On This Day – Patti Turns 61 (Sort of)

Posted on November 16th, 2010
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No not Patti Smith, Patti Santos. Patti who? The Patti with the wonderful voice that fronted the best West Coast band in the 60s. It’s A beautiful day. (Or she would have turned 61 if she had not died in a car accident in1989)

Granted, most of you will not have heard of them but think of it as an opportunity to bring something truly wonderful into your life.

Formed in the mid 60s by violinist David la Flame and his wife Linda. It’s a Beautiful Day never really made it. They played a sort of jazz, folk, rock, mix. That they never became as big as the other bands around San Francisco at the time remains a mystery. They had the ethic, the songs and the musicianship. With Patti Santos they also had one of the best voices on the West Coat, knocking Grace into a cocked hat.

The eponymous first album contained some stand out tracks including White Bird. Other strong tracks were “Hot Summer Day”, “Time Is” and Bombay Calling (as an aside listen to Deep Purple’s “Child In Time” – where do you think that they knicked that opening?)

The second album “Marrying Maiden” was more commercial, but thankfully not much. There was no sign of selling out and “Don & Dewey” and “The Dolphins ” stand out.

Perhaps one of the reasons they never broke through is the choice of manager. Matt Katz had previously been sacked by both Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape and in the early 70s the band and ex-manager were locked in a bitter legal wrangle.

The world is full of what ifs. What if ISBD did break through, if David and Linda had not split up, what if the manager matched the band in terms of talent? All I know is that I saw them when they came to the UK in 1970 and sat in a field in Somerset entranced listening to that pure and wonderful voice.

Patti, happy birthday, whereever you are.

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The Don on Radio 4 Shock!

Posted on November 8th, 2010
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Imagine my surprise.  There I was lisyening to Desert Island discs on BBC Radio 4 yesterday.  The guest was the people’s poet Ian McMillan.  He was playing discs that reminded him of his mother ansd father, typical romantic slush that normal working class adults listened to in the 40s.  Then he said, almost hesitantly, that he wanted one song that he really liked, that his wife referred to as screaching cat music.  It was Don Van Vliet himself.  The wonderful Captain Beefheart!  More than that it was the enourmously fantastic Moonlight on Vermont (although the Beeb did not broadcast the drum intro which is the best 7 seconds of music ever recorded – I know, I am biased)

Respect to Radio 4.

Here’s a bit more Van Vliet (can’t resist)

And a bit of Frank, for no real reason….

And more………….

And Finally, probably, my Fave Frank song.


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On This Day – Bowie Makes it to Network US TV!

Posted on November 8th, 2010
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On this day, in 1975, Bowie made it to US network TV for the first time! (Just why did it take so long for the yanks to catch up?)

Anyway, the album that made it for him was “Young Americans” not one of his greatest (in my opinion) and one that marked another of his reinventions of himself. The song was Fame and he appeared on the cher show.

In many ways “Young Americans” was a stepping stone to his next big persona, the Thin White Duke. The Thin White Duke was an extension of Thomas Jerome Newton (at least visually) the character from “The Man Who Fell to Earth”. The album “Station to Station” released a year later marks one of the highlights of Bowie’s career, of which there have been many.

“Young Americans” was recorded against a background of legal battles and torment as Bowie had sacked his manager Defries and was engaged in a bitter, and costly, legal battle to break the contract.

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On This Day – Fogerty Sued Fogerty, and Lost!

Posted on November 7th, 2010
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On this day in 1988 John Fogerty, late of Creedance Clearwater Revival, was sued by the owners to the rights of CCR’s songs. They said that Fogerty’s song ‘The Old Man Down The Road’ plagiarised his own song “Run Through The Jungle”. Specifically, that they shared the same chorus.

In other words, Fogerty was said to have copied himself.

He (they) lost, he did not copy himself. His later song, though similar to his previous song, was dissimilar enough not to be the same.

I hope that is clear, I shall be asking questions later, class dismissed.

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On This day – 1814 was a Sexy Year

Posted on November 6th, 2010
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On this day in 1814 Adolphe Sax was born in Dinant in Wallonia, Belgium.  He was an instrument designer and maker.  What do you think he invented and patented? Just the sexiest instrument (apart from the electric guitar) in the world, that’s all.  He patented it on 28 June 1846.  Although feted by Hector Berlioz for new range of instruments and a job as an instructor Paris Consevatoire  on the strength of his designs it was not all plain sailing for Sax.

You will not be surprised to know that his patent was challenged by other instrument makers.  They pursued long and involved bouts of litigation against him.  He was made bankrupt twice because of the the litigation once in 1856 and again in 1873.

He died in Paris on the 4th (possibly the 7th) February 1894.

Whatever, Gerry Rafferty must have thanked his lucky stars for Adolphe………….

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On This Day – What A Way To Go, Billy Murcia

Posted on November 6th, 2010
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On this day in 1972 Billy Murcia died.

Murcia was the drummer with The New York Dolls when they were starting to make their name in New York and London. On a trip to London in 1972 he retired to his hotel room with 2 female friends, lots of alcohol and some mandrax. To help him revive his friends put him in a full bath and poured coffee down his throat. The result? He suffocated and drowned. This was just before they were offered their first record deal.

The New York Dolls were known for their glam rock image voted both the best and worst group by Creem magazine readers in 1973. Derided and lauded in equal measure their first fanzine was edited by Morrisey. Of them Morrisey said “Some bands grab you and they never let you go and, no matter what they do, they can never let you down… the Dolls were that for me.”

Although remembered by many for their glam image and still derided as a poor man’s Stones the Dolls had some surprising (to some) influences. Think rock with wit, celebrating the kitsch in life, but with malevolence. At various times they covered songs by Sonny Boy Williamson, Otis Reading, Gary Bonds, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, and Shangri-Las.


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On This day – The Beatles Entertain The Royals

Posted on November 4th, 2010
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beatles royal command 5728 150x150 On This day The Beatles Entertain The Royals On this day in 1963  The Beatles topped the bill at The Royal Variety Show at The Prince Of Wales Theatre, London.   The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret were in the audience.  The event was made famous by John Lennon with his famous remark “In the cheaper seats you clap your hands. The rest of you, just rattle your jewellery”.

The rest of us plebs watched the show when it was broadcast on UK television on the Nov 10th 1963.

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On This Day – Great Balls of Fire!

Posted on November 3rd, 2010
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On this day in 1957 Jerry Lee Lewis released Great Balls of Fire on the Sun record label.

One of the great pioneers of rock and roll Lewis came from a poor familly in Ferriday, Louisiana. He bagan playing piano while young with two of his cousins. His passion for the [iano was such that his parents raised a mortgage to buy him his own piano (thank god they did, god bless ’em).

Lewis was expelled from his school (Southwest Bible Institute in Waxahachie, Texas) into which his mother had enrolled him in the hope that he would learn to play “godly” music. He was expelled for playing “worldly” music. Years later he was asked by an old school friend if he was still playing the Devil’s music. His reply, “Yes, I am. But you know it’s strange, the same music that they kicked me out of school for is the same kind of music they play in their churches today. The difference is, I know I am playing for the devil and they don’t.”

His style came from what he heard on the radio and from the rythms he heard in the local black joints. In those days black musicians could not play for white audiences in the main and the white kids were ready for this rebellious, liberating music. He went to Sun Records in Memphis for an audition but Sam Phillips was away. Even so it did not take Phillips’ engineer, Jack Clement, to recognise his talent. Signed to Sun Lewis began working on session backing all the greats on the Sun label including, Elvis, Carl, Perkins and Johnny Cash among others. His distinctive piano playing can be heard on many tracks recorded at Sun during late 1956 and early 1957, including Carl Perkins’ “Matchbox”.

A great talent later lost to rock when he moved into country music after the scandal of his marriage to his young cousin Lewis helped start what we all enjoy to this day. As someone has said all we dio is to build on the shoulders of giants that went before, Lewis is one of thos giants.

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The Best Band You’ve Never Heard – Click

Posted on November 2nd, 2010
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I have just come across this group, Click.  A vocal jazz group out of London.

Click are a six-piece London-based vocal jazz group with a strictly voice-only policy.  They aim to recreate the sounds of big band jazz without instruments.  I hear that they are a fun group to watch and I am not sure that the clip does them justice.  Formed out of the well regarded Oxford Gargoyles they are well worth looking out for if you are in London.

The parent group, the Oxford Gargoyles have released several CDs. Here they are performing “I get a Kick Out of You”. Sinatra it aint, but they would give you a good night out.

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On This Day – The Beatles in Hamburg

Posted on November 1st, 2010
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On this day in 1962 the beatles started a 2 week run at the Star Club in Hamburg.

By This time Ringo had replaced Pete Best after he left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.  It was on this trip that the Beatles found out that btheir original bass player Stuart Sutcliffe had died of an aneurysm.  He had been suffering from headaches and a sensitivity to light for some time but his condition had never been diagnosed and treated.

Sutcliffe had left the band the previous time that they had been in Hamburg to pursue a career in art and to stay with his german girlfriend  Astrid Kirchherr.  It was Surtcliffe’s departure that prompted McCartney to pick up the bass, and so become the most famous bass player in the world, though certainly not the best (my vote goes to Mike Watt I love his Ball-Hog or Tugboat album – but then what do I know?)

By the time they arrived in Hamburg their reputation was growing.  It was of this time that Lennon was commenting when he later said that The Beatles were once the best rock group in the world.  The set included “I saw Her Standing There” (which appeared on their debut album),  “Hippy Hippy Shake (written by Chan Romero in 1959 and a hit for the Swinging Blue Leans a year later) as well as Roll Over Neethoven, Sweet Little Sixteen, Red Sails in the Sunset (!) and “You Feet’s Too Big” (made famous by the great Fats Waller).

There is no doubt that The Beatle learnt their trade (like the majority of great bands) when playing live over a period of time.  These days most people just want to be famous………………………….

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