singing at the Savior's feast And up in the sky an Arabian rabbi Fed Quaker Oats to a priest Pretty good, not bad, they can't complain 'Cause actually all them gods are just about the same
Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore While digesting Reader's Digest In the back of a dirty book store, A plastic flag, with gum on the back, Fell out on the floor. Well, I picked it up and I ran outside Slapped it on my window shield, And if I could see old Betsy Ross I'd tell her how good I feel.
But your flag decal won't get you Into Heaven any more. They're already overcrowded From your dirty little war. Now Jesus don't like killin' No matter what the reason's for, And your flag decal won't get you Into Heaven any more.
Far From Me
Well, I started the engine And I gave it some gas And Cathy was closing her purse Well, we hadn't gone far in my beat old car And I was prepared for the worst. "Will you still see me tomorrow?" "No, I got too much to do" Well, a question ain't really a question If you know the answer too
Angel From Montgomery
I am an old woman Named after my mother My old man is another Child who's grown old
If dreams were lightning And thunder were desire This old house would've burned down A long time ago
Make me an angel That flies from Montgomery Make me a poster Of an old rodeo Just give me one thing That I can hold on to To believe in this livin' Is just a hard way to go
Quiet Man
Last Monday night I saw a fight Between Wednesday and Thursday over Saturday night Tuesday asked me what was going on, I said "Sunday's in the meadow and Friday's in the corn"
Donald and Lydia
Small town, bright lights, Saturday night, Pinballs and pool halls flashing their lights. Making change behind the counter in a penny arcade Sat the fat girl daughter of Virginia and Ray
Lydia Lydia hid her thoughts like a cat Behind her small eyes sunk deep in her fat. She read romance magazines up in her room And felt just like Sunday on Saturday afternoon.
But dreaming just comes natural Like the first breath from a baby, Like sunshine feeding daisies, Like the love hidden deep in your heart.
Bunk beds, shaved heads, Saturday night, A warehouse of strangers with sixty watt lights. Staring through the ceiling, just wanting to be Lay one of too many, a young PFC:
Donald There were spaces between Donald and whatever he said. Strangers had forced him to live in his head. He envisioned the details of romantic scenes After midnight in the stillness of the barracks latrine.
Hot love, cold love, no love at all. A portrait of guilt is hung on the wall. Nothing is wrong, nothing is right. Donald and Lydia made love that night.
Love The made love in the mountains, they made love in the streams, They made love in the valleys, they made love in their dreams. But when they were finished there was nothing to say, 'cause mostly they made love from ten miles away.
Six O'Clock News
Wanda had a baby in 1951 The father was stranger and a stranger was the son Call that child James Lewis, call these rooms a home Changing all them diapers, polish all that chrome
Flashback Blues
While window shopping through the past I ran across a looking glass Reflecting moments remaining in a burned out light Tragic magic prayers of passion Stay the same through changing fashions They freeze my mind like water on a winter's night Spent most of my youth Out hobo cruising And all I got for proof Is rocks in my pockets and dirt in my shoes So goodbye nonbeliever Don't you know that I hate to leave here So long babe, I got the flashback blues.
In May of 2020, I started my Fifty Years of Music series where I feature my favorite songs from a month and year 50 years from when I publish a post on the subject. Then at the end of the year, I post My Favorite Songs of (that year). I started with 1970, and at the end of this year will post My Favorite Songs of 1971.
Since I started the series in 1970, I thought I should go back to the birth of rock ''n' roll in the 1950's and the explosion of rock 'n' roll in the 1960's with lots of treasure to mine into playlists.
The Founding Generation of Rock 'n' Roll born in 1910-1925;
The Pioneering Generation of Rock 'n' Roll born in 1925-1940;
The Classic Generation born between 1940-1950.
The Classic Generation includes all the musicians in: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Cream, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, just to name a few...
I thought I should go back to 1940-1950 where this classic generation of rock 'n' rollers as World War II babies and children, absorbed the music of the day from their parent's radios and records.
Sun Records, Memphis Tennessee
I then started sifting through Wikipedia's (Year) In Music as my guide starting in 1945. When I got to 1950, I found my starting point- January 3, 1950 Sam Phillips launches Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee.
Sam Philips [brought in] performers such as B.B. King, Junior Parker, and Howlin' Wolf, who made their first recordings there. Phillips then sold the recordings to larger labels [like Chess Records].
Chess Records located in Chicago was also founded in 1950 by the Chess brothers Leonard and Phil. The brothers formed an early business association with Sam Phillipsas both Chicago and Memphis became magnets for the Blue's and early rock 'n' roll.
Sam Phillips
In 1951, Sam Philips produced "Rocket 88" (originally stylized as Rocket "88") is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, in March 1951. The recording was credited to "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats", who were actually Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm. The single reached number-one on the Billboard R&B chart [and as distributed by Chess Records].
Also in 1951, Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed began broadcasting rhythm, blues, and country music for a multi-racial audience. As one source points out, there was some controversy in his selection of recordings: "Freed would play the original singles by the black artists instead of waiting for a white singer to cover them".
Freed, familiar with the music of earlier decades, used the phrase 'rock and roll' to describe the music he aired over station WJW (850 AM).
Several sources suggest that Freed discovered the term (a euphemism for sexual intercourse) on the record "Sixty Minute Man" by Billy Ward and his Dominoes. The lyrics include the line, "I rock 'em, roll 'em all night long". Freed did not acknowledge the suggestion about that source (or the original meaning of the expression) in interviews, and explained the term as follows: "Rock ’n roll is really swing with a modern name. It began on the levees and plantations, took in folk songs, and features blues and rhythm".
This past week, I found a great little documentary titled, Howlin' Wolf - The Howlin' Wolf Story - The Secret History Of Rock & Roll (2003)on Amazon Prime. This 90 minute film gives insight into the beginnings of rock 'n' roll as older black Blues artists influenced many white kids in England hungry to experience American music and culture in the post-war 1950's.
As a child of the 1960's, I was totally unaware of who Howlin' Wolf was or any other Blues musician. Without the backstory of bands like The Rolling Stones starting out as a Blues cover band in London; I would only later learn in the 1970's about these Blues players and their great contribution to the birth of rock 'n' roll and great influence on bands like The Rolling Stones. The name, "Rolling Stones" actually comes from a Muddy Waters song, Rollin' Stone picked by Stone's guitarist Brian Jones in 1962.
In 1965, The Rolling Stones were invited to play on the popular ABC music variety show, Shindig!. They said they would do the show only if Howlin' Wolf would perform. On one hand, that's brave of the Stones to do that, on the other hand, it's sad that it took a bunch of young white upstarts from England having the privilege and power to coerce an America TV network to feature a black musical legend and national treasure, born right here the United States.
Note- Billy Preston is the piano player for this performance on Shindig.
I rather enjoyed the interrupted intro of the Shindig host by Brian Jones who basically calls out his BS and tells him, "I think it about time you shut up and we have Howlin' Wolf on stage."
Another side note- You may have noticed my recent and complete interest in everything Rolling Stones of late. Well the debauchery continues.
Brian Jones
This week, I recommend two Rolling Stones documentaries. First up is, Rolling Stone: The Life and Death of Brian Joneson Amazon Prime. And, if you are a budding 'True-crime podcast' detective, Brian Jones' death would make for a great future podcast series... just saying.
Second is Keith Richards: Under The Influence, a 2015 Netflix one hour and 22 minute film that serves as a video companion to Keith's 2010 autobiography, Life.
I think Under the Influence is a great title and I've ripped it off to use here for a series of blogs to showcase songs that influenced the development of rock 'n' roll. I think this will serve as a good lead in to My Favorite Songs series that will have a starting date around 1963. 1963 in Music is the first year in Wikipedia where new albums released for that year start to be categorized on a monthly basis. Let that big bang begin!
Now on to the playlist. Enjoy my friends.
Songs Featured in this 'Under the Influence' Playlist
Rock Awhileis a song by American singer-songwriter Goree Carter, recorded in April 1949 for the Freedom Recording Company in Houston, Texas. The song was released as the 18-year-old Carter's debut single (with "Back Home Blues" as the B-side) shortly after recording. The track is considered by many sources to be the first rock and roll song, and has been called a better candidate than the more commonly cited "Rocket 88", which was released two years later. And, I would agree with that assessment making it my first song to start this playlist.
Move It On Over (1947) Hank Williams. Often cited as one of the earliest examples of rock 'n' roll music. I thought I'd insert it here. The influence of Folk and Country music is unmistakeable to the birth of rock 'n' roll. Hank was right there.
Rock The Joint (1949) Jimmy Preston & His Prestonians. Another contender for first rock 'n' roll song, there are hundreds and the playlist here is just a sample of the power of R&B and its influence towards rock 'n' roll.
Rollin' Stone - (1950), Muddy Watters - In 1962 Brian Jones takes the title of this song and names his band, 'Rollin' Stones', then changed to 'Rolling Stones', then finally 'The Rolling Stones.' Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf had a friendly rivalry as both were fearless leaders in the Chicago Blues sound.
Rocket 88-(1951) The original version of the twelve-bar blues song was credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, which hit number one on the R&B charts. Brenston was Ike Turner's saxophonist and the Delta Cats were actually Turner's Kings of Rhythm back-up band, who rehearsed at the Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Brenston sang the lead vocal and is listed as the songwriter, although Turner led the band and is said to have been the actual composer of the song.
Sixty Minute Man is a rhythm and blues (R&B) record released in 1951 by Billy Ward and his Dominoes. It was written by Billy Ward and Rose Marks and was one of the first R&B hit records to cross over to become a hit on the pop charts. It is regarded as one of the most important of the recordings that helped generate and shape rock and roll.
Move - (1950) Birth of the Cool - Miles Davis. The man was miles ahead his whole life.
Rollin' & Tumblin' - (1950) Muddy Waters. Muddy made it a classic, and in the middle to late 60's he and Howlin' Wolf would be playing songs like this to a whole new generation of fans via rock 'n' roll bands from England.
The #BestSongIHeardToday series is often centered around hearing great songs while exercising. These posts will tend to drift into health related topics but will always come back to the music that brought you here. This particular series is probably more about a self journal to help me stay on the path of healthy living that includes, listening to old and new tunes. If you're looking for a great mix playlist of 25-30 songs, just click on one of my Volumes above.
It had been on my mind for about a month to buy Keith Richards' autobiography, Life. So I dropped into a book store in San Diego and found a copy that I thought would be a fun read for my upcoming flight and vacation in Seattle. The book in fact had remained in my backpack until the sad news of Charlie Watts death on August 24th. With that event as my kickstart, I began reading it the next day and it's been hard to put down. I don't remember the flight back home as I was completely absorbed into it until touch down.
Here's a passage from Keith Richard's Life (2011).
If it hadn’t been for Charlie, I would never have been able to expand and develop. Number one with Charlie is that he’s got great feel. He had it then, from the start. There’s tremendous personality and subtlety in his playing. If you look at the size of his kit, it’s ludicrous compared to what most drummers use these days. They’ve got a fort with them. An incredible barrage of drums. Charlie, with just that one classico setup, can pull it all off. Nothing pretentious, and then you hear him and it don’t half go bang. He plays with humor too. I love to watch his foot through the Perspex. Even if I can’t hear him, I can play to him just by watching. The other thing is Charlie’s trick that he got, I think, from Jim Keltner or Al Jackson. On the hi-hat, most guys would play on all four beats, but on the two and the four, which is the backbeat, which is a very important thing in rock and roll, Charlie doesn’t play, he lifts up. He goes to play and pulls back. It gives the snare drum all of the sound, instead of having some interference behind it. It’ll give you a heart arrhythmia if you look at it. He does some extra motion that’s totally unnecessary. It pulls the time back because he has to make a little extra effort. And so part of the languid feel of Charlie’s drumming comes from this unnecessary motion every two beats. It’s very hard to do — to stop the beat going just for one beat and then come back in. And it also has something to do with the way Charlie’s limbs are constructed, where he feels the beat. Each drummer’s got a signature as to whether the hi-hat’s a little bit ahead of the snare. Charlie’s very far back with the snare and up with the hi-hat. And the way he stretches out the beat and what we do on top of that is a secret of the Stones sound. Charlie’s quintessentially a jazz drummer, which means the rest of the band is a jazz band in a way. He’s up there with the best, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones. He’s got the feel, the looseness of it, and he’s very economical. Charlie used to work weddings and bar mitzvahs, so he knows the schmaltz too. It comes from starting early, playing the clubs when he was really young. A little bit of showmanship, without himself being the showman. Bah-BAM. And I’ve got used to playing with a guy like this. Forty years on, Charlie and I are tighter than we could express or even probably know. I mean, we even get daring enough to try and screw each other up sometimes on the stage. Richards, Keith. Life (pp. 121-122). Little, Brown and Company.
Charlie & Ringo
This got me thinking about the two greatest bands of all-time, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. As young bands, both had all the players except they lacked a really good professional drummer. I find it very interesting that both picked guys who were very similar in their simple straight ahead style of playing the drums. Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts were not showboats, but they were the anchors.
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As kismet would have it, I started program surfing in Netflix last week and stumbled upon, Count Me In. This is a 1 hour and 21 minute documentary on the history of some of rock's greatest drummers. Both Charlie and Ringo are featured and I recommend it.
The best quote from Count Me In is from Joe Strummer of The Clash, "The rule of rock 'n' roll says, 'You're only as good as your drummer.'"
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Bill & Charlie (far right)
And kismet². Last Friday, I'm watching the second season of Modern Love on Amazon Prime. After I finish an episode, Amazon's AI suggests I watch the 2019 documentary on The Rolling Stone's original bass player Bill Wyman (from 1962-1993), The Quiet One. It was perfect timing watching this documentary for the second time as it filled in several key holes missing so far from Keith Richards' Life. I'm a little more than half way through Life as I write this, and it seems Bill Wyman has been mentioned like only three times so far! "Keef" does mention in his book, and also in The Quiet One how solid the rhythm section of the Stone's became once Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts started playing together. Up until that point, Richard's wanted Wyman only for his amp! What a complete group of characters, and as it turned out, the enduring band for the ages!
The Stones' will be starting up their 13 date U.S. 2021 No Filter Tour beginning September 26th in St. Louis with drummer (and long-time collaborator with Keith Richards) Steve Jordan sitting in for Charlie.
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All Down The Line • Lincoln Park
When in West Seattle, I try to get to Lincoln Park. I usually can get (con) the family to go for a walk or play on the playground equipment (they have two great kid friendly zip lines), while I take off for a run on the trail that leads down to the water, and then loops back up to the trail again.
As luck would have it, a couple of Stones' songs came on during the run and seemed appropriate to complete this mix of songs.
Stay well my friends, and mask-up at public indoor locations, again. The folks in Seattle know how to do that very well!
