Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.
I got this album in 1986 and have never stopped listening to it. This is one of my favorite Springsteen’s albums. It was his debut album in 1973 and there is not a song on it I don’t’ like… It’s not very polished but that is ok. The songs have a stream of conscious feel to them. The album was critically praised but did not have huge sales.
The most famous song on the album is “Blinded By The Light” which was covered later by Manfred Mann Earth’s Band that peaked at #1 in 1977. They also covered another song off the album called “Spirit of the Night” which peaked at #20 in 1977.
Personally, I like Bruce’s versions of both songs much more. “It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City” is another great track and one of the most powerful songs he ever wrote. “Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?” is a journey through an enjoyable play of words. It was written about a bus journey to a girlfriend’s house. Here is a sample of a verse
“Wizard imps and sweat sock pimps Interstellar mongrel nymphs Rex said that lady left him limp Love’s like that (sure it is) Queen of diamonds, ace of spades Newly discovered lovers of the Everglades They take out a full-page ad in the trades To announce their arrival And Mary Lou, she found out how to cope She rides to heaven on a gyroscope The Daily News asks her for the dope She said, “Man, the dope’s that there’s still hope”
I hear Dylan and a Van Morrison influence in Bruce’s first album. It is rough and raw but worth the price of admission. My personal favorite is “Spirit of the Night.” This song hints at some of the characters and places that start populating Bruce’s musical world.
The song Growin’ Up is a complex and honest look at growing up and rebellion. Some lyrics…
“I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere, and you know it’s really hard to hold your breath
I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared, I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress
Well, my feet they finally took root in the earth, but I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car
I hid in the mother breast of the crowd, but when they said, “Pull down,” I pulled up
Ooh…growin’ up
Ooh…growin’ up”
This is a crazy good debut album. I like it a little better than his second album “The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle” but both albums were building up to everything crystallizing in his third…Born to Run.
Track Listing
Blinded By The Light
Growin’ Up
Mary Queen Of Arkansas
Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
Lost In The Flood
The Angel
For You
Spirit In The Night
It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City
Spirit of the Night
Crazy Janey and her mission man were back in the alley trading hands
‘Long came Wild Billy with his friend G-Man all duded up for Saturday night
Well, Billy slammed on his coaster brakes and said, “Anybody wanna go on up to Greasy Lake?
It’s about a mile down on the dark side of route eighty-eight, I got a bottle of rose so let’s try it
We’ll pick up Hazy Davy and Killer Joe and I’ll take you all out to where the gypsy angels go
They’re built like light
Ooh, and they dance like spirits in the night” (all night)
In the night (all night)
Oh, you don’t know what they can do to you
Spirits in the night (all night)
Oh, in the night (all night)
Stand right up now and let it shoot through you
Well now Wild young Billy was a crazy cat and he shook some dust out of his coonskin cap
He said, “Trust some of this, it’ll show you where you’re at, or at least it’ll help you really feel it”
Well, by the time we made it up to Greasy Lake I had my head out the window and Janey’s fingers were in the cake
I think I really dug her ’cause I was too loose to fake
I said, “I’m hurt,” she said, “Honey, let me heal it”
And we danced all night to a soul fairy band
And she kissed me just right like only a lonely angel can
She felt so nice, just as soft as a spirit in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Oh, Janey don’t know what she do to you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
All night (all night)
Stand right up and I let her shoot through me
Now the night was bright and the stars threw light on Billy and Davy
Dancing in the moonlight
They were down near the water in a stone mud fight
Killer Joe gone passed out on the lawn
Well now Hazy Davy got really hurt, he ran into the lake in just his socks and a shirt
Me and Crazy Janey was making love in the dirt, singing our birthday songs
Janey said it was time to go
So we closed our eyes and said goodbye to gypsy angel row, felt so right
Together we moved like spirits in the night (all night)
In the night (all night)
Oh, you don’t know what they can do to you
Them spirits in the night (all night)
All night (all night)
Oh, stand right up and let it shoot through you
Like a spirit in the night (all night)
All night (all night)
All night (all night)
All night (all night)
All night (all night)
All night (all night)
All night, ooh, ooh, man, all night
The night
Be-da-ba the night
In the night
I didn’t know much about Ronnie Lane when I watched this documentary. It covers his childhood through his tragic death and the period after he left the Faces. He was loved by his peers and a talented musician and songwriter.
Ronnie’s mom had Multiple Sclerosis and Ronnie was in denial about himself until he was diagnosed with it. I didn’t know about the documentary until I ran across it on youtube.
I would recommend this to any music fan.
Ronnie Lane was a Britsh songwriter and bass player. He started with the Small Faces as the bass player and he and Steve Marriott wrote most of bands songs. The Small Faces never toured America so they never really broke out big. They did have 11 top twenty hits in the UK but only one in America with Itchycoo Park charting at #16.
Steve Mariott left the Small Faces in 1968 and Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood joined Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Ian McLagan to start The Faces. The Faces released four albums between 1970-1973… First Step, Long Player, A Nod is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horse and Ooh La La. They were one of the top grossing touring bands.
After Rod Stewart’s solo career took off his interest in the band began to wane and in 1973 Ronnie Lane quit. After Ronnie left the Faces, they made no more studio albums.
Ronnie started his own folk-country band named “Slim Chance” and released a surprise hit single “Come On” in 1973 and it went to #11 in the UK. Ronnie had a unique idea of touring. His tour was called “The Passing Show” which toured the countryside with a circus tent and included a ringmaster and clowns.
In 1976 he owed a record company an album and he was in financial trouble. He asked Pete Townshend to help him record an album. The album was called “Rough Mix” and it was a very strong album with great reviews but the record company didn’t promote it and the sales were not great.
During the recording of “Rough Mix” Lane diagnosed with was Multiple Sclerosis. He still toured with Eric Clapton and others afterward and released an album in 1979 called “See Me.”
In 1983 Ronnie called some of his musician friends to do some charity concerts for the Research for Multiple Sclerosis. They were known as the ARMS (Action into Research for Multiple Sclerosis) Charity Concerts. Musicians such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Steve Winwood, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and more came out to support Ronnie.
Ronnie Lane died of Pneumonia while in the final stages of Multiple Sclerosis in 1997
This is a great movie that was made in 1925 by Charlie Chaplin. It has two of Chaplin’s most famous scenes in this movie…Dance of the Dinner Rolls and when Charlie and his partner get so hungry in a cabin that Charlie cooks his shoe and they eat it. The actual shoe was made of licorice and candy…they both ended up sick after the shoot.
The plot involves Big Jim (Mack Swain) who strikes gold but a blizzard hits and he gets lost. Along comes the lone prospector (Charlie Chaplin) looking for riches. They both find a criminal’s (Tom Murray) cabin to take shelter from the storm and eventually take the cabin over. They are stuck there through the winter with nothing to eat. Big Jim imagines Charlie is a chicken at one time with a very good special effect.
Some people have misconceptions about silent movies. Some think they are fast and jerky…they are not. That was caused early on by not having the correct projector to play them when they were transferred to video. Many of them look much better than the reruns of Andy Griffith or movies from the 50s. They had beautiful cinematography because that is what they relied on to convey the story.
The full feature films of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are clear and beautiful to watch and very funny. I’ve always thought comedy translated better through the silent era than drama…although there are great dramas such as “Sunrise” that were brilliant.
I would suggest this movie to anyone who is willing to give a silent movie a chance. It’s rated as one of Charlie’s best movies. City Lights, Modern Times, and The Kid are also great Chaplin films. His best sound film, in my opinion, is The Great Dictator.
There are two versions of this movie. One with the title screens and one where Charlie recorded his voice narrating instead of titles. I have found the original one with titles more enjoyable.
This movie is #137 on the IMDB top 250 movies of all time.
In the late eighties, a song came on the radio that I liked…It was called Poolside by Webb Wilder. It was a quirky song by a quirky singer. He looks like he dropped out of a 50’s black and white detective show. By 1991 I was walking through a street fair in Nashville and there he was playing with his band. He had just put out an album called Doodad that got some local and national airplay. His music is a mixture of rock/country/rockabilly/punk and anything else he can throw in.
I’ve seen him a couple of times and he delivers. He did get some MTV and VHI play nationally in 1991-92. He had a top 20 hit with “Tough It Out” in 1992. His other known songs are “Meet Your New Landlord,” Poolside, and “Human Cannonball”. He has a great band called the Beatnecks.
Webb’s quote when asked what kind of music he plays.
“I came to Nashville as kind of a hunch, an educated guess that it would be a good place for me. Rock ‘n’ roll and country have more in common than not. We don’t have the typical Nashville country sound, but we thought we could use that to our advantage. It’s sorta like we’re a roots band for rock ‘n’ roll fans and a rock band for roots fans” he also adds these phrases…“Swampadelic”, “Service-station attendant music”, “Uneasy listening”, “Psychobilly”
I have a bad habit of “discovering” bands late. This song was released in 2002 by XTC. I had never heard of them before which is embarrassing. It was from the album Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2). The song’s chorus is so catchy that you won’t get it out of your head.
Everyone can relate to this song at one time or another. A man goes and kills LOVE itself so there won’t be any more heartbreak in the world. I’ve heard some people call it kind of creepy…nahhh It’s a great song!
I’m the man who murdered love Yeah! What do you think to that? I’m the man who murdered love Yeah! What do you think to that?
He was begging on his bended knee For me to put him from his misery He hadn’t worked at all this century Said ‘I do a job for all humanity’
I’m the man who murdered love Yeah! What do you think to that? I’m the man who murdered love Yeah! What do you think to that?
I put a bullet in his sugar head He thanked me kindly then he lay down dead Phony roses blossomed where he bled Then all the cheering angels shook my hand and said…
I’m the man who murdered love Yeah! What do you think to that? I’m the man who murdered love Yeah! What do you think to that?
Oh! It’s the middle of the song!
Oh! Yeah! Oh! Yeah! I’m guilty! I’m guilty! I’m guilty! Yeah! And then I turned and said
There’ll be no more pain from broken hearts And no more lovers to be torn apart Before you throw me in your dungeon dark You oughta film me putting statues up in every park
I’m the man who murdered love Yeah! What do you think to that? I’m the man who murdered love Yeah! What do you think to that?
So dear public, I’m here to confess That I’m the one who freed us from this mess Love won’t be calling at your address ‘Cause what you never had you’ll never miss, I guess
I’m the man who murdered love Yeah! What do you think to that? I’m the man who murdered love Yeah! What do you think to that?
If you never ever use it You know you’re gonna lose it If you never ever kiss it How’re you ever gonna miss it? I’m the man…
An abbreviated look at some of the top managers in music.
Brian Epstein – Beatles
With no experience, he took the rough young Beatles and made them bigger than Elvis. That was considered impossible before he did it. No one from England ever made it in America…he would change all of that. Some people complained that he cleaned the Beatles up too much but that is the only way they would have been accepted in America.
They opened the doors for all the other British acts to follow. Brian cared about the Beatles and it wasn’t all about the money. He made a few bad deals but he was in uncharted territory. I would take Brian over anyone in this list.
Peter Grant – Led Zeppelin
Peter was big, impressive, and intimidating. He was a former wrestler who would resort to violence if necessary. He changed the business of touring to favor the artist. He demanded 90% of the gate money which that was unheard of at the time.
He fiercely protected their music. Going to record stores and demanding if any bootleg albums or merchandise was there to hand it over. At concerts, he would douse water over recording equipment of bootleggers. Peter was loyal to Led Zeppelin and that cannot be denied.
Albert Grossman – Bob Dylan – The Band – Janis Joplin
He was not liked in the folk community. He was all about commercial success for his artists and the folk fans called him Breadhead…Only in it for the money. Albert protected Bob and helped him to succeed. After Bob, he went on to manage the Band and Janis Joplin.
He built a mini-empire in Bearsville, NY. A recording studio, restaurants, and houses.
This is what Bob Dylan said about his first meeting with Grossman.
“He looked like Sydney Greenstreet from the film The Maltese Falcon, had an enormous presence, always dressed in a conventional suit and tie, and he sat at his corner table. Usually when he talked, his voice was loud like the booming of war drums. He didn’t talk so much as growl.”
Colonel Tom Parker – Elvis
The Colonel previously worked at carnivals and described Elvis as his “attraction.” He took an incredible 50% of Elvis’s earnings during his career and after his death. Elvis never toured internationally and some say it was because Parker was an illegal immigrant in the U.S. from the Netherlands, lacked a passport and never became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
No one can say that the Colonel didn’t make Elvis money but he controlled everything in Elvis’s life. He planned the Army induction, movies, and then the comeback in Las Vegas. In the end, he kept an unhealthy Elvis working while he accumulated huge gambling debts.
Kit Lambert – The Who
A flamboyant man with partner Chris Stamp managed the Who until the early seventies. Kit help shape their sound and image. Pete Townshend relied on him as an idea person. He helped Pete form the Tommy album as a rock opera and produced it as well.
Townshend has always maintained how important Kit was in his early songwriting. Lambert and Stamp were not great managers but they worked outside the box which is what the Who needed at the time.
Allen Klein – The Stones and Beatles
Allen was a master at negotiating contracts. He had the two biggest bands in the world and wanted the Who in the 70s…but Pete Townshend knew his reputation and dodged his control. He negotiated the Stones and Beatles huge record deals but also ended up owning the rights to the Stones early catalog.
Later with the Beatles John, George and Ringo wanted Klein as their manager but Paul wanted his father in law Lee Eastman. The rest thought he would be biased on toward Paul. The other Beatles signed with Klein but Paul wisely did not sign.
John, George, and Ringo eventually soured on Allen Klein after many questionable actions by Klein. It took years to untangle the mess he made.
Quote from George on Allen Klein.
“Because we were all from Liverpool, we favored people who were street people,” he said. “Lee Eastman was more like a class-conscious type of person. As John was going with Klein, it was much easier if we went with him too.” But he also noted that “years later, we formed a different opinion.”
I read this book not knowing what to expect but I did know of Glyn Johns… so many of my albums had his name on it…A name that is known throughout the music industry as a great recording engineer, producer, and mixer. Glyn has worked with huge rock groups such as The Rolling Stones, Beatles, Who, Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, The Band and more.
Glyn is a no-nonsense guy and unlike most of the autobiographies of musicians in that era, he never did drugs and always did his job well. Glyn wanted to be a singer and did make a few records, he covered Rolling Stones Lady Jane, but he stuck with engineering and gradually became a producer.
Back when Glyn started in the early sixties engineers did not graduate to producing. It was very much a British class system in the music industry. He became the first freelance engineer in the industry because of the clients he attracted. He was one of the first to record the Stones and he began a relationship with them that lasted for years. He knew the Stones because he was really good friends with Ian Stewart and even shared a flat with him.
The Beatles called him to engineer Let It Be and he also helped engineer some of Abbey Road. He worked on Led Zeppelin’s first album. He produced Steve Miller’s first albums and also the first couple of Eagles albums.
This book will be very interesting to classic rock fans. Many anecdotes about the Stones, Beatles, Who and others. Glyn minces no words and has a reputation for saying what is on his mind. He isn’t too technical about recording in the book, he keeps it at a fast enjoyable pace.
He worked on some of the most classic albums ever. The Stones 60’s albums and the classic stretch of albums the Stones released until Black and Blue. He worked on Who’s Next, Quadrophenia, Led Zeppelin, A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… to a Blind Horse, Who Are You, Slowhand, just to name a few.
One interesting thing that happened in 1969. Glyn met Bob Dylan and Dylan told Johns that he would like to make an album with the Beatles and Stones. Glyn went back to England very excited and told Keith Richards and George Harrison and they were all for it. Ringo, Charlie, and Bill said they would do it. John didn’t say no but Mick and Paul said absolutely not…leaves you to wonder what it would have sounded like…
At the bottom of the page, I copied his discography from Wikipedia…it is incredible.
Excerpt from Sound Man about the Stones.
While Keith, Charlie, and Bill drove the band rhythmically, Mick’s energy and intellect drove everything else. I was constantly amazed by his skill as a songwriter and by the extraordinary energy he managed to summon for his vocal performances in the studio. Both Mick and Keith would take an active part in the mixing process and drove me nuts making me mix a track for hours when I felt I had got it in the first couple of passes. We certainly did not always agree. I guess it would have been even more boring if we had. There were a couple of occasions when finally putting the album together I would play back earlier mixes that I had done on my own, to compare with the one they had chosen after hours of farting around, and in the cold light of day they would agree that mine were better. Equally, there were many occasions when they insisted on me changing a mix quite drastically from the way I heard it, with great effect. Working with the Stones for all those years certainly had some amazing moments and I am proud to have been associated with them during a period of time when their music was so influential. However, Charlie summed it up perfectly when asked in a recent interview his experience of being in the band for fifty years. He replied, “Ten years of working and forty years of hanging around.”
Excerpt about The Beatles Let It Be
I had been retained originally as an engineer and was quite happy with that, even when I realized that George Martin was not producing. He did come to Twickenham a couple of times to check us out. He had arranged for the gear to be loaned for the recording at Savile Row and turned up on the day we did the filming on the roof, but had nothing to do with the production of the music. At the outset I was quite embarrassed when I realized he was not going to be involved. A couple of days into the project I asked Paul where George Martin was, only to be told that they had decided not to use him. By the time we moved to Savile Row, George, realizing I was in an awkward position, was kind enough to take me to lunch in order to put my mind at rest, saying I was doing a great job, everything was fine, and I was not stepping on his toes in any way. What a gentleman he is. Having delivered the mixed master of my version of Let It Be, I approached each member of the band separately, asking if I could have a production credit on the album when it was released. I made it quite clear that I was only asking for that and not a royalty. Paul, George, and Ringo had no objection to my request but John was suspicious and could not understand why I was not asking for a royalty. I explained that I felt, because of their stature, the sales of the album would not be affected by my involvement one way or another, so a credit would be a fair settlement for what I had done, as by association it could only be positive for my career in the future. I never got an answer from John. As it turned out, none of this mattered, as in the end, after the group broke up, John gave the tapes to Phil Spector, who puked all over them, turning the album into the most syrupy load of bullshit I have ever heard. My master tape, perhaps quite rightly, ended up on a shelf in the tape store at EMI. At least my version of the single of “Get Back”/“Don’t Let Me Down” had been released in April 1969.
Below is Glyn’s discography…what a body of work.
Artist
Year
Album
Producer
Engineer
Mixing
Georgie Fame
1964
Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo
The Rolling Stones
1965
December’s Children
co-eng.
co-mix.
The Pretty Things
1965
Get the Picture?
co-prod.
The Rolling Stones
1965
Out of Our Heads
co-eng.
co-mix.
The Rolling Stones
1966
Aftermath
co-eng.
co-mix.
The Rolling Stones
1966
Got Live if You Want It!
Chris Farlowe
1966
The Art of Chris Farlowe
The Small Faces
1966
Small Faces (Decca)
Chris Farlowe
1966
14 Things to Think About
Twice as Much
1966
Own Up
The Small Faces
1967
From the Beginning
Rolling Stones
1967
Between the Buttons
The Small Faces
1967
Small Faces (Immediate)
The Rolling Stones
1967
Flowers
co-eng.
co-mix.
The Rolling Stones
1967
Their Satanic Majesties Request
Johnny Hallyday
1967
San Francisco (EP)
The Rolling Stones
1968
Beggars Banquet
The Steve Miller Band
1968
Children of the Future
Twice as Much
1968
That’s All
The Pentangle
1968
The Pentangle
The Move
1968
Something Else from the Move
Spooky Tooth
1968
It’s All About
The Small Faces
1968
Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake
The Steve Miller Band
1968
Sailor
Gerry Temple
1968
Burn Up!
Procol Harum
1968
Shine on Brightly
The Move
1968
The Move
Easybeats
1968
Vigil
Traffic
1968
Traffic
Billy Nichols
1968
Would You Believe
The Steve Miller Band
1969
Brave New World
Family
1969
Family Entertainment
The End
1969
Introspection
The Beatles
1969
Abbey Road
Joe Cocker
1969
Joe Cocker!
Johnny Hallyday
1969
Johnny Hallyday
Led Zeppelin
1969
Led Zeppelin
The Rolling Stones
1969
Let it Bleed
The Steve Miller Band
1969
Your Saving Grace
Lambert and Nuttycombe
1970
At Home
Bob Dylan
1970
Self Portrait
co-eng.
The Rolling Stones
1970
Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!
Humble Pie
1970
Humble Pie
Philamore Lincoln
1970
The North Wind Blew South
Billy Preston
1970
That’s the Way God Planned It
Leon Russell
1970
Leon Russell
The Beatles
1970
Let it Be
Joe Cocker
1970
Mad Dogs & Englishmen
Delaney & Bonnie & Friends
1970
On Tour with Eric Clapton
The Move
1970
Shazam
The Band
1970
Stage Fright
co-eng.
Spooky Tooth
1970
The Last Puff
McGuinness Flint
1970
McGuinness Flint
The Faces
1971
A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… to a Blind Horse
Boz Scaggs
1971
Boz Scaggs & Band
Ben Sidran
1971
Feel Your Groove
McGuinness Flint
1971
Happy Birthday, Ruthie Baby
Jesse Ed Davis
1971
¡Jesse Davis!
Leon Russell
1971
Leon Russell and the Shelter People
Boz Scaggs
1971
Moments
Rita Coolidge
1971
Nice Feelin’
Howlin’ Wolf
1971
The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions
Humble Pie
1971
Rock On
Graham Nash
1971
Songs for Beginners
The Rolling Stones
1971
Sticky Fingers
co-eng.
co-mix.
Spooky Tooth
1971
Tobacco Road
The Who
1971
Who’s Next
co-prod.
Eagles
1972
Eagles
The Rolling Stones
1972
Exile on Main St.
co-eng.
co-mix.
Rita Coolidge
1972
The Lady’s Not for Sale
Neil Young
1972
Harvest
co-eng.
Nicky Hopkins, Ry Cooder, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts
1972
Jamming with Edward
Chris Jagger
1973
Chris Jagger
Eagles
1973
Desperado
Eric Clapton
1973
Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert
The Faces
1973
Ooh La La
The Who
1973
Quadrophenia
co-prod.
co-eng.
Ric Grech
1973
The Last Five Years
Paul McCartney and Wings
1973
Red Rose Speedway
co-eng.
Gallagher & Lyle
1973
Seeds
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
1973
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
co-prod.
Gallagher & Lyle
1973
Willie and the Lapdog
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
1974
It’ll Shine When It Shines
co-prod.
The Rolling Stones
1974
It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll
Eagles
1974
On the Border
co-prod.
co-eng.
Gallagher & Lyle
1974
The Last Cowboy
Georgie Fame
1974
Georgie Fame
Fairport Convention
1975
Rising for the Moon
The Who
1975
The Who by Numbers
Andy Fairweather Low
1976
Be Bop ‘n’ Holla
Fools Gold
1976
Fools Gold
Joan Armatrading
1976
Joan Armatrading
Ron Wood & Ronnie Lane
1976
Mahoney’s Last Stand
The Rolling Stones
1976
Black and Blue
co-eng.
Buckacre
1976
Moring Comes
The Bernie Leadon—Michael Georgiades Band
1977
Natural Progressions
Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane
1977
Rough Mix
Joan Armatrading
1977
Show Some Emotion
Eric Clapton
1977
Slowhand
Eric Clapton
1977
Backless
Craig Nuttycombe
1977
It’s Just a Lifetime
Joan Armatrading
1978
To the Limit
Paul Kennerly and various Artists
1978
White Mansions
The Who
1978
Who Are You
co-prod
co-eng.
Mark Benno
1979
Lost in Austin
Joan Armatrading
1979
Steppin’ Out
Live Wire (band)
1979
Pick it UP
Lazy Racer
1980
Formula II
Tim Renwick
1980
Tim Renwick
Paul Kennerly
1980
Legend of Jessie James
Danny Joe Brown
1981
Danny Joe Brown and the Danny Joe Brown Band
Jools Holland
1981
Jools Holland and His Millionaires
Midnight Oil
1981
Place Without a Postcard
Nine Below Zero
1981
Don’t Point Your Finger
Chris de Burgh
1981
Best Moves
The Clash
1982
Combat Rock
The Who
1982
It’s Hard
Local Boys
1983
Moments of Madness
Various artists
1984
ARMS Concert
Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Albert Lee,
1984
No Introduction Necessary
Téléphone
1984
Un Autre Monde
Bob Dylan
1984
Real Live
Immaculate Fools
1985
Hearts of Fortune
Téléphone
1986
Le Live
Roaring Boys
1986
Roaring Boys
The Big Dish
1986
Swimmer
New Model Army
1986
The Ghost of Cain
Joolz
1987
Hex
Spooky Tooth
1987
Spooky Tooth
Helen Watson
1987
Blue Slipper
Labi Siffre
1987
(Something Inside) So Strong
John Hiatt
1988
Slow Turning
Nancy Griffith
1989
Storms
Green on Red
1989
This Time Around (Green on Red album)
John Hiatt
1990
Stolen Moments
Summerhill
1990
West of Here
Del Shannon
1991
The Liberty Years
Energy Orchard
1992
Stop the Machine
Ethan Johns
1992
Independent Years
David Crosby
1993
Thousand Roads
Crosby, Stills, & Nash
1994
After the Storm
The Subdudes
1994
Annunciation
Jackopierce
1995
Bringing on the Weather
Bruce Cockburn
1994
Dart to the Heart
Joe Satriani
1995
Joe Satriani
The Beatles
1996
Anthology 3
co-eng.
Eric Clapton
1996
Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies
The Rolling Stones and various artists
1996
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus
Warm Jets
1997
Future Signs
Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings
1998
Struttin’ Our Stuff
Linda Ronstadt
1998
We Ran
Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings
1999
Anyway the Wind Blows
Emmylou Harris & Linda Ronstadt
1999
Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions
Various artists
1999
Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons
John Hiatt and various artists
20o2
Disney’s The Country Bears
musical dir.
Bruce Cockburn
2005
Speechless
Andy Fairweather Low
2006
Sweet Soulful Music
The Clash
2008
Live at Shea Stadium
Ian McLagan & the Bump Band
2008
Never Say Never
+ mastering
Ryan Adams
2011
Ashes & Fire
Ben Waters
2011
Boogie 4 Stu: A Tribute to Ian Stewart
The Rolling Stones
2012
Charlie is My Darling: Ireland 1965
The Staves
2012
Dead & Born & Grown Up & Live
co-prod.
The Rolling Stones
2012
GRRR!
Band of Horses
2012
Mirage Rock
Ethan Johns
2012
If Not Now Then When?
Aaron Neville
2013
My True Story
Patty Griffin
2013
Silver Bell
Stephen Stills
2013
Carry On
co-prod.
co-eng.
co-mix
Bob Dylan
2013
Another Self Portrait (1969-1971: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 10)
co-eng.
Benmont Tench
2014
You Should Be So Lucky
Ian McLagan & the Bump Band
2014
United States
Joe Satriani
2014
The Complete Studio Recordings
Bruce Cockburn
2014
Rumours of Glory (True North)
David Bowie
2014
Nothing Has Changed
co-eng.
The Small Faces
2014
Here Come the Nice: The Immediate Years 1967-1969
The Small Faces
20..
Greatest Hits: The Immediate Years 1967-1969
The Faces
2015
You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything: 1970-1975
Various artists
2015
Truckers, Kickers, Cowboys Angels: The Blissed-Out Birth of Country-Rock , Vol. 7: 1974
This was a film that covered Bob Dylan on his 1966 European tour backed up by the Hawks that eventually became The Band minus, Levon Helm. The film was to be shown on ABC television but ABC rejected and saying it was “incomprehensible” because Dylan himself was one of the editors and wanted the film to have more of an artistic feel.
It was filmed by D.A. Pennebaker who filmed Dylan’s 65 European tour when he played acoustically called Don’t Look Back. Don’t Look Back is terrific. This film is very disjointed. That is not saying I don’t like it. This is the Dylan period that probably is my favorite. The Hawks are raw and powerful and Dylan was
There are some highlights to this odd film. A spontaneous piano duet with Dylan and Johnny Cash, John Lennon and Bob Dylan very high riding around in a cab, and the famous concert where an audience member yells out “Judas” because of Dylan’s conversion to electric music. After the Judas remark, he proceeds to tell Robbie Robertson to play it loud and they kick off in a vicious “Like a Rolling Stone.” My favorite live version of that song. Those folk music fans were harsh.
The film is disjointed and frustrating to watch because some of the songs you want to see and hear are there…but only partly. You will be seeing Dylan performing something and then flash away to something else. Some of the concert footage and film from this ended up in the Martin Scorsese movie No Direction Home…I would recommend No Direction Home to everyone.
Bob was pale and nervous and there is no secret he was doing drugs heavily through this movie. After the tour, Dylan had a motorcycle wreck heard around the world and after he recovered he didn’t tour for years.
The cab ride with John Lennon is historical now. Both of them in sunglasses and Lennon trying to inject humor into the situation and Dylan is ok at first and then starts getting sick as the filming stops.
If you are a Dylan fan it’s worth a watch. I’m glad we have “No Direction Home” to see some clear film segments on that tour. Eat The Document has not been officially released but you can get a bootleg of it or watch most of it on youtube.
I have all 39 episodes taken from VHS tape but you can view most on youtube. The cartoon reminds me of the style of Rocky and Bullwinkle. John and George were voiced by Paul Frees who did the voice for Boris Badenov on Rocky and Bullwinkle. They ran on ABC from 1965-1969 though only 65-67 were first run episodes.
The show was made on the cheap and the cartoon Beatles were put in usual cartoon situations like a jungle, haunted house, or on a boat. The main thing was to play a Beatle song in the background while our heroes got out or into a jam.
They were a rating success. I watch them now and think…why not get actors with real British accents to voice them? They are silly and fun but George especially had no accent at all. The Beatles had nothing to do with them and didn’t really like them at first when they were first on air. They started to appreciate them more as time went on.
With season 3 you start seeing more pop art being incorporating in the episodes. They have segments where flower power framed the newer songs. Some of the segments looked really good but then they would go back to their younger selves. Some of the episodes could be considered so bad they are good…but I like them.
I never got to see these until the 1980s.
Below is some samples of it.
Below are the episodes descriptions from Wikipedia
Season 1 (1965–66)
1. A Hard Day’s Night / I Want to Hold Your Hand: The Beatles are in Transylvania rehearsing in a haunted house with “monstrous” visitors, including a vampire, a ghost, a werewolf, and a witch, with a parody of Boris Karloff; To hide from their fans, the Beatles run inside a diving bell which drops them into the ocean with a lovesick octopus. Sing Alongs: Not A Second Time / Devil In Her Heart
2. Do You Want To Know A Secret / If I Fell: The Beatles go to Dublin, Ireland for the weekend where they meet a leprechaun named Wilhelmina Morris; John is kidnapped by Dr. Dora Florahyde and Igor, both of whom want John’s brain for their monster. In the I Want To Hold Your Hand Sing Along, Ringo is shown inside a submarine. Sing Alongs: A Hard Day’s Night / I Want To Hold Your Hand
3. Please Mr. Postman / Devil In Her Heart: Ringo loses 15 rings he bought with all of the Beatles’ spendings and they are expecting a telegram from manager Brian Epstein for more money; Ringo wanders into the woods in Transylvania where he meets a witch who wants Ringo for a husband. Sing Alongs: If I Fell / Do You Want To Know A Secret
4. Not A Second Time / Slow Down: The Beatles abandon their flight and land in Africa while trying to get away from their fans, but three girls keep tracking them down. They later encounter a few crocodiles; The Beatles are on the way to the town Ringo Ravine (named after Ringo) until they encounter a donkey that smells gold named “Gold Nose”. Sing Alongs: Baby’s In Black / Misery
5. Baby’s In Black / Misery: Paul gets kidnapped by Professor Psycho who wants Paul to marry his creation Vampiress, half girl and half bat; The Beatles go to a wax museum where a vampire follows them. Sing Alongs: I’ll Get You / Chains
6. You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me / Chains: In Africa, Ringo asks a medicine maker named Jack to help fix the Beatles’ flat tire. He then turns a worm into a snake and it lusts for Ringo; After getting knocked out, Ringo dreams about himself as Captain William Bligh from the movie Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). Sing Alongs: Slow Down / Honey Don’t
7. I’ll Get You / Honey Don’t: The Beatles run into hunter Alan Watermain (a parody of Alan Quartermain) in Africa after escaping from their fans and go out hunting for a lion; Ringo is mistaken as a bull rider, and the cowboys send him to ride on a super-tough bull named Honey. Sing Alongs: You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me / Any Time At All
8. Any Time At All / Twist and Shout: The Beatles imagine themselves as the Three Musketeers (Plus One) while they are on a tour at a museum in France; The Beatles attend an art show where a girl tries to be like other artists. They inspire her with music. Sing Alongs: I’ll Be Back / Little Child
9. Little Child / I’ll Be Back: A Native American girl on a Texas Indian reservation wants to prove that girls are as good at trapping as boys are by trapping the Beatles; The mayor of a Texas town gives Ringo a golden guitar as a gift, only to be stolen by three men, prompting the Fab Four to hunt for the thieves and get the guitar back. (The song “Ticket to Ride” is heard at the beginning of this episode.) Sing Alongs: Long Tall Sally / Twist And Shout
10. Long Tall Sally / I’ll Cry Instead: The Beatles stay at a castle for the night during a fog. John and Ringo try on a couple of cursed armor suits and start to fight each other; After signing too many autographs in Japan, George’s hand gets swollen and suffers “autographitis”. His bandmates take him to a hand doctor but end up in a karate class by mistake. Sing Alongs: I’ll Follow The Sun / When I Get Home
11. I’ll Follow the Sun / When I Get Home: The Beatles’ car breaks down and they are captured by a highwayman who happens to be a car repair man; The Beatles explore the Notre Dame in France where they later meet its famous hunchback Quasimodo. Sing Alongs: I’ll Cry Instead / Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby
12. Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby / I Should Have Known Better: The Beatles, spending the night at a temple in Japan during a rainstorm, are mistaken for Japanese ancestors of four girls; The Beatles are in Rome trying to find a theater to rehearse. Their last resort is the Coliseum. Sing Alongs: I’m A Loser / I Wanna Be Your Man
13. I’m A Loser / I Wanna Be Your Man: In Hollywood, Ringo gets hired as a stuntman by Incredible Pictures Inc. and ends up in the hospital after getting pulverized in many scenes; In Rome, the Beatles buy a statue of the Goddess of Musica made from stolen gold coins melted down and sculptured. Sing Alongs: No Reply / I’m Happy Just To Dance With You
14. Don’t Bother Me / No Reply: In Rome, The Beatles are being followed by two spies who are after their songbook, “New Beatle Songs”, marked “Top Secret”. The Beatles movie Help! and Oddjob from the James Bond movie Goldfinger are spoofed; In Japan, The Beatles are warned by a Charlie Chanlookalike about a jewel thief named Anyface. Things become complicated when Anyface shows up disguised as Paul. Sing Alongs: It Won’t Be Long / I Should Have Known Better
15. I’m Happy Just To Dance With You / Mr. Moonlight: The Beatles are in a Roman Street Festival where Paul wins a dancing bear named Bonnie; The Beatles meet Professor Ludwig Von Brilliant who is on a mission to view an eclipse. After being adrift at sea, they escape from an island on a submarine. Sing Alongs: Don’t Bother Me / Can’t Buy Me Love
16. Can’t Buy Me Love / It Won’t Be Long: John is given a friendship ring from a Polynesian tribal chief, which means he must marry the chief’s New York-accented daughter who dislikes pineapples; While picnicking in Japan, John goes for a swim in a pond with shrinking potion in it and gets shrunk. The other Beatles think John is a Beatle doll and chase after him. Sing Alongs: Anna (Go to Him) / Mr. Moonlight
17. Anna / I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party: In Japan, Paul gets lured into a ghost ship called “Ah-Nah”. The other Beatles dash off to the rescue before they might lose Paul for good; Paul, George and Ringo sneak away from John and go to Greenwich Village for some fun time at a Beatnik party rather than going to a museum. Sing Alongs: Matchbox / Thank You Girl
18. Matchbox / Thank You Girl: In Hawaii, John buys a trailer for the group to stay in rather than staying at a hotel so many times. They later encounter a group of Hawaiians who are evacuating from a volcano; The Beatles sneak away from their manager to get something to eat at a French restaurant by enrolling in a cooking course. Sing Alongs: I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party / Help!
19. From Me To You / Boys*: In Hawaii, a surfer named Surf Wolf challenges George to a surfing duel; The Beatles participate in a Mr. Hollywood Contest in California. Sing Alongs: Please Mr. Postman / I Saw Her Standing There Note: The opening title erroneously shows “With Love From Me To You”
20. Dizzy Miss Lizzy / I Saw Her Standing There: John and Paul secretly sign George up to an ice boat race, and he partners up with a girl named Lizzy; In Madrid, John and Paul visit a restaurant where John develops a hot foot with ashes in his boot. Rosita falls for John, and her boyfriend Jose challenges John to a duel. Sing Alongs: Ticket To Ride / From Me To You
21. What You’re Doing / Money*: The Beatles are on a fishing trip, and Ringo runs into gypsies. One of them falls for Ringo and wants to marry him. George comes in as a woman claiming he’s engaged to Ringo to get him back; John puts Ringo in charge to keep their money safe in his jacket pocket. Later Ringo is being followed by a mystery man at a carnival who is after the money. (The song “Help!” is heard at the beginning of this episode.) Sing Alongs: Dizzy Miss Lizzy / All My Loving
22. Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand* / She Loves You: The Beatles visit the Bavarian alps mission is to climb up a mountain with the dog Gunthar to put up their own flag on top; The Beatles are about to rescue a girl who they think is held as a prisoner on a ship. As a result, her boyfriend, a knife thrower, comes to her defense…with knives. Sing Alongs: Bad Boy / Tell Me Why
23. Bad Boy / Tell Me Why: The Beatles visit the Bavarian Alps. They encounter a runaway named Hans who wants to be a Beatle, prompting The Fab Four to run after him with their music (in which Paul plays the bass right-handed) and take him back home. (The song “Slow Down” is heard in the background); In Spain, Ringo is the jockey of a donkey that can run like a horse whenever she hears loud music. Sing Alongs: Please Please Me / Hold Me Tight
24. I Feel Fine / Hold Me Tight: Paul thinks Hollywood’s a phony. Actor Dick Dashing wants to prove Paul he is wrong by putting him in some different movie scenes; In New York, George and Ringo visit the Statue Of Liberty until they have spotted a man with a package which they think is a bomb. Sing Alongs: What You’re Doing / There’s A Place
25. Please Please Me / There’s A Place: In Madrid, a bull named El Taco gets knocked out, and the Beatles decide to help out with the bullfight with Ringo as the matador, and John and Paul as the bull; John’s sympathy helps a trained ape named Mr. Marvelous escape from the television studio and go out to explore the outside world. Sing Alongs: Roll Over Beethoven / Rock And Roll Music
26. Roll Over Beethoven / Rock and Roll Music: The Beatles are on their way home after visiting New York City until Paul gets grabbed by an elephant named Beethoven; The Beatles are invited to play at the Duke’s Palace, but they are mistaken for a string quartet. Sing Alongs: I Feel Fine / She Loves You
Season 2 (1966)
27. Eight Days A Week / I’m Looking Through You: A great movie lover named Lips Lovelace loses his ability to kiss. Paul decides to take his place in the studio with a leading lady who falls for him; The Beatles are in Egypt. They are wandering around in a pyramid until Ringo encounters a ghost who wants a body, and he chooses Ringo’s. Sing Alongs: Run For Your Life / Girl**
28. Help! / We Can Work It Out: Paul and Ringo go to a fashion show in Paris, but the designs are stolen by a thief named Jacques Le Zipper. Paul chases Jacques to the Eiffel Tower, and has trouble with heights; George becomes superstitious. The Beatles encounter the Lucky Wizard who is really a thief trying to give them bad luck and rob their money. Sing Alongs: The Night Before** / Day Tripper
29. I’m Down* / Run For Your Life: The Beatles are on a tour at a wine factory in France where Ringo accidentally knocks down a vat of wine. If it does not get fixed in two hours, the factory will go out of business; The Beatles are on a tour at the Palace of Versailles. Ringo gets knocked out by a statue, and dreams about the days of Marie Antoinette. Sing Alongs: Eight Days A Week / Paperback Writer
30. Drive My Car* / Tell Me What You See*: The Beatles help a young man and his girlfriend get their old jalopy running in a car race, the Popsville Hot Rod Race; While visiting “the man of a thousand faces”, The Beatles fool around with his makeup machine and change into different characters. (John briefly imitates Jimmy Durante and Swee’Pea from “Popeye” makes a cameo.) Sing Alongs: Yesterday** / We Can Work It Out
31. I Call Your Name* / The Word*: Ringo is convinced to release his pet frog Bartholomew in the swamp. Later a movie producer offers a filming deal to Ringo and the frog, and the Fabs have dashed off to find Bartholomew; The Beatles are being punished after gazing at the girls’ unveiled faces. The only way to get out of the situation is to say the password: “love”. Sing Alongs: She’s a Woman** (original broadcast, replaced with a repeat of I Feel Fine) / Wait
32. All My Loving / Day Tripper: The Beatles are in India where they learn how to charm an animal at an “Indian Charm Skool”. When the animal is revealed to be a tiger, they use music to tame it when it is about to claw John and Ringo (The song “Love You To” is heard in the beginning of this episode.); After watching the movie The Way Out Creatures From Planet Glom, the Beatles take a trip out into space with a beautiful woman who is actually an alien taking them on a one-way trip 23 billion miles from Earth. Sing Alongs: I’m Looking Through You / Nowhere Man
33. Nowhere Man / Paperback Writer: The Beatles walk into a cave for some exploring which is a home of a hermit who wants to be alone. He tries to get rid of them, but no luck; Each of the Beatles write fictional stories of how they met with Ringo as a theatre actor, Paul as a scientist, George as a secret agent, and John as a war pilot. Sing Alongs: And I Love Her** / Michelle**
Season 3 (1967)
34. Penny Lane / Strawberry Fields: In a spoof of James Bond, the Beatles are jealous of a detective named James Blonde who gets more attention from many women, so the Fab Four head to their hometown of Liverpool to stop a robbery on Penny Lane so they can be heroes; Traveling with their driver James, the Beatles use music to add color and happiness to the lives of the children at an orphanage, a reference to Strawberry Field in Woolton, a suburb of Liverpool. John sums up the experience with “It’s all in the mind, you know.” Sing Alongs: Good Day Sunshine / Rain**
35. And Your Bird Can Sing / Got To Get You Into My Life: The Beatles and a couple of hunters hunt for a rare bird called a green double-breasted tropical woosted that can sing anything, including “Hound Dog” and “She Loves You”; The Beatles are in India, learning how to escape from their bodies from Swami Rivers. It works, but the problem is that the souls’ bodies are moving by themselves, and they must get them before it’s too late. (“Love You To” is heard in the background) Sing Alongs: Penny Lane / Eleanor Rigby
36. Good Day Sunshine / Ticket To Ride: Ringo thinks he’s a jinx. When the Beatles arrive at Carney Island, it starts to rain. Their music turns the rainy day back into a sunny day which makes Ringo happy. (The song “Little Child” is heard at the end of this episode.); The Beatles each have their own hobby. Paul paints, George builds a three-eyed robot, John writes and Ringo collects “birds” which is an English slang term for girls. Paul releases the only one Ringo caught and he runs after her. Sing Alongs: Strawberry Fields Forever / And Your Bird Can Sing
37. Taxman* / Eleanor Rigby: The Beatles get knocked out while carrying tons of money to the bank, and dream about the days of Robin Hood. Paul exclaims: “It never happened”; A group of children claim that an elderly woman named Eleanor Rigby is a witch. The Fabs tell them the true story about Eleanor Rigby in a song. (The song “I Feel Fine” is heard at the end of this episode.) Sing Alongs: Got To Get You Into My Life / Here, There and Everywhere**
38. Tomorrow Never Knows*/I’ve Just Seen a Face*: The Beatles fall into a well and end up in the inner world with foreign natives. The chief wants the Fabs to marry his daughters, and they began to run away. (The song “Love You To” is heard during this episode.); Ringo loses his singing voice. For treatment, his three mates send Ringo to a haunted house to scare his voice back. Sing Alongs: She Said She Said** / Long Tall Sally (repeat)
39. Wait / I’m Only Sleeping*: The Prince of Krapotkin’s girlfriend is in grave danger. The Beatles help him to save her from the Prime Minister who wants to marry her; John falls asleep while telling a story to a couple of children. In his dream he volunteers to help King Arthur and Merlin slay a vicious dragon. However, John and his mates opt instead to play music to put the dragon to sleep. Sing Alongs: Penny Lane (repeat) / Eleanor Rigby (repeat)
One of the most self-deprecating books I’ve ever read. Howard Kaylan goes through his career with the Turtles who never really took themselves too seriously. They wanted to be the American Beatles…just like every other band at the time but did it with a sense of humor. They were a singles band that had quite a number of top 40 hits. According to Howard, they lucked into most of it. They only wrote a couple of their hits.
Their hits included “Happy Together” #1, “It Aint Me Babe” # 8, “She’d Rather Be With Me” #3, Eleanor #6, “You Showed Me” #6 and many more.
After the Turtles broke up, he and Mark Volman went by the name “Flo and Eddie,” for legal reasons and made a career of unusual rock-comedy albums and developed a following. They immediately began playing with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and was there when Frank was pushed off the stage at the Rainbow. They were also in the Zappa movie 200 Motels.
After Zappa, they worked as a duo and released a lot of albums for many different labels. They were more known for their live performances and they were a good opening act. Howard and Mark were columnists, radio hosts, session backup singers, talk show hosts, actors, composers, and anything else to make ends meet. They did the background vocals on Hungry Heart by Bruce Springsteen.
Howard and Mark wrote the Strawberry Shortcake theme and they wrote music for the Care Bears.
Another rock autobiography…big surprise! But unlike some of the others…Howard wasn’t rich and could not live off of royalties or constant touring like many of the other rock stars that have spilled it all recently. After the breakup, The Turtles could not even tour as the Turtles until later on because of their label. They were broke many times but opportunities would pop up like being radio hosts and would help them make it to the next big thing.
Now they tour on the Happy Together tour with other artists and have been doing it since the eighties off and on.
They ended up owning their name and the master recordings from the 1960s because the label went broke and they were smart enough to get the rights… Howard and Mark were the first to sue rap artists for sampling their material without paying for it. They won and now everyone has to pay to sample anything from another artist. The Turtles were the first big artists with a catalog to sign with Rhino Record and helped the label to take off.
It may be the funniest of all the recent biographies. He ran into a lot of famous people and even made a movie out of meeting the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix in 1967 at the Speakeasy in London called “My Dinner With Jimi.”
It is a funny book with a lot of laughs but you have to scratch your head while reading about Howard making the same mistakes over and over. For Howard, it was drugs, women, marriage, drugs, a girlfriend, divorce, marriage and more drugs…maybe it’s not that much different from the richer stars after all.
I was never a big Turtle fan. I have an account with Audible and this was recommended. Overall I did enjoy it.
Below is an excerpt from the book about meeting The Beatles in 1967 and John Lennon being vicious toward Turtle rhythm guitar player Jim Tucker… Today Jim Tucker denies this ever happened. He said that John didn’t even say a word to any of them so who knows?
Paul said, “I really enjoyed your record.” And then, to me, “Great voice, man. Nice set of pipes.” I was bursting. Then Lennon. “Yeah, that’s a lovely bit of Flower Power in the middle there with those ba-ba-bas.” And then all three of them sang the ba-ba-bas. And we were all beside ourselves with swollen pride. “So, where did you learn to sing?” Paul asked me. “High school choir, I guess. Then we formed the band and started playing local clubs, you know, a little bit of R&B stuff—” “What kind of R&B stuff.” “Oh, you know, ‘Money,’ ‘What’d I Say,’ ‘Justine’…” “‘Justine’ by Don and Dewey? I love that song.” And then Paul began to sing the Crossfires’ trademark soul song. I joined in on the answers and the chorus. Ringo played spoons on the tabletop while the customers watched and Lennon looked on as if bored to death. When we were done, there was a smattering of applause and Paul said, “That was great. I’d love to do that with my band some day. You sing great.” “Oh my God, thank you,” I gushed. “Still, it is a bit sappy on your record there when you sing ‘invest a dime’ with that cry in your voice. A bit light in the loafers, if you ask me.”
“What?” Yeah, I became defensive all right. “We’re just trying to be the American version of you!” “Touché” said McCartney. “Well, that’s not bloody likely, is it?” Lennon piped in. His eyes skipped from Turtle to Turtle, checking us out for the first time. “And what do you call that guy over there?” John pointed at Tucko, who was cowering in his wrinkled brown suit, thrilled just to be noticed. “That’s Jim Tucker, our rhythm guitar player “ “Bad suit, son. And an even worse haircut. Did you tell your barber to give you a Beatle cut? It’s awful, man. You give rhythm players a bad name.” Tucko, oblivious, stumbled for words. “You’re like a god to me, man. You guys changed my life.” Much to his credit, Pons tried, in vain, to turn the conversation around. “We just heard Sergeant Pepper and I’ve got to thank you on behalf of the entire world for the greatest album of all time!” Paul graciously nodded thanks and toasted us with his beverage. But John was not to be denied. “Tucko, is it? I could have a lot of fun with that name. Let’s see… Tucko Tucko, bo bucko, banana fanna fo fucko…” Tucker winced and Lennon saw the weakness and went in for the kill. “There was a boy named Tucko, a very stupid fellow—” Finally, Jim realized that he was the butt of Lennon’s abuse and could hold back no longer. “What is your problem, man? You’re supposed to be the Beatles! I fuckin’ loved you guys and you turn out to be assholes.” Lennon feigned shock and recoiled at the words. “Tsk, tsk … such language. What would your mum say?” “She’d say you were a dick, that’s what! Man, was I wrong. You’re a total shit! I’m sorry I ever met you!” Lennon shook his head slowly, savoring every syllable. “You never did, son. You never did.” And with that, Jim Tucker walked away from the table, up the stairs, and into a cab. And, following the few British shows we had lined up, Jim flew home and never played music again. The Turtles would continue on as a five-piece band from that time forward. The other guys followed Jim upstairs, and our goodbyes were a lot sadder than our hellos had been.
Living in the south during the 1970s I knew about the sheriff named Buford Pusser. Hollywood made some enhancements no doubt but… Many small towns in the south were crooked. The town I lived in blocked all restaurant and store chains from moving in…and a few other things. A man that lived in our town ended up writing a small pamphlet book about the place and all of the shenanigans going on and he ended up with a bad case of dead. At least that was the tale I was told when I was young.
I do remember hiking in the woods as a kid and running up on a copper contraption. It was older but it was no doubt on what it was used for…
The movie is not a great five-star flick but it’s a good entertaining film about what happened in McNairy County Tennessee with the big stick carrying Sherriff Buford Pusser. They definitely massaged the truth and you will not get the “Rock” in this one. I don’t really look at it as true or not…just an entertaining movie. It has more of a realism feel than the most current remake.
It’s a vigilante drama and a revenge fantasy that paces itself pretty well. Joe Don Baker is believable in this movie. If you hate violence this is not for you. The Sheriff almost single-handedly cleans up the town with the aid of a big stick. The film is cleaned up and not as grainy as I remembered. You will see the future 70s pinup singer Leif Garret as the Sheriff’s son…also future Rockford Files dad Noah Beery Jr. I watched the movie recently and it holds up better than I remembered.
The cast included Joe Don Baker, Elizabeth Hartley, Leif Garrett, Dawn Lyn, and Noah Beery Jr.
My wife and I traveled to Memphis to visit Graceland in the late 90s. On the way back home we got lost (pre-GPS and I have no sense of direction) and ended up in McNairy County. I remembered the name and we looked up we saw Pusser’s old home which was turned into a museum. We walked in and the lady working there was super nice. We sat on his couch, looked at his car, badges, guns, and uniforms. Before I left I could not resist…I just had to buy one of those big sticks…which was just an ax handle with his name and also a VHS tape of the Sherriff’s story. They may not allow so much freedom now.
It was pretty cool being able to touch and walk around freely after the “stay behind the rope!” mentality at Graceland…which I understand completely…Hey it’s the home of the big E. If you ever go to Graceland and if you have a couple of hours to spare, drive to this museum it is interesting… it’s like going back in time to the mid-seventies…it was just a fluke that we found it but it was fun.
Off topic of the movie again but Jimmy Buffet had a Buford Pusser story. I’ve heard this from different sources but this is from http://www.buffettworld.com… The movie was good but this would have been GREAT to see.
In 1974, Jimmy Buffett had a run-in with famed “Walking Tall” sheriff Buford Pusser. The story is referred to in “Presents To Send You” from the 1974 album A1A and also in “Semi-True Stories” from the 1999 album Beach House On The Moon. In both songs, few details are mentioned. But at a show in 1974 at the Exit Inn in Nashville, just a few months after the incident, Buffett took some time to tell the crowd about the altercation:
“There were a lot of rumors circling around that I had an encounter with this young man. Which are true. We finished doing our recording over at Woodland Studio, real happy that the album had come out so well. All the lightweights had went out to get a few bottles of champagne and celebrate. Sammy Creason and Chuck Nease and I decided to go out and get a bottle of Cuervo Gold Tequilla and 3 straws. We went at it and in 15 minutes we were just knee-crawlin’ drunk. So we proceeded to the flashiest night spot in town, the roof of the King of the Road Hotel.
We’re there dining and dancing. Ronnie Milsap was on vacation. Sammy Creason was with me, so we provided just a gala of entertainment. Me on acoustic guitar so drunk I couldn’t hit the chords and him just pounding the drums out in 3-quarter time. Ran everybody out. We got the screaming munchies and we were going to Charlie Nickens to eat. And I couldn’t find my rent-a-car, which was parked somewhere amidst thousands of cars in the parking lot of the fabulous, plush King of the Road hotel. It was a little bitty car. It was hiding among many big ones there. And there was a Tennessee Prosecutors convention going on there. If they had made it to room 819 they would’ve had a closed door case.
So I stood on the hood of this car with a pair of… actually, they were old Ra Ra’s that I bought in Miami for 2 bucks. They were white and brown old Ra Ra’s but they were golf shoes so I had to take the cleats out but they still had the posts in them so they clicked a lot. I was standing on the hood of this particular car and as fate would have it it belonged to a rather large man who came up behind me and threatened my life real quickly. And I hadn’t been in a fight since junior high school on the city bus in Mobile. He came up and said “Son you stay right there, you’re under arrest”. So I politely turned around and said “You kiss my ass”. He didn’t. Instead he followed me over to the car which Sammy had found. I got in the driver’s side and Sammy got in the passenger’s side. My window was up, his was down and this fellow poked his head in and said “Would you like for me to turn this car over?”.
I was not scared of this individual. I just thought he was some ex-football player turned counselor. And Sammy said “look whatever damage we did ABC will pay for everything” which was awfully generous of Sammy since he didn’t have the authority to say so. Being a good company man I took up for my company and said “No they won’t. I’m still gonna beat your ass if you don’t leave us alone”. With that he pulled up then stuck his big head and his hand in and grabbed me by my hair until it separated from my head. I had a big bald spot on the back of it and I looked like a monk for about 3 months. Then he punched Sammy right in the nose. We knew he wasn’t kidding. So Sammy defended himself bravely with a big pen. He starts stabbing at this man’s arm trying to get it out of the window because we couldn’t start the car because with the new modern features of ‘74 automobiles you can not start your car unless your seat belt’s buckled and we were too drunk to get ours hooked up.
So we sit there while this man pounded the hell out of both of us. I looked over at Creason and I said “Sammy I don’t wanna die in a Gremlin.” Eaten by a shark, killed in a plane crash, but what’s my mother gonna say? Smashed to death in a Gremlin in the parking lot of the plush King of the Road hotel. Nope. So I mustered all the courage and energy I had and all the coordination I had left in my poor body and got the seat belt buckled and went to Charlie Nickens. We ordered our barbecue and on the way back we hit the Jefferson St. Bridge. Luckily there was no one around so we just backed up and headed for the hotel.
Got back, and we decided that this man may be lurking in the bushes or else may have been snorkeling around in the pool trying to scoop up coins that people threw in. So we decided to defend ourselves with a classic southern weapon: a tire tool. So we destroyed the back end of the Gremlin looking for the tire tool, found it. Walked through the lobby of these prosecutors, and we had caused a turmoil by this time. And got up to the 8th floor where we were staying and figured we were all safe. But I had forgotten my key.
So I had to go back downstairs and Sammy said well you take this I’m not going back down there. And he gave me the weapon, which I stuck in my back pocket. Walked down into the plush lobby of the plush King of the Road hotel, walked up to the desk and asked for the key to my room. This man snuck up behind me and took the tire tool out of my back pocket. I whipped around and I said “look you, that was for my protection and you started this whole thing. I didn’t mean to get on your car and I’m still gonna beat your ass if you don’t quit bothering me.” At this point, two detectives seized me, drug me into the elevator and said “son, we would call the police and have you arrested. You’ve caused quite a disturbance here tonight. But we figure your just lucky to be alive because that was Buford Pusser.” And I went “Oh. 8th floor please.”
This song is on the Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde album by the Byrds. It’s a really good song and the song’s origin is interesting. It was written in response to an on-air argument with Ralph Emery, who was an all-night country DJ on a country radio station at the time. It was written by Roger McGuinn and Gram Parsons. The song was an open letter to Emery.
Before I get into the song which I really like…I want everyone to know I’m not downing Emery because of this. I grew up with Ralph Emery on television in the 1970s. I was never a fan because his show wasn’t in my age group. To be fair to Ralph…he did invite Roger McGuinn on his show in 1985 when Vern Gosdin covered Turn, Turn, Turn and Roger played guitar. He was on there more than once so it was all in the past by that time. Times had changed so much by the 80s…rock and country went together by then but in the 60s Buck Owens touched on it but not many people were doing both…the Byrds with Gram Parsons were pioneers in a way with Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.
In 1968 The Byrds were in Nashville promoting their new country album Sweetheart of the Rodeo and got a cool reception at the Grand Ole Opry. They got into an argument with Emery on air when he said that “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” wasn’t country and then proceeded to call them long-haired hippies and would not play the record. He also didn’t understand what the song meant and Roger told him that Dylan wrote it…well that didn’t help!
Ralph Emery would not budge…It was the 1960s in a very fifties Nashville and Ralph could not get past the hair although they didn’t have excessively long hair. It would open up a bit in the early seventies with Outlaw country music by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings. That movement would soon join traditionalists and the outlaw crowd together. They Byrds helped, in their own way, to make that happen.
The lyrics were about the narrow-mindedness of then certain segments of the country music industry. Lines like “He’s the all-American boy” and “he don’t like the way we play” reflect the hate that McGuinn and Parsons felt from some in Nashville. The title, “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man,” is a dig at Emery, suggesting that he was more of a conventional figure who could not appreciate or understand the Byrds’ approach to country music. But I’m glad it happened because we got a good country-rock song out of it.
Chris Hillman: “There was the funny story with Ralph Emery, the DJ in Nashville, where he had The Gilded Palace Of Sin tacked on the wall outside of his office, and with a big red pen it said, ‘This is not country music.’ Roger and Gram had gone to do an interview with him when we were all still with the Byrds, and Ralph was such a jerk to them then that they wrote that song “Drug Store Truck Driving Man”. A classic! I wish I’d written a part of that. But later, whenever I’d go on his show with the Desert Rose Band, Ralph would ask, “Did you write that song?” Finally, I had to say, “No, but I wish I had!” So when Roger was on later, Ralph would say, “Well, how is Gram doing?” and Roger would answer, “He’s still dead.” McGuinn was pretty darned quick in those situations!”
I’m adding a live version and a hell of a story by Jason and the Scorchers…on how they played this song and it found a spot on Ralph Emery’s TV show in the early 80s.
Ralph Emery when he invited McGuinn on his show in 1985
Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man
He’s a drug store truck-drivin’ man
He’s the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He’ll be lucky if he’s not in town
Well, he’s got him a house on the hill
He plays country records till you’ve had your fill
He’s a fireman’s friend he’s an all-night DJ
But he sure does think different from the records he plays
He’s a drug store truck-drivin’ man
He’s the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He’ll be lucky if he’s not in town
Well, he don’t like the young folks I know
He told me one night on his radio show
He’s got him a medal he won in the War
It weighs five-hundred pounds and it sleeps on his floor
He’s a drug store truck drivin’ man
He’s the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He’ll be lucky if he’s not in town
He’s been like a father to me
He’s the only DJ you can hear after three
I’m an all-night musician in a rock and roll band
And why he don’t like me I can’t understand
He’s a drug store truck-drivin’ man
He’s the head of the Ku Klux Klan
When summer rolls around
He’ll be lucky if he’s not in town
Those glasses and Rickenbacker equals the sixties rock band. One of my favorite guitar players ever. I loved the jangling 12 string Rickenbacker that McGuinn is famous for… Roger heard George Harrison use one and then McGuinn took it to a new level in songs like Eight Miles High.
I was lucky to see him solo in 1987. He will not rip into a Hendrix solo but the sound he gets out of his 12 string Rickenbacker is great. On the songs, he did only on his 12-string acoustic he makes them sound full without a band.
His sound is the sound of the mid-sixties. He was a founder of the Byrds and was with them through all of their incarnations. The jangly pop, country rock, and the more rock music jamming faze in the early seventies.
The Byrds started in 1964 and lasted until 1973. McGuinn was the only member to remain with the band the entire run. Personally, I like all of the phases of the band. The last phase is probably the least well known but with Clarence White playing guitar with his B-Bender was fantastic. Songs like “Lover of the Bayou,”” Ballad of Easy Rider,” and “Chestnut Mare” are memorable.
McGuinn also collaborated with Bob Dylan on the soundtrack “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” and joined Bob in the mid-seventies on his Rolling Thunder Revue tour.
The Byrds influenced many artists like Elvis Costello, The La’s, Wilco, REM, and The Jayhawks but the one I think of the most is Tom Petty. Tom helped revive the jangly sound in the seventies with American Girl which sounded very close to McGuinn. This is Roger talking in 2014:
“When I heard ‘American Girl’ for the first time I said, ‘when did I record that?’ I was kidding but the vocal style sounded just like me and then there was the Rickenbacker guitar, which I used. The vocal inflections were just like mine. I was told that a guy from Florida named Tom Petty wrote and sings the song, and I said that I had to meet him.
Roger invited Tom to open up for him in 1976 and they were friends after that. Roger released an album in 1991 titled “Back To Rio” with help from Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, and others.
His solo career was never too successful until 1989 with a country hit “You Aint Going Nowhere” that made it to number 6 in the Country Charts. That was ironic after being told by Nashville disc Jockey Ralph Emery in 1968 that the song wasn’t country when the Byrds covered it. In 1991 he had his most commercial album “Back To Rio” that made it to #44 on the Billboard Charts and two singles “King of the Hill”#2 and “Someone To Love”#12.
Roger, Chris Hillman, Marty Stuart are currently doing a small tour for the 50th anniversary of Sweetheart of the Rodeo…I see the Ryman on there and I see me there.
All of the Beatle movies have been remastered, cleaned up, and released except this one. Let iT Be was released on Laserdisc, Betamax, and VHS in the 1980s but that is it. It’s frustrating that all we have are old grainy copies of it.
I wrote briefly about this movie earlier but now that Yellow Submarine is being released in theaters…it’s past time for Let It Be to at least be cleaned up and released on Blue-Ray. I’ve read where there are thousands of feet of the film that has never been seen. This is historical now. From what I’ve read the Harrison and Lennon estate have held it up because of the acrimony between the members at that time. They act as if this is some secret not known to the public.
The acrimony in the movie is apparent between Paul and George during one scene, especially where Paul is directing George on how to play something. John is pretty laid back throughout the film with the presence of Yoko by his side. Ringo is…Ringo. All in all the film leaves out most of the bad feelings. Behind the scenes, George quit and John Lennon supposedly said they should call Eric Clapton to take Georges place or fill in because ““He’s just as good and not such a headache.” Of course, if this is true we don’t know for sure.
George did come back and participate and brought Billy Preston. That was a brilliant move on George’s part. You always act a little better when guests come over. Everyone was probably on their best behavior. Billy also added some great organ parts to their songs.
I have mixed emotions watching this as a Beatle fan. Yes, the end is coming but they would get together again in a few months and make one of the Hallmark albums of their career and one of the best albums ever with Abbey Road.
The film is not all doom and gloom. The first of the film was shot at Twickenham Studios starting each day early in the morning and you can tell the mood wasn’t good. After a little over 20 minutes into the film, they moved out of Twickenham to Apple and things picked up quite a bit.
The music. The soundtrack is not the Beatles best album but it is still a good album. When you have Let It Be, Get Back, The Long and Winding Road, Don’t Let Me Down and Across the Universe on an album how bad can it be? It would make another bands career to have 2 of those songs on their album. That is the quality of the Beatles.
You will hear the Beatles very raw. That was the whole idea of the movie in the first place.
The payoff of the film comes via the rooftop of Apple at the end. They all got together and played a mini-concert on the roof. We do not see everything they actually played on the roof. This would be the Beatles last public performance. It was a good performance considering it was cold in January in London at the time. They all seem to be having a good time. The performance was at lunchtime and stopped traffic and drew the police up to the roof to stop the music. If they sounded this good on the roof in January I can’t imagine what a tour what have sounded like…
Just release the movie guys. It’s past time to do it.
Paul McCartney interview for Rolling Stone magazine in 2016
You mentioned the Let It Be film. Is there any chance it will ever be rereleased?
I keep thinking we’ve done it. We’ve talked about it for so long.
What’s the holdup?
I’ve no bloody idea. I keep bringing it up, and everyone goes, “Yeah, we should do that.” The objection should be me. I don’t come off well.
Ringo Starr interview for Rolling Stone magazine in 2012
Are you thinking about releasing the Let It Be movie on DVD?
I think that’s also a possibility. One day that will come out. But we’re not talking about it right now. As you know, there’s very little that hasn’t come out. I’d forgotten that one though. You just mentioned the one thing that hasn’t come out. I’m too busy living now.
Roadies have always been an important part of a band. Occasionally some will be rise above and become well known and some will end up as an executive in the band’s organization. Some will burn out like their bosses and below are a few famous roadies.
Neil Aspinall – Beatles
The first roadie the Beatles employed. He started to help the Beatles out by driving their van from gig to gig. He was soon their road manager and personal assistant. He ended up being the Chief Executive of The Beatles company Apple Corps until 2007. He passed away in 2008.
He was a trained accountant and knew George and Paul when they were kids. He was well trusted by all members. He stayed neutral in all of the arguments while he continued to run a prosperous Apple Corps to the end.
Mal Evans – Beatles
He was hired to help out Neil Aspinall as a roadie. Mal became their personal assistant after they stopped touring. After the Beatles broke up he did some producing…he produced the Badfinger’s single “No Matter What”. He also produced Keith Moon’s first album “Two Sides of the Moon” but was replaced midway through.
In the seventies, he still did work for some of the Beatles accompanying them on trips and odds and ends. He then separated from his wife Lil and after that, he started to have bad depression. While depressed and reportedly using downers, he was shot by LAPD while holding an air rifle and refusing to put it down. He was thought highly of by all the Beatles…See George’s quote below.
George Harrison on Mal Evans
, “Mal loved his job, he was brilliant, and I often regret that he got killed. Right to this day, I keep thinking, ‘Mal, where are you?’ If only he was out there now. He was such good fun, but he was also very helpful: he could do everything…He was one of those people who loved what he was doing and didn’t have any problem about service. Everybody serves somebody in one way or another, but some people don’t like the idea. Mal had no problem with it. He was very humble, but not without dignity; it was not belittling for him to do what we wanted, so he was perfect for us because that was what we needed.”
Red Dog – Allman Brothers
Duane Allman befriended Joe Campbell (Red Dog) a Vietnam vet and Red Dog stayed with the Allman Brothers for three decades. He gave the band his disability checks to help them stay afloat at the beginning. He soon became a trusted member of the team. His picture with all the roadies is on the back cover of the At Fillmore East album.
Here is a quote from Cameron Crowe on Red Dog when he published his book.
“I’ll admit it right now. I am a big fan of Red Dog, and have been even before he allowed me to interview him back in 1973 for a story in Rolling Stone. Hell, he was already legendary back then. But now I just have to say that I am extremely jealous of the Great Dog, because I’ve just finished reading A Book of Tails. True rock, the kind that lasts forever, is about honesty and humor and love and chasing the elusive buzz of greatness.
Ramrod – Grateful Dead
Lawrence Shurtliff (Ramrod) joined on the Grateful Dead in 1967 and in the seventies became the President of the Grateful Dead board of directors until Garcia’s death in 1995.
Bob Weir on Ramrod
“When he did join up, it was like he had always been there. I won’t say he was the missing piece, because I don’t think he was missing. He just wasn’t there. But then he was there. And he always will be. He was a huge part of what the Grateful Dead was about.”
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