birthday Archives - Page 40 of 49

John Sebastian is 70 (tomorrow)

It was a teen music magazine in which John Sebastian alerted me to the fact that the UK and US versions of Beatles albums were not the same.

Zal Yanofsky, John Sebastian, Steve Boone, Joe Butler

Also used for ABC Wednesday, Round 15 – L is for Lovin’ Spoonful:

When I joined the Capitol Record Club back in 1965 or 1966, I got 12 albums for “free”, plus shipping and handling, and had to order 10 or 12 more at full retail price, plus S&H. There was this thing called negative option (they didn’t call it that) whereby if you didn’t return a postcard by a certain date, you’d get the next selection. I believe that is how I came to get the album Daydream by the Lovin’ Spoonful, the American group’s second album.

Though annoyed by my own disorganization, in fact, I LOVED this album so much that I subsequently bought the 2002 extended CD of this, which was fine, because the vinyl version was full of pops and scratches from being overplayed. And as a liner note reader, I noticed that all but one of the songs was written by one John Sebastian, who was the lead singer on many of them as well.

I bought other albums by the group, a single, and even a couple of Sebastian solo albums, but nothing did I love as much as that first combination of rock, folk, and blues. The story of the Lovin’ Spoonful is told, in part, in a song by the Mamas and the Papas called Creeque Alley; Zal refers to the late Zal Yanovsky (d. 2002), lead guitarist/vocalist for the Spoonful. LISTEN.

It was a teen music magazine in which John Sebastian alerted me to the fact that the UK and US versions of Beatles albums were not the same. He claimed that Drive My Car was his favorite song on Rubber Soul. At first, I thought he was confused – it’s on the US Yesterday and Today – but eventually, I figured out that he must have heard the UK pressing.

John Sebastian sorta sang and rambled a lot at Woodstock. “You’re truly amazing, you’re a whole city.” And he ended up having a #1 hit song based on a TV theme song. I met him once, briefly, on Central Avenue in Albany, at a club, but I don’t recall the conversation.

I was watching CBS Sunday Morning earlier this year, and there was John Sebastian talking about the mystique of the Martin guitar.

FAVORITE JOHN SEBASTIAN SONGS, all Lovin’ Spoonful unless otherwise indicated. LISTEN to all except #20. Chart listings are for US Billboard singles.

20. Four of Us (from The Four of Us – solo album) – it took up a whole side of the LP. It goes through so many musical styles, I think I admired its ambition more than anything.

19. Warm Baby (from Daydream -D). Most of the songs from this album will get no explanation.

18. I Had A Dream (from John B. Sebastian – solo album.) I admire its hippie optimism.

17. There She Is (D)

16. Didn’t Want To Have To Do It (D). there’s some lovely harmonies on the bridge.

15. Day Blues (D).

14. Rainbows All Over Your Blues (JBS).

13. Rain on the Roof (from Hums of the Lovin’ Spoonful). Such a gentle song.

12. Butchie’s Tune (D). such a badly named song, about leaving.

11. Welcome Back (from Welcome Back – solo album). I just didn’t want to like a song that was the theme to a TV show, in this case, welcome Back, Kotter. But I do. AND it went to #1 in 1976.

10. You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice (D). It’s so…nice. Went to #10 in 1966.

9. Six O’Clock (from Everything’s Playing). One of the rare singles I ever purchased (and i never bought the album), it’s the opening wake-up noise that I liked. #18 in 1967.

8. Bald-Headed Lena (D). A truly goofy song and the only non-original on the album. Gargling?

7. It’s Not Time Now (D). I used the lyrics of this song to describe the 1980 Democratic primary season with Jimmy Carter, Ted Kennedy:
Carter: I’d like to tell you that’s it’s fine, but it’s not time now.
Brown: I can’t seem to get a word in edgewise anyhow.
(Lyrics)

6. Do You Believe In Magic (from Do You Believe In Magic). Yes, I do believe it’s like trying to tell a stranger about rock and roll. #9 in 1965, the group’s first hit.

5. Darling Be Home Soon (from You’re A Big Boy Now). This is a sad, plaintive song. #15 in 1967.

4. Daydream (D). Sounds as though Sebastian just woke up. #2 in 1966.

3. Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind (DYBIM). “You better go home, son, and make up your mind.” #2 in 1966.

2. Summer in the City (HotLS). I made feeble attempts to play this on the piano. It FEELS like it sounds: “Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty.” #1 for three weeks in 1966.

1. Jug Band Music (D) – a funny story-song that is about the restorative power of music.

Roger is 61

I love it when my birthday falls on Friday or Monday for that nifty three-day weekend,

Here’s a picture someone took of me at my mother’s funeral in February 2011.

This is the day in the year I get REALLY lazy – way lazier even than Ask Roger Anything, which will happen again soon enough – when I write almost nothing for my birthday.

I love it when my birthday falls on Friday or Monday for that nifty three-day weekend since I’ve taken it off from work for at least two decades. Although it doesn’t matter if it falls on Saturday or Sunday, because I’ll STILL take off Friday or Monday. Maybe I’ll see a movie matinee and/or go out for an Indian food buffet.

How will I remember how old I am this year? Easy. ROGER Maris hit 61 Home runs for the New York Yankees in 1961, eclipsing Babe Ruth’s record. Of course, Maris’ record was demolished in the Steroid Era by Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa. But I still remember Roger’s achievement.

Then there’s that Dylan song.

Bye until tomorrow.

Listen to my theme song.

ABC Wednesday – H is for Happy birthday to me!

Mary Wilson of the Supremes is 70

Maybe the choreography, with the STOP hand gestures, was corny, but I loved it.

Also used for Round 15 of ABC Wednesday, S is for Supremes.

They were the Primettes, a sister group of the pre-Temptations Primes. Shortly after they became the Supremes in 1961, Barbara Martin left the quartet, and they became a trio: Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and Diana Ross. The nickname around Motown, unfortunately, was the “No-Hit Supremes” in 1962 and 1963 with A Breath Taking Guy their biggest hit (#75 in 1963). Their fate seemed to be backup singers. (LISTEN to Can I Get A Witness by Marvin Gaye from 1963.)

Suddenly, starting in mid-1964, a string of #1 hits, including five in a row, and eventually an even dozen.

I loved the Supremes, and I bought even their oddball albums that Berry Gordy had them do to show their range, such as A Bit of Liverpool; The Supremes Sing Country, Western, and Pop; We Remember Sam Cooke; and The Supremes Sing Rodgers and Hart. Among other things, it allowed Mary and Flo to take an occasional lead vocal.

Around the time the powerhouse songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown c. 1967, the Supremes became Diana Ross and the Supremes, with Cindy Birdsong replacing Florence, who would die less than a decade later of cardiac arrest. The hits slowed, though they did some interesting work with the Temps, and Diana became a solo act by 1970.

The group persevered with Mary, Cindy, and Jean Terrell, then a series of other singers, as noted on Mary Wilson’s webpage. Here’s a 2011 interview with Mary.

Favorite Supremes songs – LINKS to all:

25. You Can’t Hurry Love (from Supremes A’ Go-Go, 1966.) One of those “Lesson” songs. Listen to your mama! #1 for 2 weeks in 1966

24. Come See About Me (from Where Did Our Love Go, 1964.) One of those breakthrough early hits, #1 for 2 weeks in 1964.

23. When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes (from WDOLG). The group’s first Top 40 hit, #23 in 1964.

22. Baby Love, from WDOLG. Loved “been missin’ ya, miss kissin’ ya.” Another #1 in 1964.

21. Am I Asking Too Much (from The Never-Before-Released Masters, 1987). This is one of those compilation CDs I got that has a bunch of songs from 1961 to 1969, including a bunch of Disney songs from an abortive album. This song was written by R. Dean Taylor and the late Deke Richards; the latter co-wrote Love Child and the early Jackson 5 hits, so this probably was recorded c. 1968.

20. Nathan Jones (from Touch, 1971) – this post-Ross song I didn’t really get into until it appeared on the soundtrack for the 1988 film Rain Man. Went to #16 in ’71.

19. I’ll Try Something New (from Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations, 1968). This song only went to #25 in 1969 (I’m Gonna Make You Love Me was the big hit), but I love how the voices trade-off here.

18. It Makes No Difference Now (from The Supremes Sing Country, Western and Pop, 1965). I like how the lead vocals are traded.

17. My World Is Empty Without You (from I Hear A Symphony, 1966). This song is so flexible, it was re-recorded as a tribute to Berry Gordy. The hit was #5 in ’66.

16. Going Down For The Third Time (from The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland, 1967). My favorite album, almost certainly, and this album cut has that wonderful “Praise be!” from Mary and Flo.

15. Up the Ladder to the Roof (from Right On, 1970). At some level, I REALLY wanted the post-Ross Supremes to succeed, and this first single, #10 in 1970, seemed like a good start.

14. Try It Baby (from DR&SJT). This cover of a Marvin Gaye song starts with the wonderful bass voice of Melvin Franklin, reason enough to like it.

13. Some Day We’ll Be Together (from Cream of the Crop, 1969). The group was already readying for the next transition. The song is Diana with anonymous backup singers, though Diana, Mary and Cyndi do eventually sing it live on the Farewell album months later.

12. Honey Bee (from Love Child, 1968). I’m a sucker for songs featuring the pollinators. Tom Petty has a similarly named song.

11. Love Child (LC). A #1 song from 1968, I appreciated the fact that Mary and Cindi got to sing “scorned by”, instead of merely echoing everything Diana sang.

10. I Want A Guy (Meet the Supremes, 1962). Their first single as The Supremes in 1961, it went nowhere, but I loved the organ especially.

9. You Keep Me Hangin’ On (from SSH-D-H). A #1 single in late 1966, weird stereo of the time threw the sound from one speaker to the other. It was such a compelling storyline, Vanilla Fudge covered it on its eponymous first album.

8. Reflections (from Reflections, 1968). Their first single after Cindi replaced Flo, the single came out in 1967, going to #2, months before the album was released. On some Motown album, Mary described it as a “weird, weird song,” referring to the intro. I fell in love with it again when it was used as the theme for the TV show China Beach.

7. Where Did Our Love Go (from Where Did Our Love Go, 1964). The first hit single (#1 for two weeks in 1964) from the first hit album (#2, probably blocked by some Beatles LP). There is a wonderful purity of sound that’s so attractive.

6. Keep An Eye (from LC). “There used to be three of us seen all over town…” Great song of warranted paranoia.

5. Remove This Doubt (from SSH-D-H). Elvis Costello covered this, but I prefer the original. Breaks my heart.

4. Stop! In the Name of Love (from More Hits by the Supremes, 1965). Maybe the choreography, with the STOP hand gestures, was corny, but I loved it. Also that ascending organ line before the vocals. #1 for two weeks in 1965.

3. I Hear A Symphony (from I Hear A Symphony, 1966). While I love the songs that depend on the bass line, and the Supremes have a bunch of those, I also love this change-of-pace tune, which hit #1 for two weeks in 1965.

2. Buttered Popcorn (from MTS). Another non-hit single from 1961, with Florence Ballard on the wonderful lead vocals.

1. Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart (from SAGG). A massively successful album (#1 for two weeks), though the single only went to #9 in 1966. But I’m a sucker for its bottom sound.

Dr. Seuss says (or does not)

Even though my daughter seems to have outgrown Yertle the Turtle, I most assuredly have not.

As a huge fan of Dr. Seuss, I was rather interested in this blog post by Chuck Miller: Don’t cry because you thought he said it. Smile because he didn’t. It dispels the myth that Dr. Seuss had uttered some trite thing, for which he had been attributed, just like pictures of late Andy Rooney and Ronald Reagan are posted all over Facebook with pithy quotes that they did not say.

There are plenty of things he DID say that are worthwhile. So much so that, even though my daughter seems to have outgrown Yertle the Turtle, I most assuredly have not. While we let her cull her book collection, the Wife and I have reclaimed some of the books that she’s given a pass on. Maybe she’ll rediscover them; maybe not. Oh, and that copy of Bartholomew and the Oobleck was MINE in the first place!

I invite you to:

Listen to Neil Gaiman read “Green Eggs and Ham, plus read about The Weird Strategy Dr. Seuss Used to Create His Greatest Work (And Why You Should Use It, Too).

Read some Brainy Quotes.

Listen to a sixth grade student reading The Lorax.

Watch Dr. Seuss and Social Issues. CSPAN, March 2013

Theodore Geisel would have been 110 today.

Roger Daltrey is 70

Still remember my father walking by and hearing, “We forsake you, gonna rape you, let’s forget you better still,” and surmised that he was thinking, “What IS that boy listening to?”

Also used for Round 15 of ABC Wednesday, W is for The Who.

The Who’s lead singer hits the big seven-oh. The first album I had of the group was Tommy, which is why it dominates my personal chart. While I heard them on the radio, I didn’t own the earlier hits until the collection Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (MBBB).

The Top 10 are pretty solidly on the list, but some of the second 10 could probably be replaced by others. No live versions with one, probably predictable, exception.

20. Amazing Journey -Tommy. “Sickness will surely take your mind Where minds can’t usually go.”
Continue reading “Roger Daltrey is 70”