On December 5th, we lost another fine musician; Dave Brubeck passed away of heart failure just one day before his 92nd birthday. From the San Francisco Bay Area, this American jazz pianist and composer began his career in 1940s, and became one of the foremost exponents of progressive jazz. Brubeck's style ranged from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempt at classical training and his improv skills, using unusual time signatures, contrasting rhythms, meters, and tonalities. After serving in U.S. Army during WWII (where he played piano and was ordered to form a band), he later formed the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1951 with fellow soldier and saxophonist Paul Desmond, and found great success till the group disbanded in 1967. My husband is a big a Brubeck fan, and even got see him perform live with the San Diego Symphony, a memorable and impressive concert.
As I was currently in the process of writing a post about the instrumental hits of the 1960s, Brubeck's most infamous song, "Take Five," will be featured with those selections, so I'm intentionally leaving it out of this post (check back in a week or two!). Another memorable song composed by Brubeck is "Blue Rondo a' la Turk," a jazz standard from the Time Out album that reached #2 on the Billboard Pop chart in 1961. Written in 9/8 and swing 4/4 time, Brubeck heard this unusual rhythm played by a group of Turkish musicians on the street. Upon asking the musicians where they got the rhythm, one replied, "This rhythm is to us, what blues it to you." Hence he titled it "Blue Rondo a' la Turk." Here's the Dave Brubeck Quartet playing a superb live performance in the mid-60s.
And another unique tune, this time in written in 7/4 time by Brubeck, here's "Unsquare Dance,"which peaked at #73 on the Billboard charts in 1961. It was written during a single trip from home to the recording studio, and was recorded in the same day. No live performances of the Quartet but here's a cute dance routine to it from the '60s.
Farewell, Mr. Brubeck, and thank you for the music! Think I'll go and play your Greatest Hits LP on my turntable right now!
After the heartbreaking news
about the beloved Davy Jones' passing last February, it appeared that the days of ever seeing
the Monkees perform live again were over. However, much to the surprise
of fans across the country, it was announced that the Monkees would in
fact tour again, and even more exciting, Mike Nesmith would be joining
them! This was big news, especially considering that with the exception
of a few random performances, this is the first time that Nesmith has
toured with The Monkees in the US since 1969. Lucky for us, my sister
and I were able to attend the opening night of this quick, 12-date tour
at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido (San Diego County).
If you've read my review
of their 45th Anniversary Concert Tour last year, you'll know these
guys put on an amazing show, and once again, they did not disappoint. Here we are,
quite giddy as we headed out the door to another fabulous concert.
And
boy, were we in for a treat! With a large screen on the back of the stage projecting fun images and video clips of The Monkees in their heyday, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael
Nesmith performed a strong, 95-minute concert which included their
classic hits (like "Last Train to Clarksville" and "I'm a Believer") and fan favorites (like "Goin' Down" and "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?"), as well as many selections from the 1967
Headquarters and '68 Head albums. Backed by
another stellar, 7-man band (including Dolenz's sister, Coco, and
Nesmith's son, Christian), The Monkees once again proved they can do
more than just play their own instruments, but they rocked, and often
jumped onto different instruments throughout the evening.
As Nesmith
strummed his beautiful, 12-string guitar (modeled after the one he
played in The Monkees TV series), he was such a wonderful
addition to the performance, and his country-flavored voice sounded
fantastic! One hilarious moment of the night was when the group
performed "Daily Nightly" (previously discussed during Psychedelic Week here),
a Nesmith-penned tune in which the studio recording featured one of the first use of a
Moog synthesizer on a rock album. After joking about
failing to find a Moog for the concert, Nesmith instead "sang" the wacky
sounds of the Moog part as Dolenz sang the imagery-filled lyrics, and
this had us crying with laughter. And of course, the audience shed other
tears as well during the poignant video songs and tributes to the
energetic and cheeky Davy Jones, who was missed but definitely not
forgotten. Another touching moment was when it came time to perform
Jones' signature tune "Daydream Believer," Dolenz said to the audience,
"This song is no longer ours; it belongs to you," and randomly chose two
girls to come up onstage and sing it.
Since we were just 6 rows away from the stage (here's my photo during Dolenz's infamous "Randy Scouse Git") and apparently in "family and friends" section, we were able to really enjoy the musicianship onstage from a much better vantage point this time around. The banter was kept pretty light in between songs (something, I'm guessing, will become more polished as the tour continues), and it was pleasant to see Nesmith enjoying himself with his old bandmates, as his laid-back demeanor would suddenly break into a cute, little dance. It was such a fun night and I'm sure the rest of the tour will continue to be a success as the band has still to perform at already sold-out venues.
And since I love posting music, here's one of the video songs featuring Davy Jones that was shown during the Head segment of the concert (which was instrumentally backed by the live band during the performance). Written by Harry Nilsson, "Daddy's Song" was one of the better parts of The Monkees' wild 1968 film, and features Jones dancing with Toni Basil (who later had a hit with "Mickey [You're So Fine]" in 1982). This guy seriously should have been on Dancing with the Stars! (Oh, and the bit at the end with Frank Zappa cracks me up).
While the concert tour concludes with "Listen to the Band" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday," I'll end this post with a favorite Nesmith song that was performed during the Headquarters portion of the evening. During their performance, they made sure to cover the exact instruments that they had played in the album recording with Tork on bass (although generally a guitarist and keyboardist), Micky on drums, and Nesmith on 12-string, just like the video clip from their TV show.
Thank you to The Monkees for another night to remember!
Sorry for the lack of posts (long story) but I just wanted to give a quick (and last-minute!) shout-out to all you Rolling Stones fans out there and let you know about the latest presentation from HBO Documentary Films called Crossfire Hurricane. It airs tonight, folks! When I was personally contacted by social media manager Lisa French, here's what she wrote: "The Rolling Stones, rock ‘n’ roll icons who have defined
creativity, daring and durability, are to be chronicled in a
kaleidoscopic new film that will debut November 15 on HBO. CROSSFIRE
HURRICANEprovides a remarkable new perspective on the Stones’
unparalleled journey from blues-obsessed teenagers in the early ‘60s to
the rock royalty they have become.
Academy
Award Nominated Director Brett Morgen (THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE)
says, “CROSSFIRE HURRICANE invites the audience to experience firsthand
the Stones' nearly mythical journey from outsiders to rock and
roll royalty. This is not an academic history lesson. CROSSFIRE
HURRICANE allows the viewer to experience the Stones' journey from a
unique vantage point. It's an aural and visual roller coaster ride.”
CROSSFIRE HURRICANE premieres Thursday, November 15th @ 9pm only on HBO.
Check out the trailer!
And in case you didn't catch that last bit, "crossfire hurricane" is taken out of a lyric in the Stones' 1968 hit "Jumpin' Jack Flash." Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, this return to the group's blues rock roots reached #1 in the UK and #3 in the US, and has become a staple in every Rolling Stone concert since. Here's a classic live performance by The Stones in Hyde Park, London, in the summer of '69.
Apologizes for the late notice, but don't forget to check this film out tonight!
Protest Songs/ Message Music: Part 4
Well, I was originally intending to end this little series on Part 3, but decided to add one last post with a few more political songs, as well as ones with a social message. Oh, and in case you were wondering why the most famous protest song has been left out of this series, Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" was previously featured here during Folk Rock Week.
Written by Mac Davis and recorded by Elvis Presley, "In the Ghetto" is a narrative on generational poverty: a boy child born to a mother with already too many mouths to feed in the ghetto of Chicago; the boy grows hungry, steals and fights, buys a gun, steals a car, runs, but is shot and killed just as his own son is born, thus continuing the cycle. Originally titled "The Vicious Circle," the structure of this gospel- style tune emphasizes this inescapable circle with its simple, stark phrasing and the repetition of "in the ghetto" at the end of every fourth line. Released in April 1969, this song was Presley's first Top-10 hit in the US in four years, peaking at #3, and his first UK Top-10 hit in three years. Known for taking his music seriously, here's a passionate live performance by the King in '69.
One of The Rolling Stones' most politically inclined works to date would be "Street Fighting Man" from their 1968 album Beggars Banquet. Originally titled and recorded as "Did Everyone Pay Their Dues?," Mick Jagger (with Keith Richards) allegedly wrote this about Tariq Ali after Jagger attended a March 1968 anti-war rally at London's U.S. embassy, during which mounted police attempted to control a crowd of 25,000. Released as a single in the US in August 1968, this rock tune only managed #48 on the charts, despite its popularity, because many radio stations refused to play the song based on what were perceived as subversive lyrics. Since, it has been covered by many other artists and it ranked #301 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Here's live footage of "Street Fighting Man," taken from the Stones' last tour of the 1960s.
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In March 1968, The Doors released a very dramatic single, "The Unknown Soldier," written jointly by the band members. This psychedelic rock song was Jim Morrison's reaction to the Vietnam War and the way the conflict was portrayed in American media at the time, with lyrics describing how the news was being presented in the living rooms of ordinary people. In the beginning of the song, a mysterious organ sound depicts the mystery of the "unknown soldier," and by the middle, the song turns into a military cadence complete with a military drum beat and the sound of Sergeant counting off, followed by a drum roll and rifle shot. As you'll see in this footage, the group gets pretty theatrical with this performance, with Robby Krieger aiming his guitar at Morrison like a rifle and Morrison falling to the floor after the drummer plays a rimshot. Peaking at #39 on the Billboard charts, here's the dynamic "Unknown Soldier" live by The Doors.
Our final "message song" of the day comes from Motown with "Love Child" by Diana Ross & The Supremes, the group's eleventh #1 single in the US. Written by The Clan (Motown's staff songwriters), this pop/psychedelic soul tune is notable for its then-controversial subject matter of illegitimacy, with lyrics about a woman who grew up as a "love child" asking her boyfriend not to pressure her, in fear of creating a love child themselves. Released in September 1968, this single knocked off and kept The Beatles' massive "Hey Jude" off the top spot in the US, the last of five replacements at #1 between The Beatles and The Supremes (the two most popular music acts in America during the 1960s). Going on to outsell all of the The Supreme's previous or subsequent singles, here's the debut of "Love Child on the season premiere of The Ed Sullivan Show, September 29th, 1968. (Ed Sullivan performance removed from YouTube).
A paradigm for 1960s folk music, Peter, Paul & Mary were known for their prolific political activism involving the peace movement and other causes. Written by Pete Seeger (an iconic figure in the folk music revival) and Lee Hayes in support of the progressive moment in 1949, "If I Had a Hammer" was first recorded by their group The Weavers, who inspired the "folk boom" that followed in the early '60s. The folk song was not much of a success until Peter, Paul & Mary recorded it over a decade later in 1962 for their debut album. Released that August, "The Hammer Song" became a Top-10 hit and became an anthem for the Civil Rights movement. The trio even performed it at the 1963 March on Washington, which also featured fellow folk musician Bob Dylan (from this post), as well as Martin Luther King Jr's infamous speech. Here's an excellent TV performance of this timeless classic.
Our next emotional civil rights-themed ballad comes from British Invasion group The Hollies. Written by Bob Russell (who was dying of cancer at the time) and Bobby Scott, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" used the old motto for Boys Town for its title, and it was reported at the time that song was about a Vietnam veteran. This vet saw a little boy carrying the dead body of a younger boy away from a burning village, and when asked if the body was heavy, he replied: "He's not heavy, he's my brothers." This statement is a figure of speech (known as a paraprosdokian) in which the second half of the statement causes the hearer to reinterpret the first part. Released in September 1969, this moving tune reached #7 in the US and #3 in the UK, where it was also re-released in 1988 (paired with "Carrie Anne"), reaching #1 after its use in a commercial. While the studio recording features a young Elton John on piano, here's a powerful performance by The Hollies and lead singer Allan Clarke (with introduction by famous radio DJ Kasey Kasem). Now this is beautiful songwriting!
Our next 1960s era anti-war song comes from Canadian folk-pop group Original Caste who were known for their rich, tight vocals and clean sound. Written by group members Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, the 1969 song "One Tin Soldier" was a #1 hit in Canada and managed to reach #34 in the US. Telling an abstract story of a hidden treasure and two neighboring peoples, the lyrics are a parable condemning prejudice and greed. The song was revived in the 1971 when a version by Jinx Dawson and her band Coven was featured in the soundtrack for the film Billy Jack, hitting the charts in 1973 and again '74 after the end of the Vietnam War, and was named the Number One All Time Requested Song of '71 and '73 by American Radio Broadcasters Association. With the beautiful vocals of Dixie Lee Innes, here's a live performance recording (audio only) of the initial group Original Caste.
Our final tune comes from folk/pop group The Kingston Trio, one of the most prominent bands in the revival of folk music in the late 1950s to the late 1960s. Beginning as a San Francisco Bay area nightclub act, the trio released 19 albums that made the Top-100, 14 of which were ranked in the Top-10, and 5 of those hit the #1 spot. One of the group's most successful singles was "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" which reached #21 on the US chart in the 1962. The first three verses were written by Pete Seeger in 1955, and the additional verses were added by Joe Hickerson in 1960, who turned it into a circular song (about the cycle of history and how impossible it is to break). Gaining wider meaning during the Vietnam War, it later has been listed as the "Top 20 Political Songs" (by New Statesmen). Here's a 1966 performance by The Kingston Trio on The Andy Williams Show (R.I.P. Mr. Williams!).
On September 25th, we lost another beautiful voice when crooner Andy Williams passed away at the age of 84 of bladder cancer. In a career spanning over 50 years, the Iowa-born singer recorded 18 Gold albums and had 27 Top-40 singles, and from 1962 through 1971, hosted a popular TV variety show, The Andy Williams Show. Even while the music of the British Invasion took over American radios in the '60s, Williams continued to have hit records, especially in England where his singles outsold records by The Rollings Stones, The Kinks, and The Who. Two of his most popular songs have become American standards: his signature song "Moon River" (which was actually never released as a single) and the Christmas classic "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (featured here).
Since I'm saving the infamous "Moon River" for a Movie Themes Series (coming soon), here are two other tunes Williams performed on his variety show. From 1965, here's Williams singing the mellow tune "Try to Remember" from the 1960 musical The Fantasticks (a hilarious show I've performed in myself!).
Originally an instrumental hit for Bob Crewe in 1967, here's Williams' version of "Music to Watch Girls By," which reached #34 in the US later that same year, eventually reaching the Top-10 as a re-released single after its use in a Fiat commercial in the UK.
Another sad loss to the music industry and entertainment business, Mr. Williams will be greatly missed.
Today's first protest song comes from one of our favorite roots rock bands Creedence Clearwater Revival, known for their dedication to homegrown American music. Released in September 1969, CCR released "Fortunate Son," a double A-sided single with "Down on the Corner," and first reached #14 on the US chart the week before Billboard changed its methodology on double-sided hits. Eventually, this track and its reverse side combined peaked at #3 by the end of the year, and ["Fortunate Son"] has since been ranked #99 on Rolling Stones' list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." This roots/blues rock song was popular during the Vietnam War and is included in several Vietnam films and video games. Written and produced by lead singer John Fogerty, it is the perspective of a man who is being drafted who is not "fortunate" enough to be the son of a Senator or a millionaire. Featured on The Ed Sullivan Show, here's an excellent live performance that sounds just like the recording!
Before the dissolution of The Beatles, John Lennon and Yoko Ono formed a conceptual supergroup in 1969 called the Plastic Ono Band with various members including Eric Clapton (guitarist on the left in this clip), artist Klaus Voormann, future Yes drummer Alan White, and The Who's drummer Keith Moon, among others.Written by Lennon and recorded during his 'Bed-In' honeymoon, "Give Peace a Chance" was released in July of 1969 as his first solo single while still a member of The Beatles. Peaking at #2 in the UK and #14 in the US, this song quickly became the anthem of the anti-Vietnam War movement, and is one of Lennon's most famous songs to be included on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's list of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Credited to the Plastic Ono Band (an identity to describe works by Lennon and Ono and anyone else who happened to be performing with them), here's a live performance in Toronto in '69, which supposedly gave Lennon the confidence to tell the other Beatles a few days later that he was leaving the band.
Often referred to as the "British Bob Dylan," Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan covered this next protest song in the mid-60s. Originally written and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie in 1964, "Universal Soldier" didn't gain much attention until the budding folk singer Donovan recorded his version and released it as a single in August of 1965, reaching #5 on the UK charts. Sainte-Marie said this folk song was about "individual responsibility for war and how the old feudal thinking kills us all." Since, this tune has been recorded by several other artists including The Highwaymen, Glen Campbell, Joan Baez, and Phil Ochs, as well as several foreign singers. Performing before a captive audience, here's Donovan's version of the consummate anti-war song.
We'll conclude today's post with an upbeat one by American blue-eyed soul group The Rascals (initially know as The Young Rascals). Becoming a big hit in the turbulent summer of 1968, "People Got to Be Free" spent five weeks at #1 in the US, as well as reaching #14 on the Billboard Black Singles chart, and eventually sold 4 million copies. Written by group members Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, this horn-punctuated plea for tolerance and freedom struck a particular chord in the wake of the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. After the release of this song, The Rascals refused to tour on segregated bills, and if an African American act was not included at their concerts, the group would cancel several shows in protest. With Cavaliere on lead vocals and rock organ, here's another dynamic live performance by The Rascals in 1969.
