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2011 »

Sgt. Pepper’s Birthday

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Originally from my Facebook page
June 3, 2017

I’ve actually enjoyed my commute time this week — the 50th anniversary of the Beatles releasing “Sgt Pepper!”

While driving I flip around the radio dial to get the good parts of various stations as they go by and I have four PBS stations, which tend to do more special programs.

The “normal” radio stations did their share of Beatles tributes, but programs on PBS like “On Point” and “Fresh Air” give 30 to 60 minute interviews and profiles.

It was 50 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. And I was a couple of years away from picking up the guitar and learning to play. But I had been a Beatles fan since their Ed Sullivan debut in 1964.

My grandparents had sold their grocery store and opened and ladies’ ready to wear shop on the main drag in Norton, KS (right next to the Lennox storefront on State Street for you Norton historians). Mom worked there — the first time she worked outside the home since baffling the world with three unusual sons.

The grandparents bought the first two 45 RPM records (check Wikipedia if you don’t know what those are) issued in the US — “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” on the Parlophone label (before Capitol Records picked them up for US distribution) and played them for background music during the grand opening of The Wards For Ladies.

After the Grand Opening, the grandsons were gifted with these records — possibly still in the collection of brother Bart. I remember playing the records constantly and singing along at the top of my lungs. One memory that sticks with me is when Tim Sterrett came over and we played the records at high volume — I remember singing the bridge with these lyrics:

And when I touch you
I feel happy inside
It’s such a feelin’ that my love
I get hives
I get hives
I GET HIVES!

(I don’t think that was really the words, but that’s what it sounded like in all the excitement of Beatlemania)

When Sgt Pepper was released, believe it or not, most of the copies sold were in mono. After all, stereo home players were not owned except by audiophiles and the radio and TV sets were all mono.

I first heard the stereo version (on headphones) when I was in high school. I remember “Good Morning, Good Morning” ending with the farm animal noises bouncing between ears and I think at the very end is a horse galloping across the stereo spectrum. Also, on “A Day In The Life” the last verse is in the opposite ear from where the first verse played. The cacophony in the middle of the song swirls around and around too.

I was thrilled by the beauty of “She’s Leaving Home” — it sure wasn’t rock ‘n roll. And I really glommed on to “When I’m 64.” My parents asked me to play it on guitar and sing it for my grandma (who turned 64 in 1972, I think) and I played for my own mom when she turned 64.

Sgt Pepper was a landmark of audio recording experimentation. The machines they had at that time were only 4-tracks and there was massive overdubbing. The best recounting of the creation of this album (that I have read or heard) was the memoir by Abbey Road studio recording engineer Geoff Emerick — Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. The fab four were making all kinds of demands to producer George Martin and Emerick. Some of the things they came up with were absolutely wild — like putting a reel of tape on one machine, then unspooling it down the hallway to another machine in another room to get a long tape delay.

The Beatles are legendary and Sgt Pepper is rightfully a legend. Most in the know agree it isn’t the best album the Beatles ever made (some say it isn’t even the best album they made in 1967), but it was the signpost toward their final albums that showed the industry that albums were an art form and that music didn’t have to be tightly squeezed into narrow genres.

The fact that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are still alive and productive is amazing and wonderful — we shouldn’t take it for granted.

Now — I hope you are inspired to go out and listen and read and groove on the great gifts given to us by those four working class lads from Liverpool.

https://www.beatlesbible.com/…/geoff-emerick-here-there-an…/

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New Track — New Style

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I have been honored to be asked to vocalize on a world-music track written by Shane Pillay of Amsterdam.

From Shane’s website — “I collaborate with world artists on projects that include producing animation films, performing music,creating drawings and paintings.”

The song I sang was “Running in Love” and it is credited to BigBossBand. Shane did the production and mixing.

He explains: “A track inspired by rockabilly which I had written and produced. Unfortunately I didn’t achieve the rockabilly sound. Perhaps next time.

Besides my vocals, the other participants are:
Andy Rice from USA — guitar.
Bruno Moses from Nigeria — bass.
Anthony Wraith from UK provided the artwork.

I do a lot of collaboration over the internet, having written songs with artists from Brasil, Canada, and Australia as well as all over the USA. However, I usually produce the finished tracks myself. This was a new experience for me.

Here is the finished track of “Running In Love” by Shane Pillay — Please enjoy it and let Shane know how you liked it.

YOUTUBE

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The Legend Of The Ballad Of John And Yoko

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Fifty years ago today “The Beatles” released the single The Ballad Of John And Yoko in the US.

I put their name in quotes because it was actually just John and Paul making all the vocal and instrumental tracks.

The cover photo for the single was striking. The lads had changed so much in appearance in such a short time. John looked like a guru in drag. Paul was so much more macho with his beard.

But mostly, the Beatles were rumored to be breaking up. After The White Album, everyone went his own way for a while. Ringo walked out because of all the tension and fighting, but they talked him into coming back a few days later. George rebelled against Paul’s authoritarian actions in the studio. John had retreated with Yoko … and who knew what they were doing?

And yet, out of all this tension and conflict, some of their best musical creation and performance rose.

The first time I heard the song was on the news. I was 13, my family lived in a small town in a rural area, and there wasn’t as much entertainment news as we have today. But The Beatles made news — usually when they outraged the older generation, got into trouble, or made a fabulous work or art or appearance.

I loved the song at first listening — not unusual for my experiences with Beatles’ songs. Also, I had started strumming the guitar, trying to learn some chords, and it was a relatively simple song to pick up.

John and Yoko took off to evade the press and ended up in Amsterdam sequestered in a hotel room. They allowed the press to come in and interview them and gave the typical non-sequitur hippie answers the were known for. Yoko turned John Avant-Garde, which didn’t settle well with anybody. But it was great for press coverage.

When the ordeal was over, John wrote the song on April 14 and took it over to Paul’s house, where (according to interviews) “they finished it.” Nobody mentioned what Paul added to the song, but it was probably musically rather than any lyrics.

This was unusual because they had parted badly after the “Let It Be” sessions (which were filmed for a movie of the same name and became the last time they played together as a band). But they always rallied together around the music.

What I remember from the version I heard on the nightly news was that one of the words in the chorus was censored. They didn’t bleep it out, they actually cut it — so the musical phrase didn’t have enough beats.

“{Christ} you know it ain’t easy, you know hard it can be.
“The way things are going, they’re gonna crucify me.”

I discovered (internet research) that this was not unusual. Many countries either censored it or outright banned the song.

For historical context, the Beatles were very unpopular with the older generation — The Establishment — in America ever since Lennon had made his statement that among young people, The Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ. That caused an uproar, as well as album burnings, banning of long hair in schools, and all kinds of reactions.

Lennon told his publicity department: “Tony – No pre-publicity on Ballad Of John & Yoko especially the ‘Christ’ bit – so don’t play it round too much or you’ll frighten people – get it pressed first.”

The song is legendary — one of the group’s greatest hits. And on a personal note — one of my Karaoke Faves.

It was fifty years ago today — and already a legend.

THE BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO

Standing in the dock at Southampton
Trying to get to Holland or France
The man in the mac said
You’ve got to go back
You know they didn’t even give us a chance

Christ you know it ain’t easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They’re going to crucify me

Finally made the plane into Paris
Honeymooning down by the Seine
Peter Brown call to say
You can make it O.K.
You can get married in Gibraltar near Spain

Christ you know it ain’t easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They’re going to crucify me

Drove from Paris to the Amsterdam Hilton
Talking in our beds for a week
The newspapers said
Say what’re you doing in bed
I said we’re only trying to get us some peace

Christ you know it ain’t easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They’re going to crucify me

Saving up your money for a rainy day
Giving all your clothes to charity
Last night the wife said
Oh boy when you’re dead
You don’t take nothing with you but your soul, think

Made a lightning trip to Vienna
Eating chocolate cake in a bag
The newspapers said
She’s gone to his head
They look just like two gurus in drag

Christ you know it ain’t easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They’re going to crucify me

Caught the early plane back to London
Fifty acorns tied in a sack
The men from the press
Said we wish you success
It’s good to have the both of you back

Christ you know it ain’t easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They’re going to crucify me
The way things are going
They’re going to crucify me

Songwriters: JOHN LENNON,PAUL MCCARTNEY
© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
For non-commercial use only.

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The 31 Fight Challenge

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One of my FBF called my attention to the news that Justin Bieber challenged Tom Cruise to a fight. I thought that pretty weird, so I had to investigate.

My first thought was that — if true — Tom could probably whip Justy even though their age difference is so vast. After all, I’ve seen nearly all the “Mission Impossible” movies.

My second thought was, “Why?” Did the Beebs think Tom stole his girl? Maybe they had a religious debate. I still haven’t solved that one.

Wade surrounded by celebrities 31 years younger than him -- they may want to fight!
How about if we all just go to dinner and be friends?

But the weird and wild thing was that this dispute (if it is even true) has inspired one of those crazy viral internet sensations. Remember when people would dump a bucket of ice water over their head on video as a way of promoting awareness about ALS (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s disease)?

A bunch of people did this, and as far as I know, we haven’t made any progress against ALS.

It seems that since Cruise is 31 years older than Bieber, Twitter users are now issuing challenges to actors 31 years older than themselves. As far as I understand it, this is FANTASY fighting. If anyone tries to attack a celebrity, they may have a rude awakening after the Kardashian or Rhianna bodyguards get done with them.

Of course, I’m not going to be involved in this childish fad. First of all, most of the people 31 years older than me are deceased.

Wait a minute … ummmm … hold on … I may be the victim here!

Oh no! (or OMG to the emoji crowd)!!! There may be hoards of 31 year younger people stalking me at this very moment!

What will I do? I don’t even have bodyguards.

I’m the harmless, peaceful type. I’ve never been in a fight in my life. This could be a disaster.

Who are my potential attackers? And are any of them a threat?

Let’s see —

There’s Rachel Bloom, that famously Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. She could club me with her Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. I watched her show and she never violently flipped out, but maybe they were pressured by sponsors to keep the violence out of it. The character, at least, was a Borderline Personality Disorder, and maybe had other heavy problems.

He may be in England, but I haven’t check up on Tom Felton for a while. You remember that evil Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter films? He was convincing enough to win the MTV Movie Awards for Best Villain. Maybe he wasn’t just acting?

Then there’s Ellen Page, that Canadian actress who won everyone’s heart in “Juno” — but then she kicked some major booty as Kitty Pryde in the X-Men. You know how angry those X-Men (and women) can get. Major disruption and destruction. The only secret power I have is making people get in my way when I’m driving or trying to walk through WalMart.

Now, you’d think that Blake Lively would be above some shallow fight challenge — but remember, this Gossip Girl is married to Ryan Reynolds who plays the crazy killing machine Deadpool. If she even hinted that she would like to see me taken out, I don’t think her hubby could let her down. (I don’t think the fact that Deadpool’s secret identity is Wade Wilson would be enough to call off the vicious attack on me, just because we have similar names.)

Kevin Jonas is one of the Jonas Brothers, and could easily be jealous of me as a fellow songwriter and singer (I’m no threat to him as a guitarist). His brother Nick plays a Mixed Martial Artist in his TV series “Kingdom” so he could possibly call down a gang of ninja attackers on me. It could happen!

Not so for Darren Criss, who shot to fame in Glee and is a proven successful singer. But he also won Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace on American Crime Story last year. I mean, once you play a psycho killer, can you go back? Maybe he’s one of those method actors who doesn’t break character — even a year after the job is over.

Likewise Zac Efron, who may seem harmless and likable after you’ve enjoyed his acting in High School Musical (Disney channel, no less), and Hairspray. But then he turns into Wicked Evil Vile mass murderer Ted Bundy! Not only a vicious killer but one of the most brillliant psychos in history.

And you may think that Evan Rachel Wood is beautiful and a talented, actress & model — but remember her past with Marilyn Manson. Maybe she’s been hypnotized by the strange singer and spots potential victims for him.

Another Disney alum, Hillary Duff, (AKA Lizzie McGuire) may be an actress, singer and songwriter but has she had a hit song or a TV show or movie lately? Maybe an unprovoked attack on an out-of-shape incipient senior citizen would give her a big publicity boost.

But my biggest fear is — Ronda Rousey. You know who I mean — she was champion in both the UFC and WWE, competed in the Olympics in judo, and is one of the most notorious mixed martial artists in history. When she starts kicking, she doesn’t stop at the booty. She could kick me in places I don’t even know I have. And to paraphrase Billy Jack, “There’s not a dammm thing I’m gonna be able to do about it.”

So you see — my future looks pretty bleak. I beg of you — send your thoughts and prayers if that is what you believe in. Maybe send the National Guard if you think it would respond to me.

But I just hope Justin Bieber can live with the consequences of his challenge to Tom Cruise.

(CUE: Mission Impossible Theme Music)

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2011 »