Last month, everyone was talking about the 25th anniversary of the USA's upset victory in hockey over the Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Many forget that it was non-elimination game that didn't mean anything until the USA upset Finland two days later (Until 1992, the format for awarding Gold-Silver-Bronze in hockey did not resemble a playoff mode and instead was based on cumulative points against other teams that made the medal round).
Nevertheless, the 4-3 victory over the Soviets did give us one of the greatest calls in broadcast history. Yes, of course, I'm talking about "Do you believe in miracles?!" but those five words alone don't do it justice. To get the entire feel, you've got to take in Al Michaels from the 11-second mark:
"Eleven seconds, you got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now...Morrow up to Silk...five seconds left in the game! Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"
The game would have been no less significant without Al Michaels, but once we had his call, we could never relive the moment without it. This is why I believe there will always be a place for the radio DJ, no matter how many iPods are sold. If you don't believe that the right intro (or outro) can elevate a song, then you haven't been listening to the right radio hosts.
So what makes a great intro? It should you get psyched to hear the song. It should be tailored uniquely for that song. The right DJ can deliver their intro with just the right inflection, just the right tempo, just the right build-up and will know the just right instant to stop talking and let the music take over.
Fans of American Top 40 were treated to the art of the great into on a weekly basis. Of course, in many cases it was the producers filling in the music over the taped intros long after Casey had left the building, but that didn't diminish the beauty of the end product. I can still remember this one from around 9:35 AM on Sunday, November 7, 1982:
"Of the eight British acts in our survey, three are from the town of SHHHeffield! Paul Carrack who we heard at #37; Joe Cocker who appears at a higher position in our countdown; and the band at #35, here's ABC with The Look of Love!" (Note: For full effect try reading the above text over the intro of "The Look of Love," still one of the greatest musical intros of all time).
As much as I loved Casey, you have the respect the DJs who had to ad-lib on the fly. Here in New York, WCBS-FM used to have a program where they'd play the Top 20 from that week in a past year (i.e. on April 1, 2005 they might feature the Top 20 of April 1, 1972). I happened to be listening on Saturday Evening December 7, 1991 when they were playing the Top 20 from December 7, 1978. Since my sister was born on December 8, 1978, I figured I'd tape the show for her (No, I never got around to giving her the tape....serves her right for complaining that I overuse parentheses in my writings).
Recently, I gave the tape a listen because I remembered it had some great calls on it, and yes I do mean great! The DJ for the night was Mark Summers (not the Mark Summers who hosted Double-Dare and to whom I've been told I bear more than a slight resemblance) and he was on a roll. The best was when song #7, Alicia Bridges' "I Love the Nightlife" is fading out. "Yeah, Disco was big back then as we count down the Top 20 from December 7, 1978.....," and then as the unmistakable opening rifts of Foreigner's "Double Vision" begin, "........But so was ROCKNROLL BABY!!" Mark kept it going throughout the countdown. As "Double Vision" was fading out, right before Gino Vanneli's " I Just Wanna Stop came in at #5, he added "Who cares about double vision? With great rock and roll like that, you don't need to see!"
Sometimes an anticipated classic call disappoints. Just as Al Michaels had one one of the greatest sports calls of all times, I happened to be listening to the radio when I had what might have been one of the all-time worst. The night was July 31, 1990 and I had just listened to the Expos beat the Mets 7-4. Joe T. Mac (at least I think it was Joe T. Mac) was going through the wrap-up on WFAN and then announced that he had a surprise. We were going to pick up the feed for the 9th inning of the Texas-Milwaukee game, because the Rangers were up 11-3 and Nolan Ryan was going for win #300. And calling the game...the one and only Bob Uecker. Sure, Ueck was the play-by-play man for the Brewers, but Milwaukee had the game lost anyway and they weren't going anywhere and he was BOB UECKER! This was bound to be a great call.....Not! He treated the end of the game as just another frustrating Brewers loss and then acknowleged in passing that Nolan's teammates were congratulating him on the mound. The classic call of the night actually went to Joe T. Mac when they came back from the feed, "Whoa! Way to be emotional Euck!! I bet Mr. Belvedere could have done a better job!"
Sometimes it takes a little time to appreciate whether or not a call is classic. On Sunday Morning, September 29, 1985 my family was in the middle of our annual ritual of putting up the Sukkah (a clubhouse of sorts which commemorates the Jewish holiday of Sukkot). I knew I had to find an excuse to get inside for a coule of minutes around 9:1o or so, because I was expecting a once in a lifetime historical call that could not be missed. I had first heard The Hooters on WNEW in early June and then had seen their popularity spread in cult-like fashion all summer. I had them pegged as The Next Beatles and I knew that their first American Top 40 hit, "And We Danced" was about to debut at #38. No way was I missing Casey's call on this one. Well, the call was mediocre, "And We Danced" peaked at #21, the follow-up "Day By Day" made it to #18 and the band mustered only one more Top 40 single after that. "Nervous Night" is still a great album, but the band fell way short of my projected Beatlesque stature.
I've always admired Scott Shannon, not only for his own great calls but for his recognition of the art. He's one of the few DJs who will publicly laud other industry-mates on the air and even incorporate them into his routine. In the past, when he's played a song like Patrick Hernandez's "Born to be Alive" he'd intro it with "This is Paco on WKTU Disco 92." (An inside joke for those who used to listen to the OLD WKTU circa. 1981 when it occupied the 92.3 signal now possessed by K-Rock). And it's Scott and Todd's show that on an annual basis provides one of the greatest calls that one hears all year. On the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, every year since at least 1993, shortly after 8 AM, Joe Nolan gives an amazing into to "Born to Run" that officially welcomes in summer. Every year it seems to get a little bit longer and a little bit better, but the basic theme is always the same. "It's 1976, (as the opening drumroll kicks in) whether you're in Atlantic Highlands, Point Pleasant, Asbury Park or Long Branch, it's summer...and Bruce is on the radio!"
Now there's something you can't get on an IPod.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Isn't it Romantic?!
I'm FINALLY compiling my first list. I'm a little excited because this is one of the reasons I started a blog in the first place. When I was nine, one of my favorite books was Irving Wallace's "Book of Lists" and I would never have become the music geek that I am if I hadn't bought Dave Marsh's "Rock Lists" when I was 13 and then spent the whole Summer of '82 memorizing the darn thing (or near-memorizing it, heck it was 500 pages with something like 2,000 lists).
In honor of February 14th, I'm putting together a list of 20 of the most romantic songs of all time. I want to emphasize that these are not necessarily THE 20 most romantic songs of all time but just 20 that I felt made a nice compilation. There are plenty of great ones left for another list next year. Hence, these songs are not being ranked. Rather, I've listed them in a manner that I felt gave the order a nice flow. One that could be taken and played and the progression of songs would resonate with the ear of the listener.
Now I've been planning this post for weeks, but then earlier today I got my weekly copy of Entertainment Weekly in the mail and they decided to list what they felt were the 50 Greatest Love Songs of all time. I'll stick with my 20 for right now. People actually read lists of 20 items, but at 50 they're glancing and browsing at best. I also prefer to use the word "romantic" over "love" when discussing music. Romance describes an atmosphere or mood. Love is an emotion. Music can set the mood, but in the end the emotion needs to come from the heart. In the end our lists had two songs in common and a few others on their list just missed making mine. So, the next time that you need the perfect song to set the moment just right, consider one of these:
1) "Never My Love"----The Association
There's a reason why it's still the third most played song in the history of radio at nearly 7 million spins (surpassed by only "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Yesterday"). The Association's 1967 recording of The Addrissi Brothers' tune is as relevant and refreshing as ever in 2005. My buddy Dave wondered how I could have chosen "Never" for my list over "Cherish." Well "Cherish" would have been a good choice (it made the Entertainment Weekly list) and it would have allowed me to tell my anecdote about meeting The Association and having them autograph my 45 of Cherish (see, I just managed to get that anecdote in anyway). "Cherish" could pop up on a future list, but in the meantime ask yourself the following question: If you were with your ideal mate, in the ideal romantic location, at the ideal romantic moment and you had to choose between hearing "Never" or "Cherish" at that moment, which would it be? Thought so.
2) "I Love How You Love Me"----Bobby Vinton
The Paris Sisters may have had the original and bigger hit with this tune, but it was Bobby who sang it like he meant it. There aren't too many guys who can seriously pull off a line like, "I love how your eyes close whenever you kiss me." Bobby did and the women swooned.
3) "We've Only Just Begun"----The Carpenters
Many couples have chosen this one for their wedding song. If I were making a movie, it would be the song playing the instant after the groom carried the bride over the threshold and closed the door.
4) "When You Say Nothing At All"----Alison Krauss
My friend Annemarie has a great story on this one. She had never really been into country music until one night when she was in a bar and this one came on over the loudspeaker. As the song played on, one of the couples dancing had their eyes lovingly glued to each other and were singing each word in unison. Needless to say, she's been hooked on the genre since.
5) "5-10-15-20 (25-30) Years Of Love"----The Presidents
For better or for worse, there are many more romantic songs about falling in love then there are about having stayed in love for a lengthy period of time ("Still The One" by Orleans is fun, but not what I would call romantic). When my parents celebrated their 30th anniversary on May 29, 1996, this was the one song I wanted to hear on the radio. Back then, WPLJ was still big on 70's music and I tried to get Scott and Todd to play "5-10-15-20 (25-30) Years of Love" for them. They didn't play the record, but they did wish my parents a happy anniversary on the air and then proceeded to make fun of me for another four minutes. Off the air, Scott Shannon and I dueted on a few bars of the song. Hey, I thought we sounded great.
6) "Sharing The Night Together"----Dr. Hook
This one gets into your senses even before the vocals start and, ever so subtly, becomes more intoxicating as it progresses. By the time the song hits the "We can bring in the morning light" part, your face definitely needs a splash of water.
7) "Here, There & Everywhere"----The Beatles
Might not even rank among The Beatles 100 biggest hits, but all-around this was probably their best love song.
8) "La-La Means I Love You"----The Delfonics
Here's one of the two songs that my list shared with Entertainment Weekly's. You can feel the yearning in the singer's voice all the way through until the final fade-out.
9) "On The Wings Of Love"----Jeffrey Osbourne
So soulful, yet so optimistic. Even on days that you feel unlucky in love, this one still sounds great.
10) "Faithfully"----Journey
Written by Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain as an anniversary present for his then-wife Tane. The fact that they later divorced in no way diminishes this immensely moving musical love letter.
11) "Truly Madly Deeply"----Savage Garden
I was being to think that the sweet pop song had become extinct when this one came out in 1997. It shook me from the first time I heard it and within a couple of days it seemed that everyone had discovered the record. I remember walking past a row of cubicles in the office when the song was playing and one of my co-workers was glowing, as if she had never heard a song that made her so happy.
12) "What You Won't Do For Love"----Bobby Caldwell
The first time I ever went to a karaoke bar was in Washington, DC on New Year's Weekend 1995-96. My turns at the mike were less than memorable, but towards the end of the night a guy got up and tried his hand at "What You Won't Do For Love." The hostess noted that the number of women in the room doubled during the course of his performance. I would pay good money for voice lessons if the teacher could guarantee me that I'd sound half-decent singing this one by the end.
13) "Love Is"----Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight
We always knew Heather Locklear was sexy, but we never realized how much we ached and longed for her until that night in January, 1993. It was the middle of Season 1 of Melrose Place and Billy and Amanda were to about to make love for the first time. The scene wouldn't have hit home like it did without the then just-released "Love Is" playing in the background. It wasn't the first time I wanted Heather, but it was the first time I cried at the sight of someone else kissing her.
14) "All I Know"----Art Garfunkle
An all-around beautiful tune written by Jimmy Webb ("MacArthur Park," "Galveston," "Worst That Can Happen," "Wichita Lineman"), that gave Art Garfunkle his first major hit as a solo artist. Just a few years earlier, Art had sung about how love calms all in "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The message and tone of "All I Know" was almost a complete U-Turn. Love hurts and has more than its share of disturbing moments, but in the end the reward is worth the pain....usually.
15) "It's Your Love"----Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
It seems that most die-hard country music fans have a great story on how they became attached to the genre (see #4 above). Here's mine. I was flying SwissAir to Israel in the Spring of 1998. There was no movie on the Zurich-Tel Aviv leg, so I checked out the various music-listening options. One of the channels was offering an eclectic mix of mellow tunes including some I hadn't heard in quite awhile. I was especially excited to hear Linda Rondstadt's "Heartbeats Accelerating" and a few songs that were following shortly thereafter in the program. But I was also curious about the tune that was scheduled immediately after "Heartbeats Accelerating." I knew who both Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were (Tim's father, Tug "Quick Draw" McGraw had been the star closer of my beloved Phillie teams in the late 70's and early 80's), but I didn't think I had ever heard any of their songs in entirety to that point. I didn't even know they were married until hearing it from that program's emcee. I never expected to be blown away by the song like I was. I was actually hoping that the flight would be long enough for the program to wrap around to the song again (it was). Eight days later, I got the same program again on the Zurich-New York leg and I made sure to catch "It's Your Love" everytime it came up in the program. I also knew that if even a fraction of country music could affect me even a fraction of the way "It's Your Love" had, I was going to be listening to a lot more of it when I got back to New York.
16) "You're The Only Woman"----Ambrosia
Ambrosia's blue-eyed soul never quite reached the popularity of The Doobie Brothers or Hall and Oates, but their tunes had a sweetness to them that was unmatched by their more prominent counterparts. What makes this song so extra special is that it's so well thought out. Limited backing vocals on the first chorus, only to be added later on. The sensual "Don't speak....Shhhhhhhhhhh," at the start of what would be the third verse. The intrumental that follows with the volume fluctuating ever so slightly up and down. One of the last great songs to come from The Golden Age of Lite Rock.
17) "Baby, I Need Your Lovin' "----Johnny Rivers
Originally a #11 hit for The Four Tops, it was Johnny Rivers who took the song into the Top 5 three years later and made it the romantic masterpiece that it is. My friend Ivan who's written with the best of them, said that one time Jimmy Webb (see song #14 above) was in a car when this song came on the radio and he had to pull to the side just to compose himself.
18) "Follow You, Follow Me"----Genesis
One moment Genesis and Phil Collins would be dark and deep, the next sappy and sweet. Rarely were they able to mold the two together into a truly romantic song that at the same time wasn't whiny. They got the balance just right with "Follow You, Follow Me." One time, back on Dave Herman's morning show on WNEW over a decade ago, they were bemoaning the fact that so many couples were using Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" as their wedding song. "Follow You, Follow Me," was the one they pushed for as the more appropriate choice.
19) "I'll Never Break Your Heart"----The Backstreet Boys
Put all your biases about The Backstreet Boys aside, they did just fine on this one. I wouldn't have smirked if someone included "More Than That" on one of their lists either.
20) "When A Man Loves A Woman"-----Percy Sledge
This was the other song to appear on both mine and Entertainment Weekly's lists. Simply too obvious to be left off.
###
In honor of February 14th, I'm putting together a list of 20 of the most romantic songs of all time. I want to emphasize that these are not necessarily THE 20 most romantic songs of all time but just 20 that I felt made a nice compilation. There are plenty of great ones left for another list next year. Hence, these songs are not being ranked. Rather, I've listed them in a manner that I felt gave the order a nice flow. One that could be taken and played and the progression of songs would resonate with the ear of the listener.
Now I've been planning this post for weeks, but then earlier today I got my weekly copy of Entertainment Weekly in the mail and they decided to list what they felt were the 50 Greatest Love Songs of all time. I'll stick with my 20 for right now. People actually read lists of 20 items, but at 50 they're glancing and browsing at best. I also prefer to use the word "romantic" over "love" when discussing music. Romance describes an atmosphere or mood. Love is an emotion. Music can set the mood, but in the end the emotion needs to come from the heart. In the end our lists had two songs in common and a few others on their list just missed making mine. So, the next time that you need the perfect song to set the moment just right, consider one of these:
1) "Never My Love"----The Association
There's a reason why it's still the third most played song in the history of radio at nearly 7 million spins (surpassed by only "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Yesterday"). The Association's 1967 recording of The Addrissi Brothers' tune is as relevant and refreshing as ever in 2005. My buddy Dave wondered how I could have chosen "Never" for my list over "Cherish." Well "Cherish" would have been a good choice (it made the Entertainment Weekly list) and it would have allowed me to tell my anecdote about meeting The Association and having them autograph my 45 of Cherish (see, I just managed to get that anecdote in anyway). "Cherish" could pop up on a future list, but in the meantime ask yourself the following question: If you were with your ideal mate, in the ideal romantic location, at the ideal romantic moment and you had to choose between hearing "Never" or "Cherish" at that moment, which would it be? Thought so.
2) "I Love How You Love Me"----Bobby Vinton
The Paris Sisters may have had the original and bigger hit with this tune, but it was Bobby who sang it like he meant it. There aren't too many guys who can seriously pull off a line like, "I love how your eyes close whenever you kiss me." Bobby did and the women swooned.
3) "We've Only Just Begun"----The Carpenters
Many couples have chosen this one for their wedding song. If I were making a movie, it would be the song playing the instant after the groom carried the bride over the threshold and closed the door.
4) "When You Say Nothing At All"----Alison Krauss
My friend Annemarie has a great story on this one. She had never really been into country music until one night when she was in a bar and this one came on over the loudspeaker. As the song played on, one of the couples dancing had their eyes lovingly glued to each other and were singing each word in unison. Needless to say, she's been hooked on the genre since.
5) "5-10-15-20 (25-30) Years Of Love"----The Presidents
For better or for worse, there are many more romantic songs about falling in love then there are about having stayed in love for a lengthy period of time ("Still The One" by Orleans is fun, but not what I would call romantic). When my parents celebrated their 30th anniversary on May 29, 1996, this was the one song I wanted to hear on the radio. Back then, WPLJ was still big on 70's music and I tried to get Scott and Todd to play "5-10-15-20 (25-30) Years of Love" for them. They didn't play the record, but they did wish my parents a happy anniversary on the air and then proceeded to make fun of me for another four minutes. Off the air, Scott Shannon and I dueted on a few bars of the song. Hey, I thought we sounded great.
6) "Sharing The Night Together"----Dr. Hook
This one gets into your senses even before the vocals start and, ever so subtly, becomes more intoxicating as it progresses. By the time the song hits the "We can bring in the morning light" part, your face definitely needs a splash of water.
7) "Here, There & Everywhere"----The Beatles
Might not even rank among The Beatles 100 biggest hits, but all-around this was probably their best love song.
8) "La-La Means I Love You"----The Delfonics
Here's one of the two songs that my list shared with Entertainment Weekly's. You can feel the yearning in the singer's voice all the way through until the final fade-out.
9) "On The Wings Of Love"----Jeffrey Osbourne
So soulful, yet so optimistic. Even on days that you feel unlucky in love, this one still sounds great.
10) "Faithfully"----Journey
Written by Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain as an anniversary present for his then-wife Tane. The fact that they later divorced in no way diminishes this immensely moving musical love letter.
11) "Truly Madly Deeply"----Savage Garden
I was being to think that the sweet pop song had become extinct when this one came out in 1997. It shook me from the first time I heard it and within a couple of days it seemed that everyone had discovered the record. I remember walking past a row of cubicles in the office when the song was playing and one of my co-workers was glowing, as if she had never heard a song that made her so happy.
12) "What You Won't Do For Love"----Bobby Caldwell
The first time I ever went to a karaoke bar was in Washington, DC on New Year's Weekend 1995-96. My turns at the mike were less than memorable, but towards the end of the night a guy got up and tried his hand at "What You Won't Do For Love." The hostess noted that the number of women in the room doubled during the course of his performance. I would pay good money for voice lessons if the teacher could guarantee me that I'd sound half-decent singing this one by the end.
13) "Love Is"----Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight
We always knew Heather Locklear was sexy, but we never realized how much we ached and longed for her until that night in January, 1993. It was the middle of Season 1 of Melrose Place and Billy and Amanda were to about to make love for the first time. The scene wouldn't have hit home like it did without the then just-released "Love Is" playing in the background. It wasn't the first time I wanted Heather, but it was the first time I cried at the sight of someone else kissing her.
14) "All I Know"----Art Garfunkle
An all-around beautiful tune written by Jimmy Webb ("MacArthur Park," "Galveston," "Worst That Can Happen," "Wichita Lineman"), that gave Art Garfunkle his first major hit as a solo artist. Just a few years earlier, Art had sung about how love calms all in "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The message and tone of "All I Know" was almost a complete U-Turn. Love hurts and has more than its share of disturbing moments, but in the end the reward is worth the pain....usually.
15) "It's Your Love"----Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
It seems that most die-hard country music fans have a great story on how they became attached to the genre (see #4 above). Here's mine. I was flying SwissAir to Israel in the Spring of 1998. There was no movie on the Zurich-Tel Aviv leg, so I checked out the various music-listening options. One of the channels was offering an eclectic mix of mellow tunes including some I hadn't heard in quite awhile. I was especially excited to hear Linda Rondstadt's "Heartbeats Accelerating" and a few songs that were following shortly thereafter in the program. But I was also curious about the tune that was scheduled immediately after "Heartbeats Accelerating." I knew who both Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were (Tim's father, Tug "Quick Draw" McGraw had been the star closer of my beloved Phillie teams in the late 70's and early 80's), but I didn't think I had ever heard any of their songs in entirety to that point. I didn't even know they were married until hearing it from that program's emcee. I never expected to be blown away by the song like I was. I was actually hoping that the flight would be long enough for the program to wrap around to the song again (it was). Eight days later, I got the same program again on the Zurich-New York leg and I made sure to catch "It's Your Love" everytime it came up in the program. I also knew that if even a fraction of country music could affect me even a fraction of the way "It's Your Love" had, I was going to be listening to a lot more of it when I got back to New York.
16) "You're The Only Woman"----Ambrosia
Ambrosia's blue-eyed soul never quite reached the popularity of The Doobie Brothers or Hall and Oates, but their tunes had a sweetness to them that was unmatched by their more prominent counterparts. What makes this song so extra special is that it's so well thought out. Limited backing vocals on the first chorus, only to be added later on. The sensual "Don't speak....Shhhhhhhhhhh," at the start of what would be the third verse. The intrumental that follows with the volume fluctuating ever so slightly up and down. One of the last great songs to come from The Golden Age of Lite Rock.
17) "Baby, I Need Your Lovin' "----Johnny Rivers
Originally a #11 hit for The Four Tops, it was Johnny Rivers who took the song into the Top 5 three years later and made it the romantic masterpiece that it is. My friend Ivan who's written with the best of them, said that one time Jimmy Webb (see song #14 above) was in a car when this song came on the radio and he had to pull to the side just to compose himself.
18) "Follow You, Follow Me"----Genesis
One moment Genesis and Phil Collins would be dark and deep, the next sappy and sweet. Rarely were they able to mold the two together into a truly romantic song that at the same time wasn't whiny. They got the balance just right with "Follow You, Follow Me." One time, back on Dave Herman's morning show on WNEW over a decade ago, they were bemoaning the fact that so many couples were using Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" as their wedding song. "Follow You, Follow Me," was the one they pushed for as the more appropriate choice.
19) "I'll Never Break Your Heart"----The Backstreet Boys
Put all your biases about The Backstreet Boys aside, they did just fine on this one. I wouldn't have smirked if someone included "More Than That" on one of their lists either.
20) "When A Man Loves A Woman"-----Percy Sledge
This was the other song to appear on both mine and Entertainment Weekly's lists. Simply too obvious to be left off.
###
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Aborted Holiday Post
Over the past six weeks, I have been writing and re-writing a post entitled "What I don't want for Channukah!" The basic idea was that I had no desire to get an iPod and how I thought digital downloads were destroying the idea of the classic album. I still hold by many ideas and the thoughts (and I had some great one-liners) but that post is being put on the back-burner for the following three reasons:
* After six weeks the piece is nowhere near complete and what is complete is nowhere near satisfactory.
* To the shock of many industry insiders (and yours truly), CD sales actually rose in 2004. The first annual increase since 2000.
* Many of my concerns and points I wished to make were articulated quite nicely by David Browne in this past week's Entertainment Weekly (Jan. 14, 2005). I encourage all to read.
G-d willing, I'll be back next month with my first musical list. In honor of Valentine's Day, we'll look at 20 of the most romantic pop songs of all time.
Stay tuned.......
* After six weeks the piece is nowhere near complete and what is complete is nowhere near satisfactory.
* To the shock of many industry insiders (and yours truly), CD sales actually rose in 2004. The first annual increase since 2000.
* Many of my concerns and points I wished to make were articulated quite nicely by David Browne in this past week's Entertainment Weekly (Jan. 14, 2005). I encourage all to read.
G-d willing, I'll be back next month with my first musical list. In honor of Valentine's Day, we'll look at 20 of the most romantic pop songs of all time.
Stay tuned.......
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Hey There Mr. Blue!
Think you know movies? I'm going to stump you right...now!
What do the following three films have in common:
* Look Who's Talking
* Mr. Deeds (2003 Version)
* Along Came Polly
Nope, nothing to do with the actors. You can stop trying to recall the plotlines (or lack thereof) as well.
Answer: They all feature Pete Townshend's timeless "Let My Love Open The Door" over the closing credits.
Ever notice how certain songs seem to appear over and over again in the same movies, trailers, TV shows and commercials? What's interesting is that the list seems to have no rhyme or reason. There is nothing especially significant about Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill," a 1977 single that didn't even hit the Top-40 at the time. Neither did Melissa Etheridge's "Dance Without Sleeping," or George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone," two of the more over-used tunes in movie trailiers and television commercials respectively.
It would be too easy to blame this repetitiveness solely on a handful of lazy copy-cating producers. In some cases, there are songs that just bring out certain moods or emotions (like "Solsbury Hill") in ways that no other tune can. A couple of years ago, I talking to my friend Janet about a number of "lost" classic rock tunes. Songs that seemed on their way to immortality but in recent years had faded into irrelevancy (this conversation actually took place within the context of compiling a list of songs that, to the best of our knowledge, had never been aranged a capella, but ought to be). One song that I put on the list was ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky," a song that DID hit the Top-40...barely (peaked at #35 in August of '78). Well no sooner had I labeled it a lost classic that the song started popping up in trailers (Adaptation; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and commercials (Volkswagen). Now I've come to learn that the tune serves as the theme song for the new NBC drama LAX (still haven't seen it....but now I have a reason to check it out besides Heather). I almost have to wonder who it was that overheard my conversation because now there is absolutely no escaping the pulsating keyboards and the falsetto voices shriekings "Hey, there, Mr. Blue, we're so pleased to be with you." Perhaps I should have gone into advertising after all.
So tell me, what over-used tunes have I left out? E-mail me with your best and I'll try to list the best in a future post. Until then, be thankful that most of the tunes we're overusing seem to at least be decent ones. We COULD be forced to listen to "I've Never Been to Me."
What do the following three films have in common:
* Look Who's Talking
* Mr. Deeds (2003 Version)
* Along Came Polly
Nope, nothing to do with the actors. You can stop trying to recall the plotlines (or lack thereof) as well.
Answer: They all feature Pete Townshend's timeless "Let My Love Open The Door" over the closing credits.
Ever notice how certain songs seem to appear over and over again in the same movies, trailers, TV shows and commercials? What's interesting is that the list seems to have no rhyme or reason. There is nothing especially significant about Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill," a 1977 single that didn't even hit the Top-40 at the time. Neither did Melissa Etheridge's "Dance Without Sleeping," or George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone," two of the more over-used tunes in movie trailiers and television commercials respectively.
It would be too easy to blame this repetitiveness solely on a handful of lazy copy-cating producers. In some cases, there are songs that just bring out certain moods or emotions (like "Solsbury Hill") in ways that no other tune can. A couple of years ago, I talking to my friend Janet about a number of "lost" classic rock tunes. Songs that seemed on their way to immortality but in recent years had faded into irrelevancy (this conversation actually took place within the context of compiling a list of songs that, to the best of our knowledge, had never been aranged a capella, but ought to be). One song that I put on the list was ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky," a song that DID hit the Top-40...barely (peaked at #35 in August of '78). Well no sooner had I labeled it a lost classic that the song started popping up in trailers (Adaptation; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and commercials (Volkswagen). Now I've come to learn that the tune serves as the theme song for the new NBC drama LAX (still haven't seen it....but now I have a reason to check it out besides Heather). I almost have to wonder who it was that overheard my conversation because now there is absolutely no escaping the pulsating keyboards and the falsetto voices shriekings "Hey, there, Mr. Blue, we're so pleased to be with you." Perhaps I should have gone into advertising after all.
So tell me, what over-used tunes have I left out? E-mail me with your best and I'll try to list the best in a future post. Until then, be thankful that most of the tunes we're overusing seem to at least be decent ones. We COULD be forced to listen to "I've Never Been to Me."
Monday, August 23, 2004
Wanna be a Survivor? Beware, it all begins with The Ides of March!
Let's start off this post with a quick word-association pop quiz. When I say the word "survivor," you immediately think of
A) A CBS show where everyone you wish was naked is clothed and everyone you wish was clothed is naked.
B) A lame, overplayed tune by Destiny's Child.
C) The band that sang "Eye of the Tiger."
D) The band that sang "Poor Man's Son."
If you answered "D" then you and I are cut from the same cloth, even though "C" is referring to the exact same band. Survivor was hardly my favorite group of all time, but it bugs me to death that they're thought of as a one-hit wonder. If you've been watching ESPN Classic, then you probably know that they've been running the Rocky movies in order on Sunday Nights over the past few weeks (they're up to Rocky IV). Survivor is probably best known for their songs from the soundtracks of Rocky III ("Eye of the Tiger") and Rocky IV ("Burning Heart"), so the time seemed right to flashback on a band that was much more interesting than most people realized.
So yes, it all did start with "The Ides of March." I'm talking of course about the Chicago-based band that scored a #2-hit with "Vehicle" in the Spring of 1970. Now, there's a band that WAS a one-hit wonder and is consistently been referred to as one of the greatest one-hit wonders off all time. You know the song even if you don't think you do. It's been used in many car commercials and you can always count on Paul Shaffer to play it on March 15th (The Ides of March--get it??; Thanks to my buddy Bret for pointing that out to me while we were watching Letterman all the way back on 3/16/89 in the McCoy Hall Lounge. The show was taped on the 15th but didn't air until the wee hours of the 16th).
The man who wrote, sang and played guitar on "Vehicle" was Jim Peterik. In 1978, Peterik would form Survivor and in an interesting twist would serve as neither their guitarist or lead vocalist but rather as their keyboardist and primary songwriter. Survivor's first Top 40 hit, "Poor Man's Son" would peak at #33 in the Fall of 1981. While the song, which appeared on the band's "Premonition" album, did not attract an incredible amount of attention, this writer believes it was the best song of the band's career. But more importantly the album did catch the attention of a certain big-name actor who was in position to give the band an opportunity that was reminiscent of, well, the opportunity granted by Apollo Creed to a certain no-name boxer from South Philly.
Here's how Peterik descibed it in an interview with StrutterZine:
"....It started with a message to both (Survivor guitarist) Frankie (Sullivan) and my answering machines from Sly Stallone. Frankie and I got together at my house and called him back. He told us of his new Rocky III movie, that it was complete except for the title song. He had heard our Premonition album and liked the tough honesty of that record. But he was looking to update the sound he had on the earlier Rocky movies and thought we'd be perfect. We knew at that moment that our big break had come - if only we could deliver the goods. Stallone sent us the first three minutes of the movie where the song was to appear. It featured Stallone getting rich and soft contrasting the sinewy Mr. T.- rising up, ready to kick his ass. I started playing the dead string riff as Frank and I headed to my music room. We got a good start on the music that day but needed more grist for the mill, lyrically. We persuaded Stallone to send us a rough cut of the entire movie. It was then that song really came together. We pulled the phrase “the eye of the tiger” from the dialogue and from there the ideas flowed. We sent Stallone a demo we did quickly with the band. He flipped out over it, but made us write a third verse and offered a few other suggestions. Due to the tightness of the schedule, the version you hear in the actual movie was the demo version that Frankie mixed in L.A. while he was spotting-in the music to the soundtrack...."
(The full interview is available at http://www.angelfire.com/ma/strutteraor/).
I first heard "Eye of the Tiger" on Tuesday, June 22nd, 1982 at an end-of-school swim party. The second time I heard it was around 11 AM on the following Sunday Morning. I was spending the weekend with my two best friends from 8th grade, Sim and Leon, who are largely responsible for me being the chart-geek I am today. So naturally we spent Sunday Morning huddled around Leon's new portable radio/cassette player listening to American Top 40. How into it were we? After we heard what we thought were the four debut songs of the week ("Dancing in the Streets" by Van Halen at #40; "Island of the Lost Souls" by Blondie at #39; "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago at #38---Casey noted it was their first hit of the 80's; And "Even the Nights are Better" by Air Supply at #34) we took time to figure which four songs must have dropped out of the countdown that week. Even though it was never announced that Air Suppy was the highest debut of the week, it became rather clear to us that it was as the countdown rolled on....until after song #20. Then, on way to commercial we heard it: "Up next, the highest debuting song in nearly two years!" We were floored. For us this was the equivalent of man's landing on the moon, a song debuting all the way up at #19. Nowadays, thanks to music videos and the Internet songs debut in the Top 10 all the time but back then a song coming into the countdown that high was something of a novelty.
As the show resumed post-commercial break, "Eye of the Tiger's" trademark, opening guitar rift set the stage for an excited Casey introducing the highest debuting song since Diana Ross's "Upside Down" entered the countdown at #10 in August of 1980. We would hear "Eye of the Tiger" again later that day when hit the cinema to catch Rocky take on both Mr. T and Hulk Hogan. It's amazing to think that professional wrestling might never have become the pop-culture phenomenon that it was, had Rocky not decided to give Mr. 24-inch pythons himself that cameo in the flick. "Eye of the Tiger" would go on to spend six weeks at #1 and finish the year as Billboard's #2 song for 1982. Survivor would follow-up "Eye of the Tiger" with "American Heartbeat," which despite reaching #17 in the Autumn of 1982 has received virtually no attention since it fell off the charts 22 years ago.
Survivor received some minor airplay on the rock stations in 1983 with "Caught in the Game" but it failed to reach the Top-40 and it seemed like Survivor's best days were gone. Then, a wild thing happened. Lead singer Dave Bickler would leave the group for medical reasons. By the time Survivor released their Vital Signs album in 1984, they were fronted by Jimi Jamison...WHO SOUNDED EXACTLY LIKE DAVE BICKLER!! Admit it, you're shocked! Survivor really had TWO lead singers who sounded exactly the same. Never had any group pulled such off such a stunt and a tough stunt it was when one considers how distinctive Bickler's vocals were.
Jamison's vocals must have been blessed by Midas because over the ensuing two years Survivor reeled off five Top-20 hits: "I Can't Hold Back" #13; "High on You" #8; "The Search is Over" #4; "Burning Heart" #2; "Is This Love" #9. Jamison's vocals would continue to be heard by millions worldwide on a weekly basis as he sang the theme to the world's most popular TV show: Baywatch! (Note to self: Being asked to sing while Rocky and Apollo run on the beach--Good. Being asked to sing while Nicole Eggert and Pamela Anderson run on the beach--VEEEEERRY GOOD!!)
As for Jim Peterik, he continued to be Survivor's keyboardist but would continue writing songs for other groups as well. Over the years his tunes have been recorded by The Doobie Brothers, Aerosmith and, most notably, 38 Special. Four of 38 Special's biggest hits ("Rockin' into the Night"; "Hold on Loosely"; "Caught Up in You"; "You Keep Runnin' Anyway") were either writen or co-written by Peterik. On an interesting note, Peterik had back-to-back tunes on the chart for the week ending July 3, 1982 when "Caught Up in You" was at #10 and "Eye of the Tiger" was at #9.
See, I told you there was a lot more to this band than you realized. The next time "Eye of the Tiger" comes on the radio and the one know-it-all in your crowd proclaims the band a one-hit wonder, reply with a sly "No, not really" and then hit them over the head with a few tidbits from above. Trust me: it's really, really satisfying.
###
P.S.---Going back to the original word-association game, if you're one of those people who started thinking about The Soul Survivors, I'll try to get around to them when I do a piece on legitimate one-hit wonders. Now there's a tune that still rocks, 37 years later!
A) A CBS show where everyone you wish was naked is clothed and everyone you wish was clothed is naked.
B) A lame, overplayed tune by Destiny's Child.
C) The band that sang "Eye of the Tiger."
D) The band that sang "Poor Man's Son."
If you answered "D" then you and I are cut from the same cloth, even though "C" is referring to the exact same band. Survivor was hardly my favorite group of all time, but it bugs me to death that they're thought of as a one-hit wonder. If you've been watching ESPN Classic, then you probably know that they've been running the Rocky movies in order on Sunday Nights over the past few weeks (they're up to Rocky IV). Survivor is probably best known for their songs from the soundtracks of Rocky III ("Eye of the Tiger") and Rocky IV ("Burning Heart"), so the time seemed right to flashback on a band that was much more interesting than most people realized.
So yes, it all did start with "The Ides of March." I'm talking of course about the Chicago-based band that scored a #2-hit with "Vehicle" in the Spring of 1970. Now, there's a band that WAS a one-hit wonder and is consistently been referred to as one of the greatest one-hit wonders off all time. You know the song even if you don't think you do. It's been used in many car commercials and you can always count on Paul Shaffer to play it on March 15th (The Ides of March--get it??; Thanks to my buddy Bret for pointing that out to me while we were watching Letterman all the way back on 3/16/89 in the McCoy Hall Lounge. The show was taped on the 15th but didn't air until the wee hours of the 16th).
The man who wrote, sang and played guitar on "Vehicle" was Jim Peterik. In 1978, Peterik would form Survivor and in an interesting twist would serve as neither their guitarist or lead vocalist but rather as their keyboardist and primary songwriter. Survivor's first Top 40 hit, "Poor Man's Son" would peak at #33 in the Fall of 1981. While the song, which appeared on the band's "Premonition" album, did not attract an incredible amount of attention, this writer believes it was the best song of the band's career. But more importantly the album did catch the attention of a certain big-name actor who was in position to give the band an opportunity that was reminiscent of, well, the opportunity granted by Apollo Creed to a certain no-name boxer from South Philly.
Here's how Peterik descibed it in an interview with StrutterZine:
"....It started with a message to both (Survivor guitarist) Frankie (Sullivan) and my answering machines from Sly Stallone. Frankie and I got together at my house and called him back. He told us of his new Rocky III movie, that it was complete except for the title song. He had heard our Premonition album and liked the tough honesty of that record. But he was looking to update the sound he had on the earlier Rocky movies and thought we'd be perfect. We knew at that moment that our big break had come - if only we could deliver the goods. Stallone sent us the first three minutes of the movie where the song was to appear. It featured Stallone getting rich and soft contrasting the sinewy Mr. T.- rising up, ready to kick his ass. I started playing the dead string riff as Frank and I headed to my music room. We got a good start on the music that day but needed more grist for the mill, lyrically. We persuaded Stallone to send us a rough cut of the entire movie. It was then that song really came together. We pulled the phrase “the eye of the tiger” from the dialogue and from there the ideas flowed. We sent Stallone a demo we did quickly with the band. He flipped out over it, but made us write a third verse and offered a few other suggestions. Due to the tightness of the schedule, the version you hear in the actual movie was the demo version that Frankie mixed in L.A. while he was spotting-in the music to the soundtrack...."
(The full interview is available at http://www.angelfire.com/ma/strutteraor/).
I first heard "Eye of the Tiger" on Tuesday, June 22nd, 1982 at an end-of-school swim party. The second time I heard it was around 11 AM on the following Sunday Morning. I was spending the weekend with my two best friends from 8th grade, Sim and Leon, who are largely responsible for me being the chart-geek I am today. So naturally we spent Sunday Morning huddled around Leon's new portable radio/cassette player listening to American Top 40. How into it were we? After we heard what we thought were the four debut songs of the week ("Dancing in the Streets" by Van Halen at #40; "Island of the Lost Souls" by Blondie at #39; "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" by Chicago at #38---Casey noted it was their first hit of the 80's; And "Even the Nights are Better" by Air Supply at #34) we took time to figure which four songs must have dropped out of the countdown that week. Even though it was never announced that Air Suppy was the highest debut of the week, it became rather clear to us that it was as the countdown rolled on....until after song #20. Then, on way to commercial we heard it: "Up next, the highest debuting song in nearly two years!" We were floored. For us this was the equivalent of man's landing on the moon, a song debuting all the way up at #19. Nowadays, thanks to music videos and the Internet songs debut in the Top 10 all the time but back then a song coming into the countdown that high was something of a novelty.
As the show resumed post-commercial break, "Eye of the Tiger's" trademark, opening guitar rift set the stage for an excited Casey introducing the highest debuting song since Diana Ross's "Upside Down" entered the countdown at #10 in August of 1980. We would hear "Eye of the Tiger" again later that day when hit the cinema to catch Rocky take on both Mr. T and Hulk Hogan. It's amazing to think that professional wrestling might never have become the pop-culture phenomenon that it was, had Rocky not decided to give Mr. 24-inch pythons himself that cameo in the flick. "Eye of the Tiger" would go on to spend six weeks at #1 and finish the year as Billboard's #2 song for 1982. Survivor would follow-up "Eye of the Tiger" with "American Heartbeat," which despite reaching #17 in the Autumn of 1982 has received virtually no attention since it fell off the charts 22 years ago.
Survivor received some minor airplay on the rock stations in 1983 with "Caught in the Game" but it failed to reach the Top-40 and it seemed like Survivor's best days were gone. Then, a wild thing happened. Lead singer Dave Bickler would leave the group for medical reasons. By the time Survivor released their Vital Signs album in 1984, they were fronted by Jimi Jamison...WHO SOUNDED EXACTLY LIKE DAVE BICKLER!! Admit it, you're shocked! Survivor really had TWO lead singers who sounded exactly the same. Never had any group pulled such off such a stunt and a tough stunt it was when one considers how distinctive Bickler's vocals were.
Jamison's vocals must have been blessed by Midas because over the ensuing two years Survivor reeled off five Top-20 hits: "I Can't Hold Back" #13; "High on You" #8; "The Search is Over" #4; "Burning Heart" #2; "Is This Love" #9. Jamison's vocals would continue to be heard by millions worldwide on a weekly basis as he sang the theme to the world's most popular TV show: Baywatch! (Note to self: Being asked to sing while Rocky and Apollo run on the beach--Good. Being asked to sing while Nicole Eggert and Pamela Anderson run on the beach--VEEEEERRY GOOD!!)
As for Jim Peterik, he continued to be Survivor's keyboardist but would continue writing songs for other groups as well. Over the years his tunes have been recorded by The Doobie Brothers, Aerosmith and, most notably, 38 Special. Four of 38 Special's biggest hits ("Rockin' into the Night"; "Hold on Loosely"; "Caught Up in You"; "You Keep Runnin' Anyway") were either writen or co-written by Peterik. On an interesting note, Peterik had back-to-back tunes on the chart for the week ending July 3, 1982 when "Caught Up in You" was at #10 and "Eye of the Tiger" was at #9.
See, I told you there was a lot more to this band than you realized. The next time "Eye of the Tiger" comes on the radio and the one know-it-all in your crowd proclaims the band a one-hit wonder, reply with a sly "No, not really" and then hit them over the head with a few tidbits from above. Trust me: it's really, really satisfying.
###
P.S.---Going back to the original word-association game, if you're one of those people who started thinking about The Soul Survivors, I'll try to get around to them when I do a piece on legitimate one-hit wonders. Now there's a tune that still rocks, 37 years later!
Friday, July 30, 2004
I DO like "Spiders and Snakes!"
The title of this post is only factually true when you include the quotation marks. In reality, I like spiders, snakes and other creepy crawly stuff about as much as Michael Moore likes President Bush. No, I'm not a big fan of spiders or snakes but I can now say I do like Jim Stafford best known for the 1974 hit "Spiders and Snakes" (Peak Position on the Billboard Charts---#3).
I really didn't know a lot about Jim until earlier this month when I caught his variety show at The Jim Stafford theatre in Branson, Missouri. The guy is a real showman, something desperately missing from many performers today, and his act was full of entertaining sight gags that one might of found on, say, The Muppet Show---and yes we were treated to some Hensonesqe spiders and snakes singing along. Quite impressive for a guy who many think of as just a one-hit wonder (for the record he scored six Top-40 hits from 1973-75).
Well, it turns out Jim's career is significantly more multi-faceted than I had previously realized. As an actor, he starred in Clint Eastwood's "Any Which Way You Can." He hosted his own variety show on ABC in 1975 and in the early-80's he co-hosted the popular prime-time show "Those Amazing Animals" with Burgess Meredith and Priscilla Presley. And, as all we know, during Johnny Carson's hey-day the size of your stardom was measured by the number of appearances you made on The Tonight Show. Jim Stafford's tally: 26!
One of the few things I did know about Jim was the he was buddies with another 70's hit singer/songwriter whom I had previously met: Lobo. In the future, I hope to write an article or series of articles of the many singers and bands that I saw perform at the WTC summer concerts (the terrorists will never take away my memories) and I'll detail my conversation with Lobo then. Anyway, as Jim's show broke for intermission they announced that his wife Ann, who manages the theatre, would be manning the concession stand during the break. I decided it was worth springing the $17.99 or thereabouts for a T-shirt in order to have the opportunity to meet Mrs. Stafford, especially since I'd actually be able to name drop with her (Yeah, I know....Jim's first wife was Bobbie Gentry who's own hit "Ode to Billy Joe" topped the charts back in 1967).
I changed lines to insure that Ann Stafford would handle my order. I told her that I had covered music for The New York Post, had met Lobo and wanted to know if he and Jim still spoke. Ann talked about how Jim and "Kent" (Lobo's real name is Roland Kent Lavoie) had just performed a reunion show together back in their native town of Winter Haven, Florida. During their High School days the two of them were in a band call The Rumours along with the late Gram Parsons (Z"L--1973). Gram is considered by many to have been the father of country/rock and is best known for 1)being hand-selected to replace David Crosby in The Byrds; 2)being the vocalist that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had in mind when they wrote "Wild Horses." I also complemented Ann on her two talented kids who now join their dad on stage: Sheaffer (either 11 or 12)and GG (somewhere around 8 or 9). She said that when the kids get a little older, they may bring the show on the road. Good! They're bound to be the only travelling family act incorporating 3-D glasses, trick microphones, and soaking wet frisbees into a hi-tech musical variety show.
With all of Jim's accomplishments, he's not all that well known in 2004 and many of those that did know him would probably be surprised to learn that he's alive and well and still drawing in excess of 1,000 people a show; 350 shows a year. I don't feel bad for Jim that he's not as recognized as he should be. I do feel bad for the people who will never realize how many great performances they've missed out on and the many great hits of the past that they will never hear. Jim was not a fringe performer, he was at one time a bona-fide superstar! Someday, maybe he'll be recognized as such again. For now, I'll do my part and wear the T-shirt I bought at the show. It says: "I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes, But I Do Like Jim Stafford."
###
P.S.---True story! As I was walking down Sullivan Street on a coffee break a few weeks back a lady asked me if I knew what time it was. I glanced at my watch and it was 3:34 PM. "Yeah," I responded "It's 25.." Then it hit me and with a smile I continued, "It's 25...or 6, to 4." I looked into her eyes for the slightest bit of recognition, but nothing. Now, maybe if she had asked me if I "REALLY knew what time it was."
I really didn't know a lot about Jim until earlier this month when I caught his variety show at The Jim Stafford theatre in Branson, Missouri. The guy is a real showman, something desperately missing from many performers today, and his act was full of entertaining sight gags that one might of found on, say, The Muppet Show---and yes we were treated to some Hensonesqe spiders and snakes singing along. Quite impressive for a guy who many think of as just a one-hit wonder (for the record he scored six Top-40 hits from 1973-75).
Well, it turns out Jim's career is significantly more multi-faceted than I had previously realized. As an actor, he starred in Clint Eastwood's "Any Which Way You Can." He hosted his own variety show on ABC in 1975 and in the early-80's he co-hosted the popular prime-time show "Those Amazing Animals" with Burgess Meredith and Priscilla Presley. And, as all we know, during Johnny Carson's hey-day the size of your stardom was measured by the number of appearances you made on The Tonight Show. Jim Stafford's tally: 26!
One of the few things I did know about Jim was the he was buddies with another 70's hit singer/songwriter whom I had previously met: Lobo. In the future, I hope to write an article or series of articles of the many singers and bands that I saw perform at the WTC summer concerts (the terrorists will never take away my memories) and I'll detail my conversation with Lobo then. Anyway, as Jim's show broke for intermission they announced that his wife Ann, who manages the theatre, would be manning the concession stand during the break. I decided it was worth springing the $17.99 or thereabouts for a T-shirt in order to have the opportunity to meet Mrs. Stafford, especially since I'd actually be able to name drop with her (Yeah, I know....Jim's first wife was Bobbie Gentry who's own hit "Ode to Billy Joe" topped the charts back in 1967).
I changed lines to insure that Ann Stafford would handle my order. I told her that I had covered music for The New York Post, had met Lobo and wanted to know if he and Jim still spoke. Ann talked about how Jim and "Kent" (Lobo's real name is Roland Kent Lavoie) had just performed a reunion show together back in their native town of Winter Haven, Florida. During their High School days the two of them were in a band call The Rumours along with the late Gram Parsons (Z"L--1973). Gram is considered by many to have been the father of country/rock and is best known for 1)being hand-selected to replace David Crosby in The Byrds; 2)being the vocalist that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had in mind when they wrote "Wild Horses." I also complemented Ann on her two talented kids who now join their dad on stage: Sheaffer (either 11 or 12)and GG (somewhere around 8 or 9). She said that when the kids get a little older, they may bring the show on the road. Good! They're bound to be the only travelling family act incorporating 3-D glasses, trick microphones, and soaking wet frisbees into a hi-tech musical variety show.
With all of Jim's accomplishments, he's not all that well known in 2004 and many of those that did know him would probably be surprised to learn that he's alive and well and still drawing in excess of 1,000 people a show; 350 shows a year. I don't feel bad for Jim that he's not as recognized as he should be. I do feel bad for the people who will never realize how many great performances they've missed out on and the many great hits of the past that they will never hear. Jim was not a fringe performer, he was at one time a bona-fide superstar! Someday, maybe he'll be recognized as such again. For now, I'll do my part and wear the T-shirt I bought at the show. It says: "I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes, But I Do Like Jim Stafford."
###
P.S.---True story! As I was walking down Sullivan Street on a coffee break a few weeks back a lady asked me if I knew what time it was. I glanced at my watch and it was 3:34 PM. "Yeah," I responded "It's 25.." Then it hit me and with a smile I continued, "It's 25...or 6, to 4." I looked into her eyes for the slightest bit of recognition, but nothing. Now, maybe if she had asked me if I "REALLY knew what time it was."
Sunday, June 20, 2004
Blame it on Bill Murray (and Sofia Coppola and Scarlett Johansson)
Earlier this week I rented "Lost in Translation" and, as a result, I now have a blog. Confused? I'd been toying with the idea of starting a blog for some time, but my motivation was never high enough to move me beyond the blogspot intro page. Sure I love to write, but I didn't need a blog for that. I was very happy submitting the occasional freelance piece for publication to The New York Post, Philadelphia Daily News, Entrepreneur or Brandweek and sending out an annual, lengthy, witty (or so I believe) update of my life to family and friends. Most of my opinions and beliefs about the world, current events and even pop culture were already being articulated by others on the Web and, in many cases, better than I ever could have said them myself. If I wasn't going add anything to the equation, then there were much better things I could be doing with my time.
Then on Thursday I finally saw "Lost in Translation." I'm not going to review or analyze the film (there are plenty of other blogs for that) except to say I enjoyed it immensely and Scarlet Johansson is cute as a button. But the scene that launched this blog came towards the end when they're in a bar and in the background you can hear the haunting bluesy keyboards of "So In To You," a song which The Atlanta Rhythm Section took to #7 in the Spring of 1977. While it's not one of my all-time favorites (it's not even my favorite tune by The Atlanta Rhythm Section), I'd heard the song several times over the last 27 years and it even appears on one of my compilation CDs. But this time something clicked and a 20-year old mystery was solved.
Like many a Sunday Morning in my teenage years, I would devote a healthy block of time to listening to American Top-40 and December 11, 1983 was no exception. I must have had a late start that morning because I remember that they were already in the middle of song #34 when I turned on the radio. From the vocals I could tell immediately that it was Genesis and that made sense since the group had just released a new album but the tune sounded a little too familiar. I figured if it was a remake Casey would let me know, but he said nothing of the sort as the song faded out. Just a "Coming in at #34, that's the British trio Genesis with `That's All.'" And, no it wasn't a remake. So this bouncy "original" tune with a slight subtle tinge of eerieness must have reminded me of another song I'd heard before.
Ultimately, I'd go on to buy the Genesis tape with "That's All" on it (the title of the album was simply Genesis, though they were originally going to call it "Pieces of Perfection"---check out the album cover) but in recent years I hadn't given the tune a lot of thought...until last Thursday Night! Now if you happen to be familiar with both songs ("So In To You" and "That's All") think about them.... think about them realllly carefully. See where I'm going here. The songs, while not exactly identical, flow together rather nicely. While I was walking to work on Friday, I started thinking how I wished I was talented enough to record the two songs as a medley (reality check: I play a grand total of 0 musical instruments). I even had it all figured out where the tunes from each would switch back and forth. The songs even have some lyrical similarities with both touching on the matter of unrequited obsession.
I figured I couldn't be the first person ever to come up with this idea. So I googled the titles to both songs and the only joint results returned came from music databases. If someone else has made the connection they haven't written about it yet. So.....that's what I will do!
Life is a Soundtrack will focus on the nuances of pop music, both yesterday's and today's. I hope to put together some interesting lists (ideas in the works include "The Top 20 Best Produced Songs,"
"The Top 20 Greatest Remakes," and "The Top 20 Best Songs for Slow-Dancing ). We'll also have some thought-provoking pieces ("Were the Gin Blossoms influenced by The Grass Roots?"; "Why the WNEW-FM of the 1980's was the greatest station of all time") as well as trivia and concert reviews (including some retro-reviews). And yes, occasionally I may even get a little autobiographical and talk about how a certain song or group of songs defined a moment or phase (a la John Cusack in High Fidelity) and earned their personal place on the soundtrack of my life.
Oh, and we're not done talking about how songs like "That's All," have (inadvertently or not) borrowed from other tunes. In the near future I expect to revisit the issue in greater detail (Yes Britney, "Ooops, I Did it Again" sounds a little too much like Barbara Streisand's "Woman In Love." For what it's worth, I actually like your recording better).
While the blog will hold special appeal for music-geeks, radio-geeks and, especially chart-geeks, my aim is to make it fun for everybody. For right now I'm going to shoot for one solid post a month (on or around the 20th) and we'll see how it goes. Comments and feedback are welcomed and appreciated.
Exactly 22 years ago yesterday (Saturday June 19th, 1982) was my Bar Mitzvah and so exactly 22 years ago today (Sunday June 20th, 1982) was my Bar Mitzvah party. With the party starting around 1:30, you can guess what I was doing from 9-1. I had my ears glued to AM 66 WNBC (my how times have changed) as Casey Kasem counted down the 40 biggest hits of the week. This was actually a nice Bar Mitzvah present for me as I had just become a music (and chart) geek earlier in the year and, between my massive 8th Grade project and my Bar Mitzvah preparations, I hadn't had the chance to listen to AT 40 in its entirety in several weeks. I committed that week's list to memory and can even tell you that I said morning prayers from songs 23-20 and showered between songs 11-8 (I found out those songs from friends later on in the day).
I thought what better way to end this initial post than with a nod to yesteryear as well as a taste of some of L.I.A.S.'s things to come. So, according to Billboard Magazine, these were the 40 hottest songs in the land for the week ending June 19th, 1982:
#40 "Stone Cold"---Rainbow
#39 "Be Mine Tonight"---Neil Diamond
#38 "Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do"---Huey Lewis and The News
#37 "This Man Is Mine"---Heart
#36 "Abracadabra"---The Steve Miller Band
#35 "After The Glitter Fades"---Stevie Nicks
#34 "Keep The Fire Burnin'"---REO Speedwagon
#33 "Hold Me"---Fleetwood Mac
#32 "Personally"---Karla Bonoff
#31 "What Kind Of Fool Am I"---Rick Springfield
#30 "Still They Ride"---Journey
#29 "Forget Me Nots"---Patrice Rushen
#28 "Break It Up"---Foreigner
#27 "Do I Do"---Stevie Wonder
#26 "When It's Over"---Loverboy
#25 "Empty Garden"---Elton John
#24 "Without You"---Frankie and The Knockouts
#23 "Play The Game Tonight"---Kansas
#22 "Take Me Down"---Alabama
#21 "Any Day Now"---Ronnie Milsap
#20 "Only The Lonely"---The Motels
#19 "Man On Your Mind"---The Little River Band
#18 "I've Never Been To Me"---Charlene
#17 "Tainted Love"---Soft Cell
#16 "Caught Up In You"---.38 Special
#15 "867-5309/Jenny"---Tommy Tutone
#14 "Don't Talk To Strangers---Rick Springfield
#13 "Making Love"---Roberta Flack
#12 "Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me"---Juice Newton
#11 "Body Language"---Queen
#10 "It's Going To Take A Miracle"---Deniece Williams
#9 "Hurts So Good"---John Cougar
#8 "Let It Whip"---The Dazz Band
#7 "Crimson And Clover"---Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
#6 "Heat Of The Moment"---Asia
#5 "Always On My Mind"---Willie Nelson
#4 "The Other Woman"---Ray Parker Jr.
#3 "Rosanna"---Toto
(COOL ANECDOTE: While introducing "Rosanna," Casey made the observation that there were a few elements of The Wizard of Oz in that week's countdown. There was Rainbow at #40; Kansas at #23 and then finally at #3 there was Toto.)
#2 "Don't You Want Me"---The Human League
And The Number One Song For The Week Ending June 19th, 1982 (Drumroll)
"EBONY AND IVORY" BY PAUL MCCARTNEY AND STEVIE WONDER
(Note to Cynics: Back issues of Billboard Magazine are available at the library for verification purposes)
Then on Thursday I finally saw "Lost in Translation." I'm not going to review or analyze the film (there are plenty of other blogs for that) except to say I enjoyed it immensely and Scarlet Johansson is cute as a button. But the scene that launched this blog came towards the end when they're in a bar and in the background you can hear the haunting bluesy keyboards of "So In To You," a song which The Atlanta Rhythm Section took to #7 in the Spring of 1977. While it's not one of my all-time favorites (it's not even my favorite tune by The Atlanta Rhythm Section), I'd heard the song several times over the last 27 years and it even appears on one of my compilation CDs. But this time something clicked and a 20-year old mystery was solved.
Like many a Sunday Morning in my teenage years, I would devote a healthy block of time to listening to American Top-40 and December 11, 1983 was no exception. I must have had a late start that morning because I remember that they were already in the middle of song #34 when I turned on the radio. From the vocals I could tell immediately that it was Genesis and that made sense since the group had just released a new album but the tune sounded a little too familiar. I figured if it was a remake Casey would let me know, but he said nothing of the sort as the song faded out. Just a "Coming in at #34, that's the British trio Genesis with `That's All.'" And, no it wasn't a remake. So this bouncy "original" tune with a slight subtle tinge of eerieness must have reminded me of another song I'd heard before.
Ultimately, I'd go on to buy the Genesis tape with "That's All" on it (the title of the album was simply Genesis, though they were originally going to call it "Pieces of Perfection"---check out the album cover) but in recent years I hadn't given the tune a lot of thought...until last Thursday Night! Now if you happen to be familiar with both songs ("So In To You" and "That's All") think about them.... think about them realllly carefully. See where I'm going here. The songs, while not exactly identical, flow together rather nicely. While I was walking to work on Friday, I started thinking how I wished I was talented enough to record the two songs as a medley (reality check: I play a grand total of 0 musical instruments). I even had it all figured out where the tunes from each would switch back and forth. The songs even have some lyrical similarities with both touching on the matter of unrequited obsession.
I figured I couldn't be the first person ever to come up with this idea. So I googled the titles to both songs and the only joint results returned came from music databases. If someone else has made the connection they haven't written about it yet. So.....that's what I will do!
Life is a Soundtrack will focus on the nuances of pop music, both yesterday's and today's. I hope to put together some interesting lists (ideas in the works include "The Top 20 Best Produced Songs,"
"The Top 20 Greatest Remakes," and "The Top 20 Best Songs for Slow-Dancing ). We'll also have some thought-provoking pieces ("Were the Gin Blossoms influenced by The Grass Roots?"; "Why the WNEW-FM of the 1980's was the greatest station of all time") as well as trivia and concert reviews (including some retro-reviews). And yes, occasionally I may even get a little autobiographical and talk about how a certain song or group of songs defined a moment or phase (a la John Cusack in High Fidelity) and earned their personal place on the soundtrack of my life.
Oh, and we're not done talking about how songs like "That's All," have (inadvertently or not) borrowed from other tunes. In the near future I expect to revisit the issue in greater detail (Yes Britney, "Ooops, I Did it Again" sounds a little too much like Barbara Streisand's "Woman In Love." For what it's worth, I actually like your recording better).
While the blog will hold special appeal for music-geeks, radio-geeks and, especially chart-geeks, my aim is to make it fun for everybody. For right now I'm going to shoot for one solid post a month (on or around the 20th) and we'll see how it goes. Comments and feedback are welcomed and appreciated.
Exactly 22 years ago yesterday (Saturday June 19th, 1982) was my Bar Mitzvah and so exactly 22 years ago today (Sunday June 20th, 1982) was my Bar Mitzvah party. With the party starting around 1:30, you can guess what I was doing from 9-1. I had my ears glued to AM 66 WNBC (my how times have changed) as Casey Kasem counted down the 40 biggest hits of the week. This was actually a nice Bar Mitzvah present for me as I had just become a music (and chart) geek earlier in the year and, between my massive 8th Grade project and my Bar Mitzvah preparations, I hadn't had the chance to listen to AT 40 in its entirety in several weeks. I committed that week's list to memory and can even tell you that I said morning prayers from songs 23-20 and showered between songs 11-8 (I found out those songs from friends later on in the day).
I thought what better way to end this initial post than with a nod to yesteryear as well as a taste of some of L.I.A.S.'s things to come. So, according to Billboard Magazine, these were the 40 hottest songs in the land for the week ending June 19th, 1982:
#40 "Stone Cold"---Rainbow
#39 "Be Mine Tonight"---Neil Diamond
#38 "Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do"---Huey Lewis and The News
#37 "This Man Is Mine"---Heart
#36 "Abracadabra"---The Steve Miller Band
#35 "After The Glitter Fades"---Stevie Nicks
#34 "Keep The Fire Burnin'"---REO Speedwagon
#33 "Hold Me"---Fleetwood Mac
#32 "Personally"---Karla Bonoff
#31 "What Kind Of Fool Am I"---Rick Springfield
#30 "Still They Ride"---Journey
#29 "Forget Me Nots"---Patrice Rushen
#28 "Break It Up"---Foreigner
#27 "Do I Do"---Stevie Wonder
#26 "When It's Over"---Loverboy
#25 "Empty Garden"---Elton John
#24 "Without You"---Frankie and The Knockouts
#23 "Play The Game Tonight"---Kansas
#22 "Take Me Down"---Alabama
#21 "Any Day Now"---Ronnie Milsap
#20 "Only The Lonely"---The Motels
#19 "Man On Your Mind"---The Little River Band
#18 "I've Never Been To Me"---Charlene
#17 "Tainted Love"---Soft Cell
#16 "Caught Up In You"---.38 Special
#15 "867-5309/Jenny"---Tommy Tutone
#14 "Don't Talk To Strangers---Rick Springfield
#13 "Making Love"---Roberta Flack
#12 "Love's Been A Little Bit Hard On Me"---Juice Newton
#11 "Body Language"---Queen
#10 "It's Going To Take A Miracle"---Deniece Williams
#9 "Hurts So Good"---John Cougar
#8 "Let It Whip"---The Dazz Band
#7 "Crimson And Clover"---Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
#6 "Heat Of The Moment"---Asia
#5 "Always On My Mind"---Willie Nelson
#4 "The Other Woman"---Ray Parker Jr.
#3 "Rosanna"---Toto
(COOL ANECDOTE: While introducing "Rosanna," Casey made the observation that there were a few elements of The Wizard of Oz in that week's countdown. There was Rainbow at #40; Kansas at #23 and then finally at #3 there was Toto.)
#2 "Don't You Want Me"---The Human League
And The Number One Song For The Week Ending June 19th, 1982 (Drumroll)
"EBONY AND IVORY" BY PAUL MCCARTNEY AND STEVIE WONDER
(Note to Cynics: Back issues of Billboard Magazine are available at the library for verification purposes)
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