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Post by razorbacker on Jul 19, 2024 10:34:29 GMT
Lou Christie, is a pop and soft rock singer-songwriter from Glenwillard, Pennsylvania. He turned 81 last February. His real name is Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco
In 1963 after a couple of top 40 hits he joined Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars Tour, alongside Diana Ross, Brian Hyland, and others.
During his heyday he made numerous TV appearances on Where the Action Is (1965–1967), and also appeared on American Bandstand and The Buddy Deane Show (1962–1964) in Baltimore. He also sang with Del Shannon.
He succeeded Bobby Rydell as a member of the supergroup Dick Fox's Golden Boys (also featuring 1950s teen idols Frankie Avalon and Fabian) after Rydell's death in 2022.
He seems to have had more ups & downs than most other folks. He would have a huge hit, then fade away, only to come back with another big one. In 1965 he hit #1 with his single Lightnin’ Strikes, but just 2 singles later, in 1966, he released the song linked to here & it fell out at #95, then his next single got to #16. That was followed by 8 separate releases that go no higher than #81, & seven of them didn’t chart at all, then he has another top 10.
This song was included on his 1966 album, Lou Christie Strikes Again.
Big Time by Lou Christie
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 19, 2024 18:11:20 GMT
Yazoo was an English synth-pop duo from Basildon, Essex, consisting of former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke (keyboards) and Alison Moyet (vocals). They formed in late 1981 after Clarke responded to an advertisement Moyet placed in a British music magazine, although the pair had known each other since their school days.
They won The Brit Award in 1983 for British Breakthrough Act.
Despite their success, the duo split acrimoniously in May 1983 as a result of a combination of Clarke's reluctance to make more records under the Yazoo name, a clash of personalities, and a lack of communication between the pair.
Clarke went on to form Erasure, another successful and longer-lasting synth-pop duo, while Moyet went on to a highly successful solo career.
During their short time together, they released just 2 albums. This song comes from their 1982 debut called Upstairs At Erics. The album charted at #92 in the states & has been certified Platinum. The album included a massive worldwide hit called Don’t Go which landed in the top 10 all around the globe. It was their 1st of four #1 hits on the US Dance charts.
Midnight by Yazoo
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 20, 2024 10:58:25 GMT
Katy Lied was the 4th album by Steely Dan, originally released in 1975.
The album was the first one recorded by the group after guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and drummer Jim Hodder left the group as a result of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's decision to stop touring and focus solely on recording with various studio musicians. Their last tour performance was on July 5, 1974 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. It was the also their first to feature backing vocals by Michael McDonald.
They recruited a bunch of studio musicians to play on the album including future Toto members Jeff Porcaro & David Paich among many others. This left Denny Dias, Walter Becker, and Donald as only remaining original members.
Becker and Fagen were so dissatisfied with the album's sound that they publicly apologized for it (on the album's back cover) and for years refused to listen to it in its final form.
The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, and it has been certified Gold. The song linked to here was the only single released, it charted at #37.
The song which features Michael Omartian on piano and David Paich on Hohner electric piano, relates the story of a crooked speculator who makes his fortune and absconds to Muswellbrook, New South Wales, Australia, as, according to Fagen, "It was the place most far away from LA we could think of".
There are multiple guitar players on the album. This song gave Walter Becker a chance to solo.
Black Friday by Steely Dan
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 20, 2024 17:24:37 GMT
Lionel Hampton passed away in 2002, but that didn’t stop him from being honored. He was presented with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.
As a composer and arranger, he wrote more than 200 songs, including the jazz standards Flying Home, Evil Gal Blues, and the song linked to here. He also composed the major symphonic work, “King David Suite.”
This song has gone on to be recorded by multiple folks including Coleman Hawkins, June Christy, Ella Fitzgerald & even Frank Zappa gave it a go.
His orchestra at various times included talented individuals like Illinois Jacquet, Cat Anderson, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Clifford Brown, Fats Navarro, Clark Terry, Quincy Jones, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery, and singers Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, Betty Carter and Aretha Franklin.
The song was originally an instrumental, but Johnny Mercer was driving along the freeway from Palm Springs to Hollywood when he heard the instrumental on his car radio and started to set words to the song as he drove. June Christy recorded the 1st vocal version in 1954. Lionel Hampton & his Orchestra recorded this version in Los Angeles November 10, 1947 .
Midnight Sun by Lionel Hampton
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 21, 2024 10:39:07 GMT
Bobby “Blue” Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2012. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".
While growing up in Memphis he associated with a circle of aspiring musicians, including B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Junior Parker and Johnny Ace, who collectively were known as the Beale Streeters.
He made his 1st recordings in 1951 for then talent scout Ike Turner at Tuff Green's house in Memphis.
This song was released in 1965 as the “B” side to a single called Blind Man. Blind Man did not chart, but Black Night made an appearance in the Hot 100 charting at #99. It was the 2nd time he had a Hot 100 hit.
A few weeks back we heard the original recording of the song. It was by Charles Brown in 1951, that version went to #1 on the R&B charts, sat there for 14 weeks & was inducted into the Blues Foundation Blues Hall of Fame as a "Classic of Blues Recording – Single or Album Track", in 2005.
Black Night by Bobby Blue Bland
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 21, 2024 17:59:35 GMT
Pulp is another one of those bands that have broken up & reformed multiple times over the years. At this time, they are back together & on tour with the group’s founder Jarvis Crocker being the only survivor of all the upheaval.
Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do:
Jarvis Cocker gained significant media exposure due to a notorious prank at the 1996 BRIT Awards, where he invaded the stage in protest during pop singer Michael Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" and "wiggled his backside" at the audience. After complaints by Jackson and his entourage, Cocker spent the night in Kensington Police Station charged with actual bodily harm and assaulting the child performers. However, with British comedian and former solicitor Bob Mortimer acting as legal representation, he was released without charge. This incident propelled Cocker into great controversy in the UK and elsewhere, and Pulp's record sales soared as a result.
This song comes from their album Different Class. It was their 5th studio album & was released in 1995. The album hit #34 on The Heat Seekers Chart, but never broke through to the top 200. It has reported sales of just 40,000 units in the US, but more than 1.5 million worldwide.
It is often considered an album which best defines the era and has featured at the number one position on several best Britpop albums polls, including The Village Voice, BuzzFeed, Pitchfork, & Spin.
Monday Morning by Pulp
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 22, 2024 11:08:00 GMT
Our musical heroes, much like us, are starting to age. Eric Clapton turned 79 in March! What?
These comparison lists are always dependent on who is doing the rankings, but Eric always shows up. He ranked second in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". In 2023, Rolling Stone named Clapton the 35th best guitarist of all time. He was also named number five in Time magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009.
This song was the closing track on his 1976 album No Reason To Cry. It was his 4th solo album. It landed at #15 & has not yet sold enough copies to gain a certification (500,000 for Gold).
He had a lot of pretty famous folks playing behind him including Bob Dylan, all the members of The Band, Ronnie Wood & Billy Preston to name just a few. The singles that were released were Hello Old Friend #24 & Carnival which did not chart.
Critic William Ruhlmann gave the album 3.5 of five possible stars, writing: "No Reason to Cry is identifiable as the kind of pop/rock Clapton had been making since the start of his solo career", adding "the most memorable music on the album occurs when he is collaborating with members of the Band and other guests". Finishing his review, Ruhlmann called the release "a good purchase for fans of Bob Dylan and the Band, but not necessarily for those of Eric Clapton".
Black Summer Rain by Eric Clapton
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 22, 2024 17:26:39 GMT
During her career Ella Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy Awards, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1967. She received the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Medal of Honor Award, the National Medal of Art, the first Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award (named "Ella" in her honor), the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement.
Her musical history and archival material are housed in the Archives Center at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, while her personal music arrangements are at the Library of Congress.
This song was included on Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book it was released in 1961, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Billy May. This album was the only time that Ella worked with Billy.
This was a 2 album set & the 6th album in her series of recordings of songs written by the pantheon of Broadway composers who formed the body of work now considered the Great American Songbook.
My Shining Hour" is a song composed by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer for the film The Sky's the Limit (1943). In the film, the song is sung by Fred Astaire and Sally Sweetland, who dubbed it for actress Joan Leslie. The orchestra was led by Freddie Slack. "My Shining Hour" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song but lost to "You'll Never Know".
My Shining Hour by Ella Fitzgerald
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 23, 2024 11:01:23 GMT
Joe Bonamassa is a blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter from New Hartford, New York. He turned 47 in May & is currently on tour.
He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. At the time he was playing in a band called Bloodline with the sons of Miles Davis, Robby Krieger and Berry Oakley. Although Bloodline did not become a famous act, it attracted attention to Joe's guitar playing.
He has been nominated for 3 Grammy Awards, but has not broken through for the win.
He has released 15 solo albums through his independent record label J&R Adventures, of which 11 have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart.
Sloe Gin is his 6th studio album. It was produced by Kevin Shirley & released on August 21, 2007. The album landed at #147 on the Top 200 but went to the top of The Blues Albums Chart.
Black Night by Joe Bonamassa
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 23, 2024 19:06:17 GMT
Bill Evans was a jazz pianist, band leader and composer from Plainfield, New Jersey. He got over a longtime heroin addiction only to become a cocaine addict. He died on September 15, 1980. The cause of death was a combination of peptic ulcer, cirrhosis, bronchial pneumonia, and untreated hepatitis, His friend Gene Lees described Bill's struggle with drugs as "the longest suicide in history". He was 51.
In 1958, he joined Miles Davis's sextet, which in 1959, recorded Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album of all time. In late 1959, he left the Miles' band and began his career as a leader, with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, a group now regarded as a seminal modern jazz trio.
This song comes from an album called Everybody Digs Bill Evans. The album was released in early 1959. It was his 2nd album as a band leader and 30th album overall.
The trio consists of Bill Evans – piano, Sam Jones - bass, & Philly Joe Jones - drums. Strangely enough, the only place the album charted was a #14 placing in Croatia.
Night & Day by Bill Evans
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 24, 2024 11:17:23 GMT
Willie Nelson turned 91 back in April, & if his health stays up to par, he is currently on tour.
"Bloody Mary Morning" is a song that was first released by RCA on his album Both Sides Now, in 1970. As other releases by Nelson at the time on RCA, the song failed to meet success.
In 1972, during a trip to Nashville, he attended a party in Harlan Howard's house, where he sang the song along with others that he planned to include in a concept album. Another guest was Atlantic Records vice-president Jerry Wexler, who was interested in Willie's music. In light of the opening of a country music division on Atlantic, he proceeded to offer him a contract that gave him more creative control than his deal with RCA.
The song was re released on his 1974 Atlantic Records album Phases And Stages. The album landed at #187 on the top 200 & #34 on the Country albums chart. It was a concept album & in its review, The Evening Sun mentioned that Phases and Stages was "being talked up as C&W's answer to Tommy and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". The reviewer added that it would "hopefully" attract listeners and "convince the people" to listen to Country music and to "discover the passion and intelligence, the perceptions and observations so abundant through it".
The single peaked at number 17 in Billboard's Country singles in 1974, later becoming an essential part of Willie's live performances repertoire, as we see in this video.
Bloody Mary Morning by Willie Nelson
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 24, 2024 17:23:18 GMT
Mary Lou Williams was a jazz pianist, arranger, and composer from Atlanta. She died in 1981 of bladder cancer at the age of 71. Her real name was Mary Elfrieda Scruggs.
She was known as "the first lady of the jazz keyboard" & was one of the first women to be successful in jazz.
She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records. She wrote and arranged for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and she was friend, mentor, and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie.
She was presented with an honorary degree from Fordham University in New York in 1973, & from Rockhurst College in Kansas City in 1980.
Since 1996, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. has an annual Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival.
This song was recorded in April 1930 & released as a single in 1931 with a “B” side called Drag Em. She wrote both songs.
Night Life by Mary Lou Williams
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 25, 2024 10:48:40 GMT
Don Gibson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973. In 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
He was nicknamed "The Sad Poet" because his lyrics often told of loneliness and lost love.
This song was included on Oh Lonesome Me. It was his 2nd studio album & was released released in 1958. The album didn’t chart but it was rated No. 1 on Billboard magazine's "Favorite C&W Albums" based on the magazine's annual poll of country and western disc jockeys.
The title song was the 1st single released & it hit #7 on the Hot 100 & became his 1st #1 hit single on the Country Charts. The “B” side was called I Can’t Stop Loving You & that side charted at #7 on country & #81 on pop.
The song linked to here was the 3rd single & his 2nd #1 Country hit & his 2nd top 40 pop hit landing at #20. Don wrote all 3 of those songs & they have all been covered by many other artists over the years. Most famously was Neil Young doing Oh Lonesome Me on his After The Gold Rush album.
Blue Blue Day by Don Gibson
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 25, 2024 17:28:46 GMT
Jimmy Forest was a jazz musician, saxophone player from Saint Louis. He died in August 1980, aged 60, from heart failure.
He was one of 3 co – writers of this song along with Oscar Washington & Lewis Simpkins. It has been recorded numerous times over the years by such varied artists as Louis Prima & Paul Revere & The Raiders, James Brown & Maynard Ferguson.
This version is the first recording of the song. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart in March 1952, and stayed at the top for seven weeks. There are lyrics to the song, but most versions are instrumentals.
Night Train by Jimmy Forest
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 26, 2024 11:05:41 GMT
Cassandra Wilson is a jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is still with us & will turn 69 next December.
She was the DownBeat Jazz Vocalist of the year from 1994-1996. She won a Grammy in 1997: for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, New Moon Daughter & another in 2009 for Best Jazz Vocal Album, Loverly. In 2001 Time Magazine named her Americas’ Best Singer. In 2020 she was presented with an Honorary doctorate in Music from Berklee College of Music.
This was the title song to her 1993 album. The album landed at #10 on the Jazz Albums charts. She explained that the album's name refers to a certain time of night. "At a party you have a blue light to have a certain vibe. The title refers to that light, that blue, giving way to the dawn. It's after after hours, the predawn twilight".
She wrote 3 songs on the album, the one linked to here being one of them, but she covered songs as diverse as Robert Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen", Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow", The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville", Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry".
Blue Light Til Dawn by Cassandra Wilson
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 26, 2024 17:21:32 GMT
The Move was a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s that evolved from several mid-1960s Birmingham-based groups, including Carl Wayne & the Vikings, the Nightriders and the Mayfair Set. Their name referred to the move various members of those bands made to form the group.
Besides group leader & main songwriter Roy Wood, the Move's original five-piece line-up in 1965 was drummer Bev Bevan, bassist Ace Kefford, vocalist Carl Wayne and guitarist Trevor Burton. By 1972, the Move had been reduced to a trio consisting of Wood, Bevan and Jeff Lynne, formerly of the Idle Race. The band's later years saw this lineup develop a side project called Electric Light Orchestra, which would go on to achieve major international success after the Move's disbandment.
Between 1968 & 1971 they released 4 studio albums & had multiple top 10 hit singles in the UK, but never broke through here in the states.This song comes from their 4th & final album. It was called Message From The Country & was released in 1971. By this time Jeff Lynne had taken over a lot of the songwriting & the album was recorded & released to fulfill a contractual obligation.
The members had lost interest in the band & the album was recorded simultaneously with the first Electric Light Orchestra album. During the sessions, they recorded "10538 Overture," a Jeff Lynne composition that was originally intended to be a Move B-side. Wood and Lynne decided the song was better suited to The Electric Light Orchestra. The song "Do Ya," recorded in these sessions and released by The Move as the B-side to "California Man," also later became a hit single for ELO from their 1976 album A New World Record.
Despite all of that, in 2010, Rhapsody called it one of the best "longhaired" power pop albums of the 1970s.
No Time by The Move
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 27, 2024 10:58:35 GMT
Curtis Mayfield was a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer from Chicago. He died from complications of type 2 diabetes on December 26, 1999, he was 57.
In what has to be one of the strangest on stage happenings ever, he was paralyzed from the neck down when lighting equipment fell on him during a performance at Wingate Field in Brooklyn on August 13, 1990.
In 1991 Curtis & the Impressions were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1999 he was inducted as a solo artist. Also in 1999 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame just prior to his death. And in 2003 as a member of the Impressions, he was posthumously inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
He got his start when he met Jerry Butler in 1956 at the age of 14, and joined The Impressions. As a songwriter, he became noted as one of the first musicians to bring more prevalent themes of social awareness into soul music. In 1965, he wrote "People Get Ready" for The Impressions, which was ranked at no. 24 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song received numerous other awards; it was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll", and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Also inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame was his Soundtrack album Superfly in 1998 & his single Move On Up in 2019.
This song comes from There's No Place Like America Today. It was his 7th solo album & was released in 1975. The album landed at #120 on the Top 200 & #13 on the R&B albums chart. It was featured in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2013, NME placed it at number 373 on the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.
Blue Monday People by Curtis Mayfield
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 27, 2024 17:22:47 GMT
Frank Sinatra had his 1st charting single back in 1939 as the lead vocalist for The Harry James Orchestra on the song It’s Funny To Everyone But Me. He then took over as the lead vocalist for Tommy Dorsey in 1940, before experiencing his 1st solo hit in 1942 with Night & Day.
Now we jump ahead to August, 1965 & the album September Of My Year. It is a concept album exploring the "who am I" questions and perspectives that someone, particularly a man, faces upon entering middle age. Frank would turn 50 in December.
It was the 1st of 3 albums he released that year & it landed at #5 & has been certified Gold. The orchestral arrangements are by Gordon Jenkins, it was their 5th album together, but the 1st since 1962.
The album won the Grammy for Album Of The Year beating out Help by The Beatles, My Name Is Barbra from Ms. Streisand & The Soundtrack to The Sound Of Music.
The album also included the single "It Was a Very Good Year" which won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male, at the Grammy Awards of 1966. Gordon Jenkins was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for the song.
In 2000 it was voted number #190 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
This song was written by Charles Strouse, with lyrics by Lee Adams for the 1962 musical All American. In the musical, the song was performed by Ray Bolger and Eileen Herlie, and their version appears on the Broadway Cast recording.
Once Upon A Time by Frank Sinatra
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 28, 2024 11:05:30 GMT
Foreigner is a British-American rock band formed in New York City in 1976 by guitarist Mick Jones, vocalist Lou Gramm, drummer Dennis Elliott, keyboardist Al Greenwood, bassist Ed Gagliardi and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald. They have been continually active with the exception of a 1 year hiatus in 2003-2004.
Mick Jones is the only original member still involved, but even he is absent off & on. Earlier this year he announced that Parkinson's was the illness that has caused him either to skip performances or limit the amount of songs he plays on during concerts he participated in, depending on the specific tour or concert.
During their career they have released 9 studio albums, 7 live albums, 20 compilation albums, and 47 singles. This song was included on Double Vision, it was their 2nd album & was released in 1978. The album charted at #3 & has been certified as 7 X Platinum.
All of the original members played on the album but it was their last with bass guitarist Ed Gagliardi who would be later replaced by Rick Wills.
The lead single was "Hot Blooded," which reached #3, it was followed by "Double Vision," which charted at number 2 & the third and final single, was the song linked to here which landed at #15.
Blue Morning Blue Day by Foreigner
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 28, 2024 17:14:59 GMT
Joe Jackson is an English musician, singer and songwriter from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. He will turn 70 next month.
In 1978, a record producer heard his demo tape and signed him to A&M Records. The next year the newly formed Joe Jackson Band released their debut album Look Sharp! The band consisted of Jackson, Gary Sanford on guitar, Graham Maby on bass, and David Houghton on drums. And that was the album that included this song. The album came in at #20 & is certified Gold.
They released 4 singles from the album, none of them charted here in the states until they re - released Is She Really Goin Out With Him in 1979 & then it got to #21. The song linked to here was the 3rd release.
One More Time by Joe Jackson
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 29, 2024 11:03:20 GMT
Earl Hines was a jazz pianist and bandleader from Duquesne, Pennsylvania. He died of a heart attack in 1983 at the age of 79.
He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano.
The trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie (a member of Hines's big band, along with Charlie Parker) wrote: The piano is the basis of modern harmony. This little guy came out of Chicago, Earl Hines. He changed the style of the piano. You can find the roots of Bud Powell, Herbie Hancock, all the guys who came after that. If it hadn't been for Earl Hines blazing the path for the next generation to come, it's no telling where or how they would be playing now. There were individual variations but the style of … the modern piano came from Earl Hines.
Earl talks about meeting Louis Armstrong: Louis looked at me so peculiar. So I said, "Am I making the wrong chords?" And he said, "No, but your style is like mine". So I said, "Well, I wanted to play trumpet but it used to hurt me behind my ears so I played on the piano what I wanted to play on the trumpet". And he said, "No, no, that's my style, that's what I like."
His recording catalog goes on & on, both as a solo artist & with others. This song was released in 1929 as the “B” side to a song called Grand Piano Blues.
Blue Nights by Earl Hines
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 29, 2024 17:38:34 GMT
This song was included on Bob Dylan's 3rd studio album. It was called The Times They Are A Changing & was released in 1964. The album landed at #20 & has been certified Gold.
It was his 1st album to include only original compositions. The album consists mostly of ballads concerning issues such as racism, poverty, and social change.
The title track was released as a single only in the UK where it landed at #9, but it went on to become one of his most famous songs ever, it was ranked number 59 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The song linked to here is an acoustic version with Bob finger picking but he has also performed it in electric arrangements -- notably during his 1966 world tour and in 1976 during his second Rolling Thunder Revue tour. His May 17, 1966 live performance of the song, recorded at Manchester Free Trade Hall, was featured on The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert (1998), while a "Rolling Thunder" version was featured on the live album Hard Rain (1976).
In 2020, he released a version from a 1970 recording session with George Harrison on the limited edition issue, 50th Anniversary Collection.
The song has been covered many times. Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, The Chemical Brothers, Bobby Sherman & even Burl Ives have done versions. The Band covered the song for the 1999 album Tangled Up in Blues, It was their final recording.
One Too Many Mornings by Bob Dylan
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 30, 2024 11:04:34 GMT
Died Pretty was an Australian alternative rock band founded by mainstays Ron Peno (lead singer) and Brett Myers (lead guitarist and backing vocalist) in Sydney in 1983. They seem to have had multiple breakups & reformations & are now broken up again since 2023.
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognizes excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. The band has been nominated multiple times, but have yet to win.
During their career they have released 8 studio albums with the most recent one coming in 2000. This song was the lead track on their debut album from 1986 called Free Dirt. The album charted no where other than Australia & even there it was way down at #185. This song was the 2nd & final single released but neither song charted, even in Australia.
But it did garner some stellar reviews including this:
Trouser Press wrote: "The highly recommended album — which contains glimmers of the ’60s, Dylan, Gram Parsons, folk-rock and neo-psychedelic — uses guest contributions of mandolin, violin, pedal steel and sax to magnify the band’s own essential variety."
Blue Sky Day by Died Pretty
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 30, 2024 19:33:05 GMT
The Platters began their career in 1952 & there is an iteration of the group out there still touring. They had their 1st charting single in July 1955 & their final one in October 1967. The song linked to here hit #36 for them in August 1960.
Due to the longevity of the group, they have had a lot of members with none of the current members being there at the beginning. At the time of this recording the group consisted of: Sonny Turner Lead singer, Herb Reed, Paul Robi, Zola Taylor, David Lynch, & Barbara Randolph.
This song was first published in 1935. The music was written by Hugh Williams with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy. The song was inspired by the "red sails" of Kitty of Coleraine, a yacht Kennedy often saw off the northern coast of Northern Ireland and by his adopted town Portstewart, a seaside resort in County Londonderry.
It is a very popular song having been covered multiple times. In 1935 alone the song was recorded by Bing Crosby, Guy Lombardo, Mantovani, Jack Jackson, Al Bowlly with Ray Noble and his Orchestra, Leslie Hutchinson, Anona Winn, Red Allen, Vera Lynn, & Tony Martin. Louis Armstrong had a hit with it the following year.
Even The Beatles got in on the action. Their version was included on Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962. It is a double album featuring live performances recorded in late December 1962 at the Star-Club during their final Hamburg residency. The album was finally released in 1977 in two different versions.
Red Sails In The Sunset by The Platters
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 31, 2024 11:04:57 GMT
Morrison Hotel is the 5th studio album by the Doors. It was released on February 9, 1970. The album was their return to blues rock after The Soft Parade album included brass & string arrangements. The album hit #4 & has been certified Platinum.
Their back-to-basics approach was in opposition to the protracted sessions for The Soft Parade, which took nine months to record and cost $86,000 (equal to $714,534 today), far more expensive than any previous Doors record. The album was not well received & the band faced a lot of criticism for it.
Morrison Hotel had no major hit singles but it features some of the band's most popular songs, including "Roadhouse Blues", "Waiting For The Sun", and "Peace Frog", which would go on to become staples of classic rock radio. Roadhouse Blues includes bass player Lonnie Mack & a guy on harmonica named G. Puglese, which was a pseudonym for John Sebastian of The Lovin Spoonful. He used the name to avoid a contract dispute with his label.
The photo on the cover is the Morrison Hotel on South Hope Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The band was not given permission to take the photograph, so they did it while the clerk was called away from the desk.
Blue Sunday by The Doors
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Post by razorbacker on Jul 31, 2024 17:28:21 GMT
Hampton Hawes was a self-taught piano player. By his early teens he was playing with the leading jazz musicians on the West Coast, including Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Art Pepper, Shorty Rogers, and Teddy Edwards. His second professional job, at 18, was playing for eight months with the Howard McGhee Quintet at the Hi De Ho Club, in a group that included Charlie Parker.
Hampton struggled for many years with a heroin addiction, in 1958 he became the target of a federal undercover operation in Los Angeles. Investigators believed that he would inform on suppliers rather than risk ruining a successful music career. He was arrested on heroin charges on his 30th birthday and was sentenced to ten years in prison.
In 1961, while at a federal prison hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, he was watching President Kennedy's inaugural speech on television, and became convinced that Kennedy would pardon him. With help from inside and outside the prison, he submitted an official request for a presidential pardon. In August 1963, Kennedy granted Hawes Executive Clemency, the 42nd of only 43 such pardons given in the final year of Kennedy's presidency.
He recorded this song on January 25th, 1956, & it was released on an album called This Is Hampton Hawes Vol. 2. The Trio. The other members of the trio were Red Mitchell on bass & Chuck Thompson on drums.
The song was written by Thelonious Monk & was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1993.
Round Midnight by Hampton Hawes
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Post by razorbacker on Aug 1, 2024 11:16:14 GMT
Billy Vaughn was a musician, singer, multi-instrumentalist, orchestra leader, and A&R man for Dot Records. He was from Glasgow, Kentucky. He died of peritoneal mesothelioma on September 26, 1991, aged 72. His real name was Richard Smith Vaughn.
In 1941, he joined the National Guard for what had been planned as a one-year assignment, but when World War II broke out, he was in for the duration as a valued musician and composer at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Major General Daniel I. Sultan decided that Billy was too valuable to the base's Thirty-Eighth Division big band, and kept him at Camp Shelby for the duration of the war.
The Billy Vaughn Orchestra began touring in 1965 with numerous sell-out tours throughout Japan, Brazil, and South Korea. The orchestra is now managed by his son, Richard Smith Vaughn Jr., & is still a touring big band. Produced by the Tate Corporation, Japan, it toured Japan in 2013, 2014, and again in 2018 to sell-out audiences.
During his career he charted a total of 42 singles & charted 36 albums. Their sound was often based on two alto saxophones and guitar as his 'trademark'. Billy played the lead guitar on most of his songs.
This song was included on his 1962 album called Berlin Melody. The album landed at #20. This song was released in 1961 & hit #84.
Blue Tomorrow by Billy Vaughn
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Post by razorbacker on Aug 1, 2024 17:29:08 GMT
The Blue Nile was a Scottish band which originated in Glasgow in 1981. They appear to have disbanded since the release of their 4th album, High, in 2004, although there has never been any official confirmation.
Paul Buchanan and his childhood friend Robert Bell grew up together in Glasgow. They both attended the University of Glasgow in the late 1970s, Buchanan earned a degree in literature and medieval history, Bell a degree in mathematics.
Following early championing by established artists such as Rickie Lee Jones and Peter Gabriel, the band gained critical acclaim, particularly for their first two albums A Walk Across the Rooftops and Hats, and some commercial success in both the UK and the US, which led to them working with a wide range of musicians from the late 1980s on.
The group members have also gained a reputation for their avoidance of publicity, their idiosyncratic dealings with the recording industry and their perfectionism and slow work rate, which has resulted in the release of just four albums since 1981. This song comes from the 2nd of those 4 albums. It was called Hats & was released in 1989.
The album hit #108 on the top 200 in the US & the only single that landed here was a #10 hit on the Alternative Chart called The Downtown Lights. The album got stellar reviews all across the board. They toured the US in support of the album when Rickie Lee Jones picked them specifically to open up for her.
This song was released as a single & hit #50 in the UK. Saturday Night by The Blue Nile
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Post by razorbacker on Aug 2, 2024 11:12:40 GMT
Connie Francis is a pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist from Newark, New Jersey. Connie is still with us & turned 86 last December. Her real name is Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero.
In 1960, she was recognized as the most successful female artist in Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Australia, and in every other country where records were purchased. She was the first woman in history to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and she was, at one time, the worlds best-selling female vocalist in history.
She had her 1st smash hit in 1957 when Who’s Sorry Now? landed at #4. In 2001, "Who's Sorry Now?" was named one of the Songs of the Century.
She charted in the Top 40 for the final time in 1964 with Be Anything. It was the single following the one which is linked to here. So, we are coming in at the end of her major chart successes.
This song hit #24 for her in 1964, but also landed at #7 on the Adult Contemporary Charts.
The song was co – written by a guy named Ben Raleigh. He wrote a lot of hit singles for many artists over the years & he also wrote the theme song for Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! with David Mook. Hanna-Barbera attempted to buy him out, but he declined and chose to take a royalty instead. I reckon that was a pretty lucrative decision.
Blue Winter by Connie Francis
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Post by razorbacker on Aug 2, 2024 17:20:57 GMT
Ray Conniff was a bandleader and arranger from Attleboro, Massachusetts. He died October 12, 2002, after falling and hitting his head on a sink, he was a couple of weeks away from turning 86.
After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II he joined the Artie Shaw big band and wrote many arrangements for him. After his stint with Shaw, he was hired in 1954 by Mitch Miller, head of A&R at Columbia Records, as the label's home arranger, working with several artists including Rosemary Clooney, Marty Robbins, Frankie Laine, Johnny Mathis, Guy Mitchell and Johnnie Ray.
He sold about 70 million albums worldwide, and continued recording and performing until his death in 2002. He was one of the most successful easy listening artists on the Billboard magazine album chart, placing 30 albums on the Billboard Hot 200 charts. The Ray Conniff Singers went on to record over 90 albums.
This song was included on his 1956 debut album called S’Wonderful. The album was released in Mono & produced by Mitch Miller. This was 1 of 4 songs for the album that were recorded on June 15, 1956.
The song was composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson. It was introduced by Walter Huston in the 1938 Broadway musical production Knickerbocker Holiday. It has been recorded by a lot of people including Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac on his debut solo album & Jeff Lynne of ELO on his debut solo album. Must be a great song for debut albums.
September Song by Ray Conniff
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