Category: Music

The boys are old now, but they still sound great. Live studio version. Brian Wilson and Al Jardine. 

Michael Bloomfield, Easy Rider, 53 seconds. Or do you know of anything shorter?

UPDATE (8/5). London Ed knows of something shorter:

Depends what US meaning of ‘cut’ is, I am reading it as ‘track’. Contender for shortest track is "A Concise British Alphabet – Pt. 1" at 10 seconds by British 1960s psychedelic band The Soft Machine, from their second album. They were named of course from the eponymous book by William Burroughs, an old mate of Kerouac, as I am sure you know.

Yes, cut = track. And yes, I knew whence the band acquired its name.

The British pronounce ‘z’ as ‘zed’ which clearly confused the YouTube commenters.

Right. So if you want to show that you are in the know, pronounce his name D. Zed Phillips and not D. Zee Phillips. Here is an interesting tidbit: Dale Tuggy Avoids D. Z. Phillips.

On your earlier point about millennials and Trotsky I tried this out on daughter and partner. True, they hadn’t heard of either Trotsky or Lenin, though they had heard of Stalin (‘obviously’). I explained about the complicated relationship between Trotsky and the Bolsheviks, not forgetting the ice pick incident. This means they don’t know about Trotskyism (‘the strategy of a revolutionary class to continue to pursue its class interests independently and without compromise, despite overtures for political alliances, and despite the political dominance of opposing sections of society’) or Marxist-Leninism.

I am surprised that your daughter and her partner hadn't heard of Lenin. When I ask people about Lenin they hear the name as 'Lennon.' Has your daughter heard of John Lennon?  It is hard to believe, but we are coming up on the 38th anniversary of his assassination — if that term is appropriately applied to a famous musician.  He was gunned down on the night of December 8, 1980 outside his digs in New York City.  A student of mine in those days was so distraught that she called me in the middle of the night to report the news.

You know the story. Mark David Chapman, having read J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, didn't much like phonies. Chapman decided that Lennon was a phony and so had to be shot.  Fame is vastly overrated and we who are obscure should take satisfaction in our status.

Trotskyism was pretty much the official doctrine of the UK Left in my day. Perhaps even now, given Corbyn’s call for the ‘complete rehabilitation’ of Leon Trotsky. And if you haven’t heard of Lenin, you probably haven’t heard of Marxist-Leninism. Thus the importance of history. On the other hand millennials are about 40 years younger than us. Trotksy was born 1879, so how much do we know of revolutionaries born 40 years before him, i.e. in 1839? Perhaps Georges Clemenceau who was active in the Paris Commune of 1870, but then most of us remember him not as a revolutionary but as a famous French Prime Minister.

But I do have to correct you on one point, dear Ed.  As I wrote in Trotsky's Misguided Faith,

Contrary to some accounts, it was not an ice pick that Ramon Mercader drove into Trotsky's skull, but a climber's ice axe. 

I am sure both are available for purchase in London town assuming your Muslim mayor hasn't banned them. You can find pictures on the Internet and see the difference.

UPDATE 2 (8/5). Ed Farrell sends us to Paul Geremia, Don't You Leave Me Here, which clocks in at 39 seconds, beating my Bloomfield selection by 14 seconds.

The problems associated with time are the toughest there are. I need a break from breaking my head against them.  I'm nursing a Jack and Coke and on the prowl for some 'timely' tunes.

Chad and Jeremy, Yesterday's Gone

New Christy Minstrels, Today

Beatles, Tomorrow Never Knows. "Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream . . . " This one goes out to Vlastimil V.

Bob Seger, Old Time Rock and Roll

Chicago, Does Anybody Know What Time it is?

Cyndi Lauper, Time After Time

Billie Holliday, As Time Goes By

Glen Campbell, By the Time I Get to Phoenix

Beatles, Any Time at All

Beatles, Things We Said Today

Allman Bros., Ain't Wastin' Time No More

Marty Robbins, Cryin' Time

Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a' Changin'

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slowest one now will later be fast
As the present now will later be past
The order is rapidly fading
The first one now will later be last
For the times they are a'changin'.

If this anthem's Biblical lines  move you then you were not only in the 'sixties, but of the 'sixties.

I've loved the great Don Gibson crossover number all my life ever since first hearing it in 1960 over one of the Southern California pop stations, probably KFWB 980 on the AM band. 

Here is a very creditable live cover by one Joe Brown which I have just now heard for the first time. But nothing touches or ever will touch the original.

I'm a serious man, as serious as cancer some would say. But it's Saturday night, a night on which I allow myself a drink or two and some nostalgic indulgence.  Tonight, the unseriousness of nonsense titles and lyrics.

The Rivingtons, Papa Oom Mow Mow

The Trashmen, The Bird is the Word. It is not about Bird's Opening. A partial rip-off of the Rivingtons. Cultural appropriation?

Shirley Ellis, The Nitty Gritty 

Shirley Ellis, The Name Game, long version. You didn't know there was a long version? Another reason you need my blog.

The Crystals, Da Doo Ron Ron 

Captain Beefheart, Abba Zaba. I'd like to see a transcription of these lyrics. California's Mojave desert can do some strange things to your head.

Manfred Mann, Doo Wah Diddy Diddy

Arthur "Blind" Blake, Diddy Wah Diddy, 1929.  Very nice guitar work. "I wish someone would tell me what 'Diddy Wah Diddy' means."

Little Richard, Tutti Frutti

The Chips, Rubber Biscuit, 1956

Beatles, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da

Eric Clapton, Hootchie Kootchie Man. This one goes out to Ed Buckner.  Solo starts at 2:45. Cultural appropriation at its finest.

Mamas and Papas, Twelve Thirty

Benny Goodman, One O'Clock Jump

Lovin' Spoonful, Six O'Clock  

Thelonious Monk, Round Midnight

Rolling Stones, Midnight Gambler

The Vogues, Five O'Clock World

Blind Boy Fuller, Ten O'Clock Peeper

Eric Clapton and B. B. King, Three O'Clock Blues

Skip James, Four O'Clock Blues

Immigration without assimilation is a recipe for disaster. We're headed in that direction. And in Europe it is even worse. But in the meantime we enjoy some tunes from performers who ditched their Italian surnames, not so much from a desire to assimilate, or because of ethnic prejudice, but to make themselves more marketable.

But first one  who didn't part with his beautiful surname.  An early manager suggested to Frank Sinatra that he adopt the stage name 'Frankie Satin.'  Sinatra would have none of that bullshit.  He did things his way. You got a problem with that? That's Life.  That's what the people say. Flyin' high in April,  shot down in May.

Joseph Di Nicola (Joey Dee and the Starlighters), Peppermint Twist, with an intro by Dwight D. Eisenhower!  This video shows what the dude, Di Nicola not Eisenhower, looked like. He resembles a super short Joe Pesci.  What Kind of Love is This?

Margaret Battavio (Little Peggy March), I Will Follow Him. An early feminist anthem.

Frank Castelluccio (Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons), Can't Take My Eyes Off of You. Deer Hunter version.  Dawn. Walk Like a Man.  (Sing like a castrato.) 

Anthony Dominic Benedetto (Tony Bennett), The Way You Look Tonight

Alfred Arnold Cocozza (Mario Lanza), O Sole Mio.  Here is what Elvis made of the tune. Lanza ditched his Italian name for a different Italian name. Are there any other cases of this? (Of course, scroll up.) 'Lanza' rolls off the tongue; 'Cocozza' not so much.

'Long about the time King Creole came out, when I was eight, I mentioned Elvis Presley to my Italian mother. "That jackass!" she replied. The irony, however, is that she listened to crooners like Mario Lanza.

Francis Thomas Avallone (Frankie Avalon), Venus.

Fabiona Forte Bonaparte (Fabian), his songs are too schlocky even for my catholic tastes. Linkage denied!

Before Bobby Darin became Bobby Darin he rejoiced under the name, Walden Robert Cassotto.  Dream Lover.  18 Yellow Roses.  You're the Reason I'm Living.

Bobby Rydell started out Robert Ridarelli.  Forget him.  Volare. "Letsa fly . . . ." Wild One. We Got Love.

No, his name wasn't Dino Martino, it was Dino Paul Crocetti.  Schmaltzy as it is, That's Amore captures the Nagelian what-it's-like of being in love.  Houston.

Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero, better known as Connie Francis. My Darling Clementine. Never on Sunday.  I prefer the understated Melina Mercouri version.

Timoteo Aurro = Timi Yuro.  When I first heard her back in the day, I thought she was black.  What a voice!  What's the Matter, Baby?  Her signature number: Hurt.

Laura traded in 'Nigro' for 'Nyro.' Smart move.  Wedding Bell Blues.   And When I Die.  These go out to Monterey Tom, big L.N. fan.  Nyro died young in 1997 of ovarian cancer, 49 years of age.

Iris DeMent and Friends, Will the Circle be Unbroken? 

Iris DeMent and Emmy Lou Harris, Our Town. 

Nanci Griffith, Boots of Spanish Leather

John Prine, Hello in There. This great song goes out to Dave Burn who introduced me to it back in '71.

Remember Fred Neil?  One of the  luminaries of the '60s folk scene,  he didn't do much musically thereafter.  Neil is probably best remembered  for having penned 'Everybody's Talkin' which was made famous by Harry Nilsson as the theme of Midnight Cowboy.  Here is Neil's version. Nilsson's rendition.

Another of my Fred Neil favorites is "Other Side of  This Life."  Here is Peter, Paul, and Mary's version.

And it's been a long long time since I last enjoyed That's the Bag I'm In.

The reclusive Neil died in 2001 at the age of 64.  Biography here.

Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain

Leftover Cuties, Don't Think Twice, It's All Right. Unusual, but good.

Ry Cooder, Shrinking Man. Shrinkin' man ain't gonna be here long. 

Dionne Warwick, Walk On By

Leroy Van Dyke, Walk On By.  Same title, different song.

Patsy Cline, Walkin' After Midnight

Gus Cannon, Walk Right In, 1929.  Is that a kazoo I hear? Rooftop Singers' 1962 version.

Rufus Thomas, Walking the Dog, 1965

Ventures, Walk Don't Run. The boys are aging nicely.  A big hit back in 1960.

Everly Brothers, Walk Right Back

Four Seasons, Walk Like a Man. Sing like a castrato.  Walk or wop?

Johnny Cash, I Walk the Line

Ronnettes, Walkin' in the Rain

Left Banke, Walk Away Renee

Robert Johnson, Walkin' Blues.  

Jimmy Rogers, Walkin' By Myself.  Butterfield and Bloomfield with the latter's solo at 3:42 ff.

UPDATE (4/23)

James Soriano sends this:

You may have seen this, but there is sonic evidence of the voice of a  late 19th century castrato on YouTube.  Alessandro Moreschi (1858 –1922) sings the Bach/Gounod "Ave Maria" in a 1904 recording.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjvfqnD0ws

 

Whatever the circumstances of his castration, Moreschi was the soprano at St. John Lateran by the time he was 13 years old.  

I post what I like and I like what I post.

Elmore James, Dust My Broom

Doors, Crystal Ship

Clancy Bros., When the Ship Comes In.

Elvis Presley, Marie's the Name of His Latest Flame

Elvis Presley, Spanish Eyes

Bob Dylan, It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Take a Train to Cry, Cutting Edge take. 

Albert King, Crosscut Saw

Ray Charles, Busted.  Made the #4 slot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 1963.

Byrds, Chimes of Freedom.  One of Dylan's greatest anthems.

Buffy Sainte-Marie, Cod'ine

An equally powerful version by Janis Joplin

Hoyt Axton, The Pusher

Mississippi Sheiks, Sitting on Top of the World

Phil Upchurch Combo, You Can't Sit Down

Mose Allison, (I'm sittin' over here on) Parchman Farm

Mississippi Fred McDowell, I Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down

George Jones, I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair.  Clever lyrics.

Eric Clapton, Rocking Chair. The old Hoagy Carmichael tune from the '20s.

I've saved the best for last, The Band, Rockin' Chair.  Lyrics included. Read 'em.

UPDATE (4/8)

Drawing upon his vast store of musical erudition, London Ed writes:

I enjoyed your Saturday night special as always. (Except for Eric Clapton, but I forgive you). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lH6FgtG8Ck Muskrat Ramble by Benny Goodman and his Boys 1929.

My question to you is whether the chorus beginning at 0:17 sounds familiar. It should be. 

Benny Goodman’s boys formed the nucleus for a number of musicians who become famous as Dixieland jazz developed into swing in the 1930s. These included Glenn Miller, though not featured here, Goodman himself, Jimmy Dorsey and (I think) Tommy Dorsey. The less known Wingy Manone was also one of them. He composed Tar Paper Stomp which later transmogrified into the famous but much derided In the Mood.

They also played with Miff Mole in the wonderfully titled ‘Miff Mole and his little Molers’.

Well, as the Preacher saith in Ecclesiastes 1:9 (KJV):

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

The Tar Paper Stomp begat In the Mood, and, to answer Ed's question, the chorus beginning at 0:17 of "Muskrat Ramble" begat Country Joe and Fish's I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag from 1965.

Well, it's one, two, three
What are we fightin' for?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn
Next stop is Viet Nam.

Why Clapton rather than Carmichael? Because I like Clapton, and to irritate Ed who, for some reason, has a 'thing' against his countryman.

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Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's . . .

Have you stateside readers settled accounts with the Infernal Revenue Service?  If yes, order up one scotch, one bourbon, and one beer and enjoy this live version of Taxman  featuring Harrison and Clapton.  Stevie Ray Vaughan's blistering version. 

. . . and render unto God the things that are God's.

Herewith, five definite decouplings of rock and roll from sex and drugs.

Norman Greenbaum, Spirit in the Sky

Johnny Cash, Personal Jesus. This is one powerful song.

Clapton and Winwood, Presence of the Lord. Why is Clapton such a great guitarist? Not because of his technical virtuosity, his 'chops,' but because he has something to say.

George Harrison, My Sweet Lord

George Harrison, All Things Must Pass. Harrison was the Beatle with depth.  Lennon was the radical, McCartney the romantic, and Ringo the regular guy.

Good YouTuber comment: "Immortal song, even if all things must pass . . . " 

Easter Sunday happens to coincide with April Fool's Day this year. 

So for your further auditory amusement here are some tunes in celebration or bemoanment of human folly the chief instance of which is romantic love.  Who has never been played for a fool by a charming member of the opposite sex?  Old age is the sovereign cure for romantic folly and I sincerely recommend it to the young and foolish.  Take care to get there.

Elvis Presley, A Fool Such as I

Ricky Nelson, Poor Little Fool.  Those "carefree devil eyes" will do it every time.  

Brenda Lee, Fool #1

The Shirelles, Foolish Little Girl

Ricky Nelson, Fools Rush In.  "Fools rush in/Where wise men never go/But wise men never fall in love/So how are they to know?" 

Sam Cooke, Fool's Paradise. Sage advice.  

Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Fool