December 2021 – Page 4 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Howlin’ Wolf – Smokestack Lightnin’

I first learned about Howlin’ Wolf after reading a Rolling Stones biography. It contained an interview that Brian Jones did in the early sixties. He founded the Stones and pushed the Stones toward the blues.

Howlin’ Wolf’s real name was Chester Burnett and he was born in 1910. He was a blues singer, guitarist, and harp player. He had a professional rivalry with fellow bluesman Muddy Waters. Waters ended up getting Wolf his first job in Chicago.

This classic song was recorded way back in 1956 at the legendary Chess studios in Chicago. Wolf is listed as the songwriter and the producers were Leonard Chess, Phil Chess, and Willie Dixon. He lives up to the Howlin’ part of his name…his voice is powerful. He has been credited as one of the first to move acoustic blues to electric guitar.

The Yardbirds (The Clapton version) covered this song and Howlin’ Wolf himself considered their version the definitive version of his song. That had to be quite an honor coming from the man himself.

After reading many of Christian’s posts…I realized I need to add some more blues into my blog…

Smokestack Lightning

Whoa, smokestack lightnin’
Shinin’ just like gold
Why don’t you hear me cryin’?
A-whoo-hoo, a-whoo-hoo, whoo

Whoa-oh, tell me, baby
What’s the matter here?
Why don’t you hear me cryin’?
Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo, whoo

Whoa-oh, tell me, baby
Where did you stay last night?
Why don’t you hear me cryin’?
Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo, whoo

Whoa-oh, stop your train
Let a poor boy ride
Why don’t you hear me cryin’?
Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo, whoo

Whoa-oh, fare-you-well
Never see a you no more
Why don’t you hear me cryin’?
Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo, whoo

Whoa-oh, who been here baby since
I, I been gone a little bitty boy?
Girl, be on
A-whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo, whoo

Twilight Zone Season 3 Review

I want to thank you all who have stuck with me through this long haul. We are now finished with the 3rd season! The next season will be quick with only 18 hour long episodes. If you want… please comment on what you think I got wrong, right, or just your favorite episodes.

Season three was not as consistent as seasons 1 and 2 but it still contained some classics such as To Serve Man, A Game Of Pool, The Midnight Sun, Deaths-Head Revisited, Nothing In The Dark, The Dummy, and more.

By the close of the third season, The Twilight Zone had made cultural inroads beyond its status as a mere television series. The show started to fit into popular culture, the twilight zone was a phrase perfectly suited to describe any number of strange situations.

Dean Rusk, the Secretary of State, in a speech to the Senate, referred to the Twilight Zone in diplomacy, Serling noted. When that happened, I thought, My gosh, we’ve arrived! During the 1962 California gubernatorial primaries, Governor Pat Brown said he was looking forward to the post-election TV logs reading, Richard Nixon Returns to Twilight Zone.

In the spring of 1962, The Twilight Zone was late in finding a sponsor for its fourth season. As a result, CBS programmed a new show, Fair Exchange, into its time slot for the fall. Suddenly and without prior warning, The Twilight Zone was off the air.

After CBS dropped The Twilight Zone, Serling accepted a teaching post at Antioch College, effective September, 1962, through January, 1963. CBS did of course pick the series back up after a while. The series renewal made no change in this decision. Serling was tired of The Twilight Zone and burned out. Over the next two seasons, his involvement in the show would be greatly decreased. He would still host the show and contribute his share of scripts, but his input on the details of production would be minimal. Those decisions would be made by others.

CBS ordered only 18 episodes for the 4th season but…they would now be an hour long in format. With Serling’s less involvement combined with the hour format…the shows quality declined in this season. It would somewhat bounce back in the 5th season.

Season 3
Total	Episode	Date	Episode	Stars
66	1	Sept 15, 1961	Two	4
67	2	Sept 22, 1961	The Arrival	4
68	3	Sept 29, 1961	The Shelter	5
69	4	Oct 6, 1961	The Passersby	4
70	5	Oct 13, 1961	A Game Of Pool	5
71	6	Oct 20, 1961	The Mirror	3.5
72	7	Oct 27, 1961	The Grave	4.5
73	8	Nov 3, 1961	It’s A Good Life	5
74	9	Nov 10, 1961	Deaths-Head Revisited	5
75	10	Nov 17, 1961	The Midnight Sun	5
76	11	Nov 24, 1961	Still Valley	3.5
77	12	Dec 1, 1961	The Jungle	4
78	13	Dec 15, 1961	Once Upon A Time	3.5
79	14	Dec 22, 1961	Five Characters In Search Of An Exit	5
80	15	Dec 29, 1961	A Quality Of Mercy	4
81	16	Jan 5, 1962	Nothing In The Dark	5
82	17	Jan 12, 1962	One More Pallbearer	4
83	18	Jan 19, 1962	Dead Man’s Shoes	4
84	19	Jan 26, 1962	The Hunt	4.5
85	20	Feb 2, 1962	Showdown With Rance McGrew	3
86	21	Feb 9, 1962	Kick The Can	4.5
87	22	Feb 16, 1962	A Piano In The House	4
88	23	Feb 23, 1962	The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank	4
89	24	Mar 2, 1962	To Serve Man	5
90	25	Mar 9, 1962	The Fugitive	3.5
91	26	Mar 16, 1962	Little Girl Lost	5
92	27	Mar 23, 1962	Person Or Persons Unknown	4.5
93	28	Mar 30, 1962	The Little People	4.5
94	29	April 6, 1962	Four O’Clock	2
95	30	April 13, 1962	Hocus-Pocus And Frisby	4
96	31	April 20, 1962	The Trade-Ins	4.5
97	32	April 27, 1962	The Gift	3.5
98	33	May 4, 1962	The Dummy	5
99	34	May 11, 1962	Young Man’s Fancy	4
100	35	May 18, 1962	I Sing The Body Electric	4
101	36	May 25, 1962	Cavender Is Coming	2
102	37	June 1, 1962	Changing Of The Guard	5
	Season 3	Review

…

Raspberries – Should I Wait

The Raspberries formed in the early 1970s when Eric Carmen and Jim Bonfanti envisioned a band that would emulate bands such as The Beatles, The Who, and The Beach Boys.

This song came off of the Side 3 album released in 1973. This song…well the way I would describe it is country tinged power pop. It was an odd and cool album cover. It was a die-cut of a basket of Raspberries, with the group’s name placed on top of the LP sleeve.

Three members wrote and sang songs. It wasn’t just Eric Carmen…This song was written and sung by Dave Smalley the bass player. This was their third album and they would end up releasing four studio albums.

The band consisted of Eric Carmen (vocalist/guitarist/bassist/pianist), Wally Bryson (guitarist), Jim Bonfanti (drummer), and Dave Smalley (guitarist/bassist).

Their last appearance as the original lineup was on The Mike Douglas Show in 1974. Shortly after… Bonfanti and Smalley both quit the band to pursue individual music careers. Michael McBride and Scott McCarl replaced them and shortly after Raspberries went on to produce their fourth and final album Starting Over…which yielded what could be their masterpiece… Overnight Sensation.

In 2004, the original four members of the group performed at Cleveland’s House of Blues. This resulted in a 2005 mini-tour. The Raspberries performed at other venues around the United States, with their final concert performance in Cleveland, Ohio at KeyBank State Theatre on December 14th, 2007.

Should I Wait

Don’t you know you’re gonna lose
If you love somebody that don’t love you?
You’ll believe him when he’s untrue
But I can’t bear seein’ him break your heart in two
I’ve let it happen much too long

Should I wait, hopin’ you’ll find out on your own?
It’s me who’s loved you for so long

If he hurts you with his lies
Don’t let it take too long to open your eyes
You’re gonna see through his disguise
But I can’t bear seein’ him break your heart in two
I’m tired of tryin’ to play it cool

Should I wait, hopin’ you’ll find out on your own?
The one you love is just a fool

If I had the chance I’d make you see
When you fall in love how it should be
A love that makes you sad can only turn out bad
So I’ll be hangin’ ’round until you’re free

Should I wait, hopin’ you’ll find out on your own?
It’s me who’s loved you for so long

George Harrison – This Song

After being sued for My Sweet Lord, George Harrison wrote this song. This was Harrison’s funny send-up of the He’s So Fine and My Sweet Lord plagiarism court case.

The line, “This tune has nothing Bright about it,” is a reference to Bright Tunes Music, the company that owned the publishing rights to “He’s So Fine” and sued Harrison.

It was the first single for Harrison’s Thirty Three & 1/3 album, and features Billy Preston on piano and organ, and Monty Python’s Eric Idle calling out a falsetto “Could be ‘Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch,” “No, sounds more like ‘Rescue Me’!” interjection right before the instrumental break.

The song peaked at #25 in the Billboard 100 and #30 in Canada in 1976. I bought this album when I was 10 and still enjoy it. I couldn’t stop playing Crackerbox Palace.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owens found that while he did not feel that George had ‘deliberately’ plagiarized the song ‘He’s So Fine’, there was substantial evidence that he did infringe on the song’s copyright. George was found guilty and ordered to pay damages in the amount of $587,000.”

From Songfacts

Harrison made a video for this song where he is seen pleading his case in courtroom that devolves into a full-on circus by the end, a metaphor for the actual proceedings. The video was shown on Saturday Night Live when Harrison was the musical guest on November 20, 1976. On the same show, Harrison’s video for “Crackerbox Palace” also aired.

This Song

This song has nothing tricky about it
This song ain’t black or white and as far as I know
Don’t infringe on anyone’s copyright, so

This song, we’ll let be
This song is in E
This song is for you and

This tune has nothing bright about it
This tune ain’t bad or good and come ever what may
My expert tells me it’s okay

As this song came to me
Unknowingly
This song could be you could be, ooh

This riff ain’t trying to win gold medals
This riff ain’t hip or square, well-done or rare
May end up one more weight to bear

But this song could well be
A reason to see
That without you there’s no point to this song
Ooh, ooh

But this song could well be
A reason to see
That without you there’s no point to this song

…

Twilight Zone – Changing Of The Guard

★★★★★ June 1, 1962 Season 3 Episode 37

If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.

An excellent episode and a great way to close out the 3rd season. Donald Pleasence plays Professor Ellis Fowler and does an excellent job as he always does. He was only 43 years old when he played this part. Pleasance’s old age make-up is subtle and completely convincing.

Preparing to leave for Christmas vacation, Professor Fowler is informed by the Headmaster that, after fifty-one years of teaching, he is to be forcibly retired. Fowler is devastated by this news and begins to brood. He now believes his life was utterly without worth and thinks about suicide. The episode is poignant and makes you wonder how many lives we have touched without realizing it. This one made it into my earlier top 10 episodes of the Twilight Zone.

This is an episode that I think teachers will like.

Buck Houghton Producer: Pleasance was an idea of the casting directors, Id never heard of him, Boy, damn the expense; we brought him from England. He was just wonderful in it. Hes a very nice man. I have a feeling it was his first time in this country professionally, and while he was a thorough going professional with a huge experience in stage and everything else, he was a little apprehensive of this whole experience because he arrived on a given day and five days later it was all going to be over. So he had a lot to absorb. But Bob Miller is very together and gave him confidence and we were off and running.

This show was written by Rod Serling

Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:

Professor Ellis Fowler, a gentle, bookish guide to the young, who is about to discover that life still has certain surprises, and that the campus of the Rock Spring School for Boys lies on a direct path to another institution, commonly referred to as the Twilight Zone.

Summary

Professor Ellis Fowler has been teaching at the Rock Spring School for Boys for a great many years. In fact, he taught the grandfather of one of his current students. Just before Christmas however, he’s told by the headmaster that his contract will not be renewed for the new year. Despondent, he returns home convinced that his life has been wasted and decides to end it all. Before he can do so however, his is visited by some very special students from the past who give him cause to reconsider.

Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:

Professor Ellis Fowler, teacher, who discovered rather belatedly something of his own value. A very small scholastic lesson, from the campus of the Twilight Zone.

CAST

Rod Serling … Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
Donald Pleasence … Professor Ellis Fowler
Liam Sullivan … Headmaster
Philippa Bevans … Mrs. Landers
Tom Lowell … Artie Beechcroft
Russell Horton … Bartlett
Buddy Hart … Boy
Darryl Richard … Thompson