April 2016 - Page 5 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

12 albums

I associate Led Zeppelin I with a bicycle accident,

Here’s an ill person’s guide to blogging. You get some Facebook and blogging buddy to write, on the former platform:

Rules: Copy this and paste in your status update, list 12 albums that have stayed with you, but only 1 per band/artist. Don’t take too long and don’t think too hard… No compilations.

Well, the not thinking part was easy. Links to all songs listed.

1. Revolver – The Beatles. This will always be on the list. Unless it’s Rubber Soul. Many specific memories growing up with this album.
Representative song: For No One; this version is by Paul McCartney

2. Pet Sounds – Beach Boys. Whereas this will ALWAYS be on the list, period. The movie Love and Mercy has only enhanced my appreciation.
Representative song: You Still Believe in Me

3. Sticky Fingers – Rolling Stones. I always bounce between this album and Aftermath, the first Rolling Stones LP I think of as an album as opposed to hits and filler.
Representative song: Sway

4. Sweet Baby James – James Taylor. Lived in every dorm room in the early ’70s.
Representative song: Lo and Behold

5. Court and Spark – Joni Mitchell. Inextricably tied to a short-lived romance.
Representative song: Free Man in Paris

6. Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland. I LOVED the cover, as well as the music therein.
Representative song: Remove This Doubt

7. Puzzle People – Temptations. Barely beat out The Temptations with a Lot o’ Soul. This is part of the wah-wah sound of the group, as David Ruffin left and Dennis Edwards joined an album earlier.
Representative song: Don’t Let The Joneses Get You Down

8. Still Crazy After All These Years – Paul Simon. Inextricably tied to the Okie in my mind. If I ever got it together to pick my favorite albums of the 1970s, this would be in the top five.
Representative song: I Do It for Your Love

9. We Shall Overcome – Pete Seeger. I wrote extensively about this album here.
Representative song: Tshotsholosa (Road Song)

10. Talking Book – Stevie Wonder. He had a series of great albums this year (1972), and the next, and the next, and two years after that.
Representative song: I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)

11. The Band (2nd album, brown cover). Like much of my early music, I was turned onto this album by good friend Karen.
Representative song: King Harvest (Has Surely Come)

12. Led Zeppelin (1st album). Oddly enough, I associate this with a bicycle accident, which I wrote about here.
Representative track: How Many More Times

I didn’t even get past 1975.

Advisory: Presidential Candidates Visiting Albany

Parking Restrictions: Monday, April 11, 2016 from 8:00 a.m. to Midnight

Here’s an email I got a couple days ago, but failed to post:

The Albany Police Department has learned that three presidential candidates will be coming to the City of Albany next week [TODAY, on the same day!]

On Monday, April 11, 2016, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and businessman Donald Trump are all planning on holding events.

Governor Kasich is scheduled to be at the Fort Orange Club, 110 Washington Avenue from 12:00 p.m. to approximately 2:00 p.m. for a private event.

Senator Sanders will be holding a rally at the Washington Avenue Armory located at the corner of Lark Street and Washington Avenue. Doors will open at 11:00 a.m. and Senator Sanders is scheduled to speak at 2:00 p.m. The event will conclude at approximately 3:30 p.m.

[The University Club is only a couple blocks from the Armory.]

Donald Trump will be holding a rally at The Times Union Center, 51 South Pearl Street. Doors will open at 4:00 p.m. and Trump is scheduled to speak at 7:00 p.m. The event will conclude at approximately 9:00 p.m.

[This is a handful of blocks away from the Fort Orange Club, and a couple block s from where I work.]

For full details, view this message on the web.

“If it bleeds, it leads”

A couple of teenaged girls got into a fight in Georgia. A bunch of other kids got involved, and a boy ended up dying from being stabbed in the neck.

Watching the morning news, I get to see the poor young man running while holding his neck, his hands red from his own blood. I wondered for a moment why I was seeing this. I mean, I know the old news adage, “If it bleeds, it leads.” But I didn’t think it meant on my TV screen.

Then I remembered: because it’s available via someone’s cellphone camera. If CBS News wasn’t showing it, someone else surely was.

Still, I’m distressed having seen the various deaths of people, in these instances at the hands of police officers: the choking death of Eric Gardner in Staten Island and the shooting death of Walter Scott. Also, the shooting death of Laquan McDonald was provided from police dash-cam, after being suppressed for over a year.

Have we become inured to the deaths of real people when they’re shown on television these days? I’m pleased to note that I’m still horrified. The line of what’s appropriate to be broadcast on network and cable news has obviously shifted. Obviously, I am woefully behind the times.

On The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore in late March 2016, one of the correspondents, Ricky Velez, suggested that old-line media we don’t need anymore because it’s too slow. “They need three sources to verify a story.” No wonder TMZ breaks so many stories, often correctly, but sometimes not. A guest on that episode of the Wilmore show, an Internet celebrity I had never heard of, said she checks Twitter first for her news.

I think there’s still a place for “conventional” news where the news isn’t determined by what’s “trending,” but what is important to know. I’m not sure how much cinema verite is required, though.

Image from here

Music Throwback Saturday: the Ruffin brothers

David Ruffin and Motown sued each other, the settlement of which meant Ruffin stayed with Motown to finish out his initial contract.

The Ruffin brothers show up on a collection called Motown 20 Hard-to-Find Classics. One of them also appeared on records that were quite easy to find.

Jimmy and David Ruffin were born in rural Mississippi, to Eli, a sharecropper/factor worker/miner/Baptist minister, depending on the source, and Ophelia Ruffin. “As children, the brothers began singing with a gospel group, the Dixie Nightingales.”

Jimmy Ruffin (born Jimmie Lee Ruffin) (May 7, 1936 – November 17, 2014) became a singer for Motown in 1961, but soon was drafted into the Army. He returned to the label, but had difficulty getting a hit.

“In 1966, he heard a song about unrequited love written for The Spinners, and persuaded the writers that he should record it himself. His recording of ‘What Becomes of the Brokenhearted’ became a major success,” and remains his best-known song. Follow-ups in the US were successful, with “I’ve Passed This Way Before” and “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got” reaching the US charts in late 1966 and early 1967. He also teamed up with brother David to record the album I Am My Brother’s Keeper, a modestly successful 1970 album for Motown.

“Jimmy Ruffin concentrated on the British market, had three UK top ten songs, and “he was voted the world’s top singer in one British poll.” He had later success working with the likes of Robin Gibb and Paul Weller.

Davis Eli “David” Ruffin (January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) grew up in the music business. He met future Motown founder Berry Gordy in 1957, and for a time, packed records for Gordy’s Anna Records with Marvin Gaye. Eventually, he started recording at the label with a group called the Voice Masters, which included future Motown producer/songwriter Lamont Dozier, and the four members of The Originals.

“Ruffin became a member of the Temptations after founding member Elbridge ‘Al’ Bryant was fired from the group. Ruffin’s first recording session with the group was January 9, 1964. Though both David and Jimmy were considered, David was given the edge, thanks to his performance skills.”

Ruffin went from being a background singer, the lead singer after Smokey Robinson, the group’s primary producer/songwriter, created “My Girl”, which became the Temptations’ first #1 song in early 1965. “Ruffin’s most notable non-vocal contribution to the Temptations was the masterminding of their trademark four-headed microphone stand. This enabled the other members to sing and do their dances without having to crowd around one microphone while the lead singer would sing into a separate microphone.”

By 1967, however, difficulties with Ruffin became an issue for the group. He became addicted to cocaine and began missing rehearsals and performances… After the Supremes had their name changed to Diana Ross & the Supremes in early 1967, Ruffin felt that he should become the focal point of the Temptations, just as Diana Ross was for her group, and began demanding that the group name be changed to David Ruffin & the Temptations. This led to a number of disagreements between Ruffin and the group’s de facto leader, Otis Williams.

In addition to the group’s problems with Ruffin’s ego, he began inquiring into the Temptations’ financial records, demanding an accounting of the group’s money. This caused friction between Ruffin and Gordy.

He was fired on June 27, 1968 when he missed a show to watch his girlfriend perform, and was “replaced with Dennis Edwards, a former member of The Contours.” But then, “Ruffin began turning up unannounced at Temptations concerts during Edwards’ first few dates with the group,” which the audience loved but the group did not.

Ruffin and Motown sued each other, the settlement of which meant Ruffin stayed with Motown to finish out his initial contract. “Ruffin joined Motown as a solo artist and always had a separate contract from the other Temptations, which some felt caused a lot of the in-fighting within the group.”

His first solo single was a song originally intended for the Temptations, “My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)”. The single (from the album also entitled My Whole World Ended) was released in 1969. His final Top Ten hit was 1975’s “Walk Away from Love”, produced by Van McCoy. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in February 1976.

As I have mentioned, in 1982, Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks re-joined the Temptations for the recording of their album Reunion and toured to promote the album. I saw them perform at the Colonie Coliseum near Albany. My recollection is that it was one of the greatest pop musical performances I’ve ever seen.

Apparently, I caught them on a good day, because the reunion tour was short lived, “as Ruffin started to miss shows as a result of his cocaine addiction, leading the group to be fined thousands of dollars. Otis Williams fired Ruffin from the group for the second and final time (along with Kendricks, whose voice was weakened due to heavy smoking) by Christmas 1982.”

David Ruffin would die from that cocaine addiction, and his brother Jimmy would become an anti-drug advocate.

Links

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted — Jimmy Ruffin. Background vocals by the Originals and the Andantes 3:03. #7 Hot 100, #6 on the R&B Chart in 1966. It also initially reached #10 in the UK singles chart, rising to #4 when it was reissued in the UK in 1974. Listen HERE or HERE.
I’ve Passed This Way Before — Jimmy Ruffin. #17 pop, #10 soul in 1967. Listen HERE or HERE.

Walk Away From Love — David Ruffin. #1 US R&B, #9 pop in early 1976. Listen HERE. Extended version HERE or HERE.
My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me) — David Ruffin. #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. Listen HERE or HERE.

April snow

Lion King

The first time I wore boots in the winter of 2015-2016: April 5, 2016.
The first time I SHOULD have worn boots in that period: April 4, 2016, which ended up generating four inches, about 10 cm. I should have worn them mostly because people seem to have forgotten how to shovel snow. This includes, BTW, the building I work in. With temperatures hitting 70F (21C) in the past couple of weeks, temperatures in the 20s F (just below zero C) are a shock to some.

But it was a non-event winter here, so I’m not complaining about a little April snow. It has snowed in Albany in April before, in 1982 and 2000, two times I specifically recalled. It snowed on May 18, 2002, the year The Wife graduated from grad school, and they had to bring the ceremony inside.

Invasion of the vote seekers

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, center, stands with Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., after speaking at a rally at Cohoes High School on Monday, April 4, 2016, in Cohoes, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Uncharacteristically, New York State matters this year in both parties’ presidential primaries on April 19.

I managed to have gotten invited to see Hillary Clinton when she stopped in Albany County on April 4. I opted against it, in part because The Wife had been home with a sick child all day, and I wasn’t that feeling great myself, certainly not well enough to wait out in the cold to get into the event.

Also, I wasn’t planning on voting for her in the primary. Still, she’s a former First Lady, former Secretary of State, and twice elected U.S. Senator from my state, when I DID vote for her.

Later that evening, I tuned into the CBS Evening News, which I had recorded, and discovered WRGB Channel 6 had pre-empted it to show the intros by Tonko and Gillibrand, plus the first 13 minutes of HRC’s speech, then presumably cut away to a game show. I reckon the Time Warner news probably covered it more thoroughly.

Ted Cruz was in Scotia in nearby Schenectady County yesterday. John Kasich (rhymes with basic) and Bernie Sanders may be in the area soon as well.

Speaking of Bernie: I read about the Message Requests function on Facebook from Mark Evanier this week. Turns out I had five messages there. Four seemed spammy. The fifth, from February 9 asked me to promote a march for Bernie on February 27. I probably would have.

The cringeworthy Donald was looking for an Albany venue for a rally next week. I mentioned to my spouse that maybe I’d stop by, not to participate or to protest, but merely to observe. She, uncharacteristically, scowled, “Be careful. I MEAN it!”

Culcha

Last month, the family caught The Lion King at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady (near Albany) Maundy Thursday evening; there’s a story about the timing, but it involves someone else. The Wife and I had seen it before, maybe five years ago, but The Daughter had not.

Since then, she played young Nala at church, so we knew she’d enjoy the spectacle, and she did. She could sing along with several songs, notably Chow Down, which she never sang, but heard often as the hyenas practiced their threats to eat Simba and Nala.

Good Friday, our church choir performed Charles Gounod’s Seven Last Words, which was very moving. Even more so, Ah, Holy Jesus, an arrangement by Ferguson, featuring the viola.

I’ve been to the Massry Center at the College of Saint Rose twice in recent weeks, which is within walking distance of our house. Before Easter, I listened to the Mozart requiem, a piece of music I’ve sung thrice in my life and truly love.

This past Sunday, I attended the senior recital of Maria Rabbia, a CSR senior who has been singing at our church choir. There was a large First Presbyterian contingent in the audience.

She performed pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Prokofiev, and Chopin. Scanning the program beforehand, I wondered why she hadn’t put the Chopin before the Debussy, which would have put the music in both alphabetical and chronological order. But Chopin is a barn burner, and thus a more suitable ending.

Maria has been studying piano since she was five. the and organ – she played the postlude at church once, quite well – since she was 12. Mark my words: Maria Rabbia will be a notable musician someday.