birthday Archives - Page 28 of 49

Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees turns 70

“At one point in 1978, the Gibb brothers were responsible for writing and/or performing nine of the songs in the Billboard Hot 100.”

It must be strange being the oldest brother of a musical powerhouse family and be the only one of the men still alive. So is the case with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees.

Barry, his older sister Lesley (later Evans, b. 12 January 1945), his twin brothers Maurice and Robin (b. 22 December 1949) and baby brother Andrew (b. 5 March 1958) were born in the UK. Their father, Hugh Gibb was a drummer and bandleader who married Barbara (Pass); the parents were English.

In the late 1950s, the three older boys formed a band, the Rattlesnakes, just before the family emigrated to Australia, where the boys continued to perform, as Barry was writing songs.

The act continued to develop until they finally had a big hit with their 12th single, Spicks and Specks. They returned to the UK in January 1967, where producer Robert Stigwood began successfully promoting them to a worldwide audience. They had a string of hits.

Success and immaturity broke up the group for a time, but they had another brief spurt of success with Lonely Days.

By 1975, the trio started developing a new sound. With their participation on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, they began to reach their highest commercial impact. “In 1977, they became the first and only songwriters to place five songs in the Top Ten at the same time.”

They wrote not only their own music but songs of many others, including massive hits for little brother Andy. “At one point in 1978, the Gibb brothers were responsible for writing and/or performing nine of the songs in the Billboard Hot 100. In all, the Gibbs [had] 12 [songs] making the Top 40… At least 2,500 artists have recorded their songs.”

The Bee Gees worked through the 1980s, together and apart, with some hits. Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw: “Even long after the Bee Gees’ success on the pop charts, they were still writing songs for other people, huge hit songs. Their talent went far beyond their moment of normal pop success.”

But they were devastated by the death of little brother Andy (10 March 1988). The band continued working into the 1990s, despite Barry’s severe arthritis, and they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Maurice died suddenly, from an abdominal blockage, on 12 January 2003. Barry and Robin played sporadically together, until Robin died of pneumonia, triggered from liver cancer, on 20 May 2012, leaving Barry Gibb to keep the Bee Gees flame alive.

And sad news: Barbara Gibb, his mom, died in August 2016.

My 10 favorite Bee Gees songs (maybe)

12. Spicks and Specks (#5 in Australia in 1966) – this shows up on their first Greatest Hits LP, but NOT the CD version. The song was used as the title of an Australian TV show last decade
11. Words (#15 US in 1968)- writer likes words
10. You Should Be Dancing (#1 US in 1976)- yes, I had this lime green leisure suit…
9. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (#1 US for four weeks in 1971) – how indeed?
8. I Can’t See Nobody (B-side of Mining Disaster, #128 in US) – nice harmonies, bad grammar and all
7. New York Mining Disaster 1941 (#14 US in 1967 – the first international hit, and I’m fond of the story-song

6. I’ve Got To Get A Message To You (#8 US in 1968) terribly overdramatic, in a good way
5. To Love Somebody (#17 in 1967) – and the source material for some tremendous covers
4. World (UK, but not US, single, 1967) – I love how it’s soft, then becomes really raucous
3. Stayin’ Alive (#1 US for four weeks)- I went to the Tulip Festival this year, in Washington Park, Albany, and the woman at one of the booths asked what song one should be doing CPR to, and, of course, I knew. But obviously, I had failed The Daughter, who had never heard of the song.
2. Lonely Days (#3 US in 1971) – I always liked this because it keeps changing tempo; very Beatlesque. And there was this rumor that John Lennon sang on it, which proved to be untrue
1. Jive Talkin’ (#1 US for two weeks in 1975) – I LOVE the bass line of this song and the fact that it was the song that signaled the group’s resurgence

And for good measure:
If I Can’t Have You by Yvonne Elliman, #1 in 1978

Hi-yo, Silver!

She got very good at keeping her mouth closed around these miscreants.

Most of the time, the middle child and I got along famously well. But occasionally, she’d bug me unrelentingly when I just wanted to be left alone. Usually, catastrophe ensued.

One time, we were about 10 and 11, give or take a year. We were still in our pajamas. I was reading in our house, probably in the living room, and she was harassing me somehow, teasing and/or poking. After ignoring her several times, and giving my Marlene Dietrich plea, I finally gave chase.

At some point, I stepped onto the back of her bathrobe, and she fell straight down. I don’t recall that she hurt her arms or legs, but she chipped one of her front teeth.

She went to the dentist, and she had some sort of cap on the tooth that was quite noticeable because it was silver in color. And she had it for a couple of years, if I recall correctly.

Some of her classmates teased her mercilessly. “Hi-yo, Silver,” a few of the kids would say, which is what the Lone Ranger said to his horse when we watched it on TV. She got very good at keeping her mouth closed around these miscreants.

Eventually, the situation was remedied, and her tooth was back to its normal shade.

As I recall, I never got into trouble for this. I got spanked for stuff I ought not to have, as a child. But her well-known harassment of me, and my slowness to anger served me well in this situation.

What she did not recall, until I mentioned it only within the past two years, was that I was responsible for her chipped tooth. She had misremembered the incident and had attributed it to our baby sister, who was not involved.

My wife has admitted that she too harassed her late brother John when they were kids, and like me, he was not allowed to “hit a girl.”

Happy birthday to the middle child. No more Hi-yo, Silver! I shall NOT conclude this post with the last section of the William Tell Overture by Rossini.

Clarinet

I ordered a CD from Amazon that had two Mozart pieces.

Benny Goodman, 400 Restaurant, New York, NY., ca. July 1946

The Daughter played the clarinet for about two years. The added benefit was that The Wife took HER clarinet out of retirement – she had played in high school – and started practicing. They even played a brief duet at one of the family reunions.

Unfortunately, when the Daughter quit, her mother did as well. Still, she loves the instrument.

The Wife is a notoriously difficult person to buy presents for. There have been a few things that had been reliable choices for a time. A few Glee TV soundtracks early on. Her “K girls, Diana Krall and Alison Krauss, when they’d put out a new album. The six
seasons of Downton Abbey on DVD.

This year, uncharacteristically, she actually asked for a classical album featuring clarinetist Benny Goodman. I was unaware that he even played in a classical setting, hearing him entirely in the jazz genre.

Nevertheless, I ordered a CD from Amazon that had two Mozart pieces, Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A major, K. 622 and Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet in A major, K. 581, the former with the Boston Symphony, conducted by Charles Munch, the latter with its String Quartet.

It arrived at work the Friday before Mother’s Day. At church that evening, it was First Friday, and the Capital City String Quartet was playing pieces by Mozart and Brahms with a clarinetist. You can guess that the Mozart piece was the very same K. 581 that had just been delivered to me!

And the K. 622 The Wife had played in a performance in high school, which seems to have been her greatest musical accomplishment.

Happy birthday to my bride, who is turning…some age younger than mine. Hope I have figured what to get you THIS time. In honor of her natal day, listen to Mozart, Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A major K. 581.

VALTER VÍTEK: Clarinet, KUBIN QUARTET : L.CAP, J.NIEDERLE, P.VÍTEK, J.ZEDNÍČEK, Ostrava 1989

Nairi-Quartet: Soo-Young Lee (Clarinet), Narine Nanayan (1st violin), Zhanna Harutyunyan (2nd violin), Gohar Mkhitaryan (viola), Vladislav Kozin (cello)

Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A major K 622

Cleveland Orchestra. Clarinet: Robert Marcellus Conductor: George Szell

Linda Ronstadt is 70

Linda Ronstadt had to persuade her record company to include the song on the album.

The birthday of Linda Ronstadt is actually July 15.

As I’ve previously noted, Linda was the subject of one of the two times I was involved in a buycott involving a musician, the other being the Dixie Chicks. NOT a boycott, I tell my spellchecker, it is, in fact, “the opposite of a boycott: deliberately purchasing a company’s or a country’s products in support of their policies, or to counter a boycott.”

In 2004, she had been escorted from a Las Vegas casino “after she had dedicated a song to the filmmaker Michael Moore.” This sufficiently irritated me that I decided to purchase some Linda Ronstadt music. But what? I had most of her earlier albums on vinyl and many of her later collections on CD.

I decided to order her 1999 box set, which is a great collection. Disc 1 and about a third of Disc 2 are pop album cuts, not necessarily hits, from the most recent back to “Different Drum.” It was followed by selections from her three albums arranged by Nelson Riddle and songs from her two Spanish-language LPs. Disc 3 had duets and trios, and Disc 4 featured rarities. It’s a great collection, though it was sparse of cuts from Hasten Down the Wind, my favorite album of hers.

Of course, I am pleased that she has finally been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Someone put together a list of Top 10 Linda Ronstadt Songs, with links there.
10. ‘Heat Wave’ -From ‘Prisoner in Disguise’ (1975). #5 pop in 1975.
9. ‘Just One Look’ – From ‘Living in the U.S.A.’ (1978). #44 pop in 1979.
8 ‘That’ll Be The Day’ -From ‘Hasten Down the Wind’ (1976) . I used this song A LOT to describe what a triplet in music sounds like. One or two other songs on the album used the same device. #27 CW, #11 pop in 1976.
7. ‘Ooh Baby Baby’ -From ‘Living in the U.S.A.’ (1978). #85 CW in 1978, #7 pop in 1979.
6. ‘When Will I Be Loved’ – From ‘Heart Like a Wheel’ (1974). Written by Phil Everly and a hit for the Everly Brothers in 1960. #1 CW, #2 pop for two weeks in 1975.
5. ‘It’s So Easy’- From ‘Simple Dreams’ (1977). #81 CW, #5 pop in 1977.
4. ‘Poor Poor Pitiful Me’ From ‘Simple Dreams’ (1977) . I got really annoyed with the “purists” who complained that Linda didn’t sing it just as Warren Zevon wrote it, even (gasp) leaving out a verse. #46 CW, #1 pop in 1978.
3. ‘Hurt So Bad’ From ‘Mad Love’ (1980). #8 pop in 1980
2. ‘Blue Bayou’ From ‘Simple Dreams’ (1977). Baseball announcer Tim McCarver only mildly wrecked this great Roy Orbison cover for me by referring to a fastball as a “Linda Ronstadt – blew by you.” #2 CW for two weeks, #3 pop for four weeks in 1977.
1. ‘You’re No Good’ From ‘ Heart Like A Wheel’ (1974). #1 pop in 1975.

Listen to ICON: her discuss the songs on Linda Ronstadt’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 1.

Then I picked a couple of dozen OTHER Linda Ronstadt songs that I enjoy, with links below. The order, save for #1 is fairly soft, and I might have picked a different dozen or more on another day.

24. Willin’ from Heart Like A Wheel (1974). A great Little Feat song. On a comment to a previous Linda Ronstadt post, Dustbury noted why Ronstadt earned his respect early on. “After signing with Asylum in 1973 and putting out ‘Don’t Cry Now,’ someone at Capitol, her previous label, did the math and found out that she owed them one more album. A lot of acts would have handed over a stack of outtakes or a live set. Instead, she did something that turned out to be [an album] which spent nearly a year on the charts and made her a legitimate superstar.”
23. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons from For Sentimental Reasons (1986) – the title song of the third collaboration between Ronstadt and bandleader/arranger Nelson Riddle
22. Lose Again from Hasten Down the Wind (1975). A Karla Bonoff song. #76 pop.
21. What’s New from What’s New (1983) – the title song from the first Ronstadt/Riddle collaboration. #53 pop in 1983.

20. Don’t Know Much from Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (1989). The song written by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, and Tom Snow had been recorded at least five times, including by Mann, before Linda performed this with Aaron Neville. I’m fond of all their duets. #2 pop for two weeks.
19. Still Within The Sound Of My Voice from Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind. A song written by Jimmy Webb and originally recorded by Glen Campbell.
18. My Funny Valentine from For Sentimental Reasons (1986). I’m particularly fond of the instrumentation at the beginning.
17. Ruler of My Heart from We Ran (1998).

16. I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Fine from Get Closer (1982). Featuring James Taylor.
15. Freezing from Songs from Liquid Days (Philip Glass- 1986). Written by Glass and Suzanne Vega.
14. Trouble Again from Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (1989). Written by Karla Bonoff and Kenny Edwards.
13. Different Drum from Evergreen, Volume 2 (Stone Poneys – 1967) – written by Mike Nesmith in 1965. Her first hit single. #13 pop in 1968.

12. Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) from Winter Light (1993). Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, and of course, a great song from the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album. Love the intentional out-of-synch verse.
11. I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You) from Heart Like a Wheel (1974) – written and originally recorded by Hank Williams, a huge country single hit in 1951. The ever-wonderful Emmylou Harris is the duet vocalist. B-side of You’re No Good. #3 CW in 1975.
10. I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself from Winter Light (1993) A Burt Bacharach/Hal David song, both Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick had recorded this.
9. It Doesn’t Matter Anymore from Heart Like a Wheel (1974). It’s a ballad written by Paul Anka, and became a posthumous hit for Buddy Holly. B-side of When Will I Be Loved. #54 CW, #47 pop in 1975.

8. Cry ‘Til My Tears Run Dry from We Ran (1998). Composed by Doc Pomus. Irma Thomas sang this.
7. Anyone Who Had A Heart from Winter Light (1993). A Burt Bacharach/Hal David song, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick and Cilla Black, among others had recorded this.
6. Faithless Love from Heart Like a Wheel (1974). Written by J.D. Souther and recorded by Glen Campbell.
5. Someone to Lay Down Beside Me from Hasten Down the Wind (1975). Another Karla Bonoff song. #42 pop in 1977.

4. Long, Long Time from Silk Purse (1970). Linda had to persuade her record company to include the song on the album. It garnered her first Grammy nomination. #25 pop in 1970.
3. I Never Will Marry from Simple Dreams (1977). A traditional song, sung with Dolly Parton. #8 CW in 1978. Here’s a version with Johnny Cash.
2. Round Midnight from For Sentimental Reasons. Love the strings at the end.
1. Telling Me Lies from Trio (Dolly Parton, LR, Emmylou Harris – 1987). The harmony vocals can just destroy me. #3 CW in 1987

Finally, my link to a live version of 1917.

George W. Bush is 70

I suspect that, if I ever meet George W. Bush, I will find him personally engaging.

Address to the Nation on Immigration. Oval Office. — Address to the Nation on Immigration. Oval.

Last year, a publisher was deaccesioning some books in anticipation of a move. I got for free about twenty books, among them, the 2004 anthology George W. Bush: Evaluating the President at Midterm. The first chapter, by Bill Kirtley, was called The Arbiter of Fate and had a brief but useful bio.

The death of his little sister Robin in 1953 colored his worldview, especially when he learned his parents had hidden her advancing leukemia from him. “His cousin Elsie Walker observed: ‘You…see your parents suffering so deeply and try to be cheerful and funny, and you end up becoming a bit of a clown.'”

She explained that “there was a lot of pressure to develop himself. He was a bit of a disappointment and hid it “by adopting a nonchalant attitude.” But it also meant some anger issues, “when he drank or suspected people of treating his family unfairly.”

The first time I paid any attention to George W. Bush was when he was running for governor of Texas against Ann Richards in 1994. The Democratic firebrand had spoken at the 1988 Democratic convention about W’s dad as having been “born with a silver foot in his mouth.” Of course, GHWB won the Presidency.

She referred to W as Shrub, and other diminutives, but that failed to work as well. As governor, she had vetoed a bill allowing Texans to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons, which he promised to sign, and eventually did. There was a rumor that she was a lesbian, which The Atlantic magazine and others connected to Bush advisor Karl Rove, though Rove denied being involved.

He ran for President in 2000 as a “compassionate conservative.” In Texas, he had cut taxes, supported the education of the dangers of alcohol and drug use and abuse – in part because of his own experience – and helped to reduce domestic violence. He had a mixed environmental record.

I had been really annoyed with the sweetheart deal he had been involved in purchasing the Texas Rangers baseball team. If I had been a Republican in 2000, I would have preferred John McCain in the primaries.

But George W. Bush won the nomination. I need not rehash Bush V. Gore, where the Supreme Court determined that Bush beat Vice-President Al Gore in Florida and thereby won the election, though he had lost the popular vote.

Oddly, when the US had an incident with China in April 2001, I said to myself, “I wonder what [Bill] Clinton’s going to do about… wait a minute, he’s not president anymore!” Seriously, the post-election fight had gone on so long that I forgot, briefly, the outcome.

Of course, there was 9/11. I always thought those calls for him to return immediately from Florida to DC were, given the lack of information in those early hours, terribly irresponsible. I was pleased that he blunted anti-Muslim sentiment, something missing in subsequent Republican leaders.

I understood, at least, the beginning of the Afghan war. But, it was weird that it quickly fell off the radar, as the drumbeat for a SECOND front, this time against Iraq, was being sounded. Iraq NEVER made any sense to me, and I protested the build-up for the six months before the invasion, and the subsequent, and incorrect, “Mission Accomplished.” Moreover, the fact that we were fighting these wars without paying for them was the height of fiscal irresponsibility.

When he ran for reelection in 2004, there was a debate question about religion. W talked about his “born-again” religious conversion. John Kerry, the Democratic candidate, indicated his Catholic “feed the hungry, clothe the naked” doctrine. I thought Kerry did fine, but the pundits found his theology not compelling.

Domestically, there was Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, which was a disaster made worse by government non-response. And the economic collapse on Wall Street defined his last year in office. His administration also had its own email scandal.

Ultimately, it was eight years of living dangerously. I don’t think George W. Bush was like Harry Truman, vilified at the time, but treated more kindly by history. I agree with his father, 41, that 43 was ill-served by W.’s Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

I suspect that, if I ever meet George W. Bush, I would find him personally engaging. But he was a terrible president.
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Review: ‘Bush,’ a Biography as Scathing Indictment