1960s – Page 84 – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

The Graduate

I saw this movie in the 80s and never forgot it. I watched it when I was roughly the same as Benjamin in the movie and I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.

Dustin Hoffman portrays Benjamin Braddock a college graduate coming home and not having a clue what he was going to do with his life. He keeps getting asked and grilled about it and he keeps retreating into himself. He is eventually seduced by an old friend of his parents Mrs. Robinson. At first, he tries to avoid her but he is such an easy target for the older woman. He finds himself eventually succumbing to her advances.

Benjamin is full of confusion and anxiety but keeps meeting her. He realizes he wants more than sex out of a relationship and then the affair turns into a nightmare. He finds himself falling for the one woman in the world Mrs. Robinson tells him to stay away from…her daughter Elaine.

Elaine starts to like Benjamin and Elaine is told about what happened. Elaine goes away to school but he Benjamin will not give up trying to explain and win her back. Elaine is to be married and Benjamin eventually tracks the wedding down and crashes it.

He arrives but Elaine was just married. Mrs. Robinson says its too late and Elaine said “not for me….” Elaine and Benjamin ran off with joy and triumph and get on a bus.

The last couple of minutes are the magical part of this movie. The church scene and the close-ups setup the last scene. It’s the last scene that makes this movie different from others. The two get on a bus and are smiling but then the smiles fade…the look on Hoffman’s face tells a story…they got what they wanted and now what does he do? Where do they go from here? Is it all downhill from there? It’s open to interpretation.

The Simon and Garfunkel’s songs set the mood of this movie and it would not be the same without them. They are as big a part of this movie as the actors. This movie made me more of a fan of Simon and Garfunkel. I tracked the soundtrack down in the 80s just for the song “April Come She Will.”

The cast included

Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katherine Ross. William Daniels and Murray Hamilton… and it was directed by Mike Nichols

Best Double A-Sided Singles List

This is my first attempt at a list. I have picked what I think were the top 20 double A-Sided singles in pop/ rock. I feel good until number 5…after that it gets hard. When I made the list I wasn’t counting how many copies they sold or just chart history. I tried to put their importance in history into account. and my preference…which of course means nothing but it’s fun…

Beatles – Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane The number 1 position is the only position that didn’t give me any trouble…
Beatles – Hey Jude/Revolution – What a single this is… Two of the Beatles best- known songs together for their first Apple release. A great way to start the Apple label.
Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women/You Can’t Always Get What You Want The Stones released this in 1969 and Honky Tonk Women when to number 1
Elvis – Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog This is cool fifties Elvis and untouchable. This record influenced young rockers all over the world.
Beatles – Something/Come Together George finally gets an A side and he runs with it and you have Come Together as the B side.
Rolling Stones – Ruby Tuesday / Let’s Spend the Night Together No Chicago blues here but beautifully crafted pop.
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Proud Mary/Born On The Bayou This was the major breakthrough single for CCR and they kept coming.
The Band – Up On Cripple Creek/The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down The quality of this single is outstanding. Neither was a top 20 hit but they are still played to this day.
Beatles – Paperback Writer/Rain The bass jumps out at you on these recordings. Paul plays a Rickenbacker and boosted the level in the studio
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Down on the Corner / Fortunate Son Fortunate Son was John Fogerty’s angriest song and it made his feelings known.
Beatles – I Want to Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There The single that broke the Beatles in America. I like some of the other Beatle singles more but this one was huge and maybe the most important of their career.
Chuck Berry – Johnny B. Goode/Around and Around Johnny B. Goode is the song ever bar band is required to know. The guitar riff is eternal.
Rolling Stones – Bitch/Brown Sugar If I had to explain to an alien what Rock and Roll was all about without talking…I would hand them a picture of Keith Richards and a copy of Brown Sugar.
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Travelin’ Band / Who’ll Stop the Rain After playing Woodstock John went home and wrote Who’ll Stop the Rain
Sam Cooke – Shake/A Change Is Gonna Come A Change Is Gonna Come speaks for itself. What a beautiful song.
Queen – We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You Two of Rocks biggest anthems was released in 1977 and you could not go anywhere without hearing both
Beach Boys – Wouldn’t It Be Nice / God Only Knows God Only Knows is one of the most beautiful sounding songs ever.
Buddy Holly – Peggy Sue / Everyday Peggy Sue is probably the song Buddy is most remembered for…Everyday is a great song in itself… Buddy was a huge influence on The Beatles.
Beach Boys – I Get Around/Don’t Worry Baby I Get Around went to number 1 but Don’t Worry Baby is the reason this song is on the list.

Elvis Presley – Mystery Train / I Forgot to Remember to Forget Two classics by Elvis. Mystery Train’s guitar sound is just haunting.

Honorable Mentions

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Up Around the Bend / Run Through the Jungle

Ricky Nelson – Travelin’ Man / Hello Mary Lou

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising / Lodi

Chuck Berry – Sweet Little Sixteen / Reelin’ and Rocking

Jimi Hendrix – Purple Haze / The Wind Cries Mary

Sam Cooke – Bring It on Home to Me / Having a Party

Ritchie Valens – Donna / La Bamba

John Fogerty – Rock and Roll Girls / Centerfield

Sly & the Family Stone – Stand! / I Want to Take You Higher

Beatles – Hello Goodbye / I Am the Walrus

Beatles – Get Back / Don’t Let Me Down

Buddy Holly – Oh Boy/Not Fade Away

Beatles – We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper

Rod Stewart – Maggie May / Reason to Believe

Famous Rock Intros

I thought about what would be the most recognizable riffs in rock music. This doesn’t mean I like these the best… I’m sure I missed many more. They are in no particular order.

Smoke On The Water – Probably the most well-known riff of Rock and Roll. I’ve heard so many beginning guitar players butcher this one… and I was one of them at one time.
Satisfaction – This helped start Keith Richards on his way to becoming The Human Riff. The intro is immediately recognizable.
Daytripper – John Lennon was no slouch creating memorable riffs. I Feel Fine, Yer Blues and Daytripper…My personal favourite is And Your Bird Can See
Black Dog – To my surprise, this riff was not Jimmy Page…it was written by the very underrated John Paul Jones
You Really Got Me – As soon as that early raw distorted guitar starts you know the very English Ray Davies is about to sing.
Another One Bites the Dust – It’s a Bass intro that won’t leave your head. When it came out I could not go anywhere without hearing someone hum, whistle, or sing it…it is infectious
Purple Haze – Jimi’s intro that shot him in the stratosphere.
Wild Thing and Louie Louie – Same three-chord pattern but you know what they are right away.
Baba O’ Riley – As soon as you hear the first 2 seconds…you know what it is.
Back in Black – AC/DC using the same chords over and over to great effect.

Honourable Mention… Hard Days Night, Can’t Explain, Sunshine of Your Love, Sweet Home Alabama.

Traffic – Dear Mr. Fantasy

I could listen to this song on a tape loop forever and ever. This song came out in 1967 on the Traffic album “Mr. Fantasy.” It was written by Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood and Chris Wood.

Jim Capaldi on writing the lyrics for Dear Mr Fantasy

“It was the summer of 1967, and we were all living in this
cottage in Berkshire. We were one of the first English bands to live
together like that. We thought we’d try it and see if anything came of
it. I remember the day very clearly: A bunch of friends came over early
in the day and we had quite a party. It was sunny and the corn was
coming up nicely around the cottage, and we were quite enjoying
ourselves if you know what I mean. As things finally wound down in the
evening, I was sitting around just doodling, as I would often do,
drawing this character. It was this little fellow with a spiked sun
hat. He was holding some puppeteer’s strings, and the puppet hands on
the end of the strings were playing a guitar. Under that, I just
scribbled some words: ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy,’ play us a tune,
something to make us all happy’ and on a bit. It was nice, but I didn’t
think much of it; certainly, it wasn’t intended to be a song.

“I crashed out eventually, but I remember hearing Steve and
Chris playing around after. The next day, I woke up and found that
they’d written a song around the words and drawing I’d done. I was
completely knocked out by it. Chris wrote that great bass line. We
added some more words later and worked out a bigger arrangement, too.
Those were very happy days for Traffic.”

“Dear Mr. Fantasy”

Dear Mister Fantasy play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy
You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that you break out in tears
Please don’t be sad if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn’t have known you all these yearsDear Mister Fantasy play us a tune
Something to make us all happy
Do anything take us out of this gloom
Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy
You are the one who can make us all laugh
But doing that you break out in tears
Please don’t be sad if it was a straight mind you had
We wouldn’t have known you all these years

Jan and Dean – Surf City

I remember watching Dead Man’s Curve when I was a kid about Jan and Dean and the terrible car wreck Jan Berry was involved in.

This song was written by Brian Wilson and he didn’t think he would ever finish it. Jan met him at a party and helped Brian finish the song. Dean also contributed some lines but never asked for any writing credits. “Two girls for every boy”…what teenage boy didn’t want to go there for a visit. It was the first surf record to hit number 1 nationally.

Brian Wilson’s controlling dad Murry was furious at Brian for giving away a number 1 hit to someone else. Brian was happy that another group took his song and made a hit with it.

When I was a senior in High School for some unknown reason I really got into surf music at the beginning of the year. I listened to Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys, and The Ventures. I was the first person at school to wear a Hawaiian shirt and got snickered at…but by the end of the year there were other people wearing them…the one and only time in my life I was a trendsetter…a fact I’m not really proud of…

I must have been looking forward to my after graduation summer trip with my buddies to Cocoa Beach Florida. A fifteen-hour drive one way in a Celica Sports Coupe with 4 guys packed in there. We picked the name (Cocoa Beach) because it sounded great…Yep pretty stupid because we could have driven 7 hours to Pensacola instead.

I continued to listen to the Beach Boys “Pet Sounds” and “Endless Summer” albums but was never really into the Beach music again. Surf music is nothing but fun… The Beach Boys took it further than anyone with Pet Sounds. By that time though Surf purists didn’t like it. They wanted the old formula songs… I wasn’t a purist…

Surf City (Wilson and Berry)

Two girls for every boy

I got a ’34 wagon and I call it a Woody
(Surf City here we come)
You know it’s not very cherry, it’s an oldie but a goodie
(Surf City here we come)
Well it ain’t got a back seat or a rear window
But it still gets me where I want to go

Well, we’re going to Surf City ‘coz it’s two to one
Yeah, we’re going to Surf City, wanna have some fun
Well, we’re going to Surf City ‘coz it’s two to one
Yeah, we’re going to Surf City, wanna have some fun

Two girls for every boy

Well, [Incomprehensible] tension ‘coz there’s always something goin’
(Surf City, here we come)
You know they’re either out surfin’ or they got a party growin’
(Surf City, here we come)
Well, there’s two swingin’ honeys for every guy
And all you gotta do is just wink your eye

Two girls for every boy

And if my Woody breaks down on me somewhere on the surf route
(Surf City, here we come)
I’ll strap my board to my back and hitch a ride in my wet suit
(Surf City, here we come)
And when I get to Surf City I’ll be shootin’ the curl
And checkin’ out the parties for a surfer girl

Two girls for every
Two girls for every boy

Ronnie Lane: The Passing Show

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

How Come

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_PMoD0CSOI&ab_channel=RollingStones50yrs3

Rock Managers

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.”

Glyn Johns: Sound Man

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
Various artists	2015	Songs: The Very Best of Acoustic – The Collection	co-prod.
The Rolling Stones	2015	From the Vault: The Marquee Club Live in 1971
Paul McCartney	2016	Pure McCartney
Eric Clapton	2016	I Still Do
Eagles	2017	Their Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2
Jesse Ed Davis	2017	Red Dirt Boogie: The Atco Recordings 1970-1972

The Beatle Cartoon Series

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)

Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles

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.

The Byrds – Drug Store Truck Driving Man

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!”

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

He’ll be lucky if he’s not in town

This one’s for you, Ralph

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piNF7LUehsM&ab_channel=burritodlx

Roger McGuinn

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.

The Byrds’ Co-Founders Roger McGuinn & Chris Hillman Announce ‘Sweetheart Of The Rodeo’ 50th Anniversary Tour

Let It Be movie 1970

This movie was released in May of 1970.

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.

Loyal Roadies

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.”

The Lovin’ Spoonful

This band was huge in the mid-60s. They were famous for jug band music but would have pop/rock success. The members were John Sebastion, Zal Yanovsky, Joe Butler, and Steve Boone. They started in the folk scene in the early sixties. They were signed in 1965 to Kama Sutra Records and released “Do You Believe in Magic” which reached #9 in the charts.

After that, the hits kept coming…You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice (#10), Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind (#2), Daydream (#2), Summer in the City (#1), Rain on the Roof (#10), Nashville Cats (#8), Darling Be Home Soon (#15), Six O’ Clock (#18) and She Is Still a Mystery (#27). They had all of these hits between 1965-1968

In the 1980s I really got into this group. I purchased one of the many greatest hits of this band. I first heard of John Sebastion in the 70s when he wrote and sang the theme song of TV show Welcome Back Cotter called “Welcome Back” that went to #1.

The Lovin’ Spoonful were considered by producers to be in a television show but they were dropped over a conflict of song publishing rights. It’s probably a good thing that happened or they would not have been taken seriously. The producers were the ones that a short time late started the Monkees.

Their songs are grounded in folk, jug music, and blues. I don’t know if it is possible to be in a bad mood while listening to them. Their songs are now staples on oldies radio stations.

Zal Yanovsky left in 1967 after being dissatisfied with John’s more personal songwriting and a pot conviction. John Sebastion left the group on 1968 and with him gone the hits dried up.

A fun band to listen to. You won’t hear rock operas or rocking solos but you will hear a band that sounds like they are having a good time.

They reunited in once in 1979 and for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2000.