Old Timey Music for Howard and DC

[howard]

metal core, pop punk, I can only guess at what these mean. I remember when Vans Warped tour started; that was 1995, wiki tells me.

[Rush2112]

For pop Adele is pretty great. Not my thing, but I appreciate pop that at least the performers have some talent. My wife still listens to the top 40. so I have to listen to it from time to time. TSwift and Adele are heaps better than 99.8% of the drivel that's played (of the ~6 cuts that the top 40 station plays.)

[Giff]

For pop Adele is pretty great. Not my thing, but I appreciate pop that at least the performers have some talent. My wife still listens to the top 40. so I have to listen to it from time to time. TSwift and Adele are heaps better than 99.8% of the drivel that's played (of the ~6 cuts that the top 40 station plays.)

I get the latest Adele single stuck in my head every time I hear it. This is probably for the confessions thread, but I don't hate a lot of the current adult pop that's out there.

[Rush2112]

He's pretty good.

[DC47]

[DC47]

Last night I was playing Down by the River in the car, and my 15 year-old got a big kick out of the juxtaposition of the happy poppy la-la-la background vocals with the lyrics of "... I shot myyy bayy-beee. Dead... shot her dead, shot her dead..."

If she ever digs into traditional folk music she'll find a lot of this. Lovely strumming, but if there is a man and a woman mentioned in the first verse, the odds are high that by the third verse he will have drowned her or she will have stabbed him.

In the rock genre, perhaps this would appeal to her.

[howard]

The Edison Lighthouse tune you posted in the Hillary thread, Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) was my fave of those Tony Burrows radio songs, I was about 13yo, and I remember several others. Only many years later did I learn who Burrows was and his connection to all those songs/groups. I was and remain a sucker for a well-crafted pop song with multiple hooks.

The wiki sez, as well as the Deep Purple connection, two guys from The Ivy League sang backing vocals for The Who on Can't Explain. Small community of musicians/pop recording artists in London I guess.

[sancarlos]

When I was a kid of 9 or 10, we had a babysitter whose first and middle names were Rose Marie and she went by both of them. So, she stayed with us one evening shortly after Smile a Little Smile for Me (Rose Marie) came out. She brought her 45 single of the song with her over to our home, and I think we got to hear it 30 or 40 times that night. Good times.

[Rush2112]

[sancarlos]

Because Howard brought it up in the Lyrics thread...

[howard]

From songfacts.com

This was the last song Zevon played live in front of an audience before he died. He performed it on The David Letterman Show; he intended on closing with "Mutineer," but Letterman wanted "Roland" to close the show, so Zevon sang "Mutineer" first, "Genius" and then closed with "Roland."

Later, after Zevon died, Letterman did a tribute and re-ran the "Mutineer" segment, so Zevon did, indeed, play Mutineer last.

[DC47]

The Edison Lighthouse tune you posted in the Hillary thread, Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) was my fave of those Tony Burrows radio songs, I was about 13yo, and I remember several others. Only many years later did I learn who Burrows was and his connection to all those songs/groups. I was and remain a sucker for a well-crafted pop song with multiple hooks.

The wiki sez, as well as the Deep Purple connection, two guys from The Ivy League sang backing vocals for The Who on Can't Explain. Small community of musicians/pop recording artists in London I guess.

I am with you on every bit of that. Regarding craft and hooks, people think I'm joking when I drop my appreciation for, say, The Hollies, The Chi-Lites, or The Rascals. Even the Grass Roots.

[sancarlos]

I bought the best of the Grass Roots when I was eleven - the second album I ever bought. I still love those guys. But I take lots of shit for it from my wife.

[howard]

Had you waited another 59 minutes, that could've been a Midnight Confession(s). (eastern time)

[sancarlos]

That's Creed from The Office on guitar, stage left. (He doesn't get much camera time.)

ETA: Temptation Eyes was my favorite. Sadly, Creed was gone by then.

[DC47]

I bought the best of the Grass Roots when I was eleven - the second album I ever bought. I still love those guys. But I take lots of shit for it from my wife.

I probably still have this album.

The Grass Roots are an excellent example of the point we're discussing. The Monkees were perhaps the pure case.

The Grass Roots is a group that had good but not great songs, good studio musicians, and competent but mediocre (rather than singular in style) singing. But combine this with clever production with an eye to hooks, and you get some really good tunes. Not classics. But very good material including some killer radio hits.

I distinguish a group like this from musicians of the same era who were actually working with great material (e.g., Stax artists, Mamas and Papas), or who had tremendous vocal ability (e.g., Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker), or who were outstanding instrumental musicians (e.g., Chicago with Terry Kath, Booker T. and the MGs). With at least one of these things at a very high level plus good production and/or strong studio musicians (if they needed this), these musicians could make better music than the likes of The Grass Roots. But the Grass Roots did quite well.

[DC47]

Had you waited another 59 minutes, that could've been a Midnight Confession(s). (eastern time)

I'm clearly out of shape to have missed this temptation; I hope to do better.

Killer bass line sweet organ part throughout. Since the legendary Wrecking Crew was said to be all over the recordings by the producers behind the Grass Roots, the bassist is probably Carol Kaye, not the guy faking it on this TV show. No idea about the actual organ player. This is a nice melody, competently sung. But it's brilliant, creative musical bits like these that make this song a hit then and a timeless example of pop music even now.

Insert a single 's' above to get the full meaning.

[DC47]

Later, after Zevon died, Letterman did a tribute and re-ran the "Mutineer" segment, so Zevon did, indeed, play Mutineer last.

That's an amazingly powerful performance of a unique, stunning song. Always moving. What a pleasure to see it again.

[DC47]

I had this single. Love the spirit of the woman singing with them here.

[bfj]

From songfacts.com

This was the last song Zevon played live in front of an audience before he died. He performed it on The David Letterman Show; he intended on closing with "Mutineer," but Letterman wanted "Roland" to close the show, so Zevon sang "Mutineer" first, "Genius" and then closed with "Roland."

Later, after Zevon died, Letterman did a tribute and re-ran the "Mutineer" segment, so Zevon did, indeed, play Mutineer last.

[bfj]

His farewell song from his last album. I would like someone to either perform this or recite it at my funeral.

[DC47]

Podransky was the front-man for the obscure L.A. band The Rave-Ups in the mid '80s. Terrific song from that era, performed recently with a band they inspired -- The Clarks.



And speaking of the much under-rated Clarks, here's a terrific song:

[Rush2112]

Right up there with the 'Amen Break' for sample sources.




(including being sampled in the theme for Bill Nye The Science Guy)

[DC47]

Cool. Never heard this.

Is this really getting sampled? Is that James Brown shouting in the back, and his band playing the instrumental track?

[DC47]

Below, Milton with a crack band, that includes the remarkable Robben Ford on guitar. He played with Miles Davis and Joni Mitchell when she had a jazz band. When we were young and foolish, I ran in the same circles as the Ford brothers in NorCal. The drummer here is probably Omar Hakim and the bass player is Marcus Miller. Both played with Miles as well. The sax player is the ubiquitous -- in that era -- David Sanbourn. Lots of the right notes are played.



And here's Milton stretching out in typical concert mode late in his career:





B.B. King will no doubt, and rightfully, never be forgotten. But for my money, Little Milton was the better blues man in this style. A few breaks and he might have had something like the same career. Okay, a lot of breaks. Like writing "The Thrill is Gone."

[rass]

A few breaks and he might have had something like the same career. Okay, a lot of breaks. Like writing "The Thrill is Gone."

ha!

[DC47]

B.B. King made big money on "The Thrill Is Gone." But he also made it for the song's writers -- he actually was covering another blues singer's minor regional hit. King could sing and play, and was quite the showman. But he wasn't much on writing.

[DC47]

I saw B.B. King under a tent at a County Fair in California the mid '70s. Perhaps Santa Rosa or Cloverdale. He was at the top of his game in those days. Sweating in the heat and humidity of an outdoor summer show when it was 100 degrees during the day. And then traveling 200-plus miles to do it again the next day in Chico or Sacramento or Stockton.

Right around then these guys were having them some fun. And it is a truly great song. I like it better without the syrupy strings that were added -- by a producer who was soon to break the Eagles into the big time -- to try to get King's music to cross over to white audiences. This succeeded in a big way. Strings on the blues. Who knew?

[Rush2112]

Cool. Never heard this.

Is this really getting sampled? Is that James Brown shouting in the back, and his band playing the instrumental track?

Yes, that's Mr. Brown and the JBs.

The most famous usage..

[howard]

I remember sitting in 9th grade homeroom, slapping five with my buddy Steve O'Neil because BB King had won the Grammy award for best new artist the night before. I didn't know shit about blues music, only knew The Thrill is Gone from the radio. Man, he seemed ancient then; I never would've thought we'd have another four decades (BB or me.)

A few years later, Steve produced a BB King show, but up at Lake Tahoe, rather than Chico or Sacramento in the summertime. I do remember seeing BB in sweltering heat in Sac one time.

Only saw Little Milton twice, not nearly enough. And I remember being blown away by Robben Ford first time I saw him, with Tom Scott (my college jazz phase.) I did not know he was from NorCal

[DC47]

BB outlasted almost all of his peers. Certainly Milton and the Kings. No one knows why. Was it the obesity or drinking or constant touring? Perhaps it was all the kids by all the women. He was Shawn Kemp before Shawn had his first spawn.

How did you see Milton so often if you weren't really into the blues? I don't recall him touring NorCal when I lived there. I took him to be popular primarily in the south up through Chicago. But you were plugged in, so you might have caught what passed me by.

Robben and his brothers grew up in Ukiah. He's a few years older than us. Their band was hired by Charlie Musselwhite to back him when they were still teens, so on the road they went. I think Tom Scott's band was next for Robben, followed by playing with that band on the legendary Joni Mitchell album and tour. Later, a short stint with 'coked-up and crazy-era Miles.' He's done a lot of session work in LA, and some sporadic albums and tours where he plays sophisticated jazz-blues with small groups.

[howard]

I saw Milton when I was older, in New York.

Around '78, after I had transferred to Santa Barbara, I decided to learn more about the blues, and went to a Charlie Musslewhite show. And it was on from there.

[DC47]

Who were the other blues giants you caught?

[howard]

Not a lot. That was when I started listening to more records and radio. But a few. Big Mamma Thornton is the most notable, because my friends Scott and Lisa promoted a show with her. Albert King, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, R.L. Burnside, but he played well into the 90s. Hubert Sumlin too. Lowell Fulson. Taj a bunch of times, but he is our generation. That's about it. I missed many many more from ignorance, Muddy, Wolf, Willie Dixon, I wish I had been enlightened earlier.

[DC47]

That's quite a list for someone around our age. The blues legends tended to die off too young. And many didn't tour nationally. Some stopped playing for long periods of time.

Here's a blues festival I'll go to when I get the time machine working. Erlewine mentions that many of the musicians at the first '69 festival weren't alive for the '70 festival. I think Otis Spann was one.



You can catch a glimpse of Johnny Winter hanging out. I believe he just showed up because it was going to be a great show -- he wasn't performing on stage. Tremendous late-night jams were said to be on though. These were his idols, all in one place.

[howard]

I'll check those vids later this weekend. Baseball beckons.

[DC47]

I hear Madbum is going to start in LF and come in to pitch in all the critical situations.

[howard]

And bat sixth.

[sancarlos]

I'm not in the same league as you guys, but I have seen Etta James, James Cotton, and Johnny Winter.

[DC47]

Pretty darn good. I am appalled that I never got around to seeing Winter.