World Series Music Smackdown: NYC Doo-Wop vs. Philly Soul - Who Ya Got?

NYC Doo-Wop Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music, which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and 1960s.[1] An African-American vocal style known as doo-wop emerged from the streets of northeastern and industrial midwest cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. With its smooth, consonant vocal harmonies, doo-wop was one of the most mainstream, pop-oriented R&B styles of the 1950s and 1960s. Dion & the Belmonts The Crests Vito & the Salutations Shep & the Limelites The Regents The Mello-Kings Little Anthony & the Imperials Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge Frankie Lyman & the Teenagers

Philly Soul Philadelphia (or Philly) soul, sometimes called the Philadelphia Sound or Sweet Philly, is a style of soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featuring sweeping strings and piercing horns. The subtle sound of a glockenspiel can often be heard in the background of Philly soul songs. The genre laid the groundwork for disco and what are now considered Quiet Storm and smooth jazz by fusing the R&B rhythm sections of the 1960s with the Pop Vocal tradition, and featuring a slightly more pronounced jazz influence in its melodic structures and arrangements. Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes The O'Jays Hall & Oates Patti LaBelle The Spinners The Stylistics Gamble & Huff Todd Rundgren

Lighten up, Bono, it's only rock 'n roll...

More jamming for rock 'n' roll royalty at Garden (AP)
NEW YORK – U2 brought three generations of chart-toppers — Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and the Black Eyed Peas — with them onstage Friday at another night of mix and match magic at Madison Square Garden. Metallica brought the thunder to Lou Reed and Ray Davies. It was the second of two concerts to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they will be edited into an HBO special to be seen on Thanksgiving weekend. During U2's set, Bono was waxing poetic about the spiritual, physical and political power of rock 'n' roll until finally the Boss had had enough. "Let's have some fun with it," Springsteen said. They performed U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," with Bono and Springsteen trading call-and-response vocals during the final verse. U2 topped the bill for the four hours of music. True to the spirit of Rock Hall events, producers sought some unusual pairings for artists to pay tribute to influences: Annie Lennox and Lenny Kravitz joined Aretha Franklin onstage, and Sting popped up to sing "People Get Ready" with Jeff Beck. - complete article

(below-Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and a cast of many rock and roll hall of famers perform Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher" as a finale at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden 10/29/09. Guests include Darlene Love, John Fogerty, Tom Morello, Billy Joel, Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), Jackson Browne, and Peter Wolf:


Jackson Browne, CSN on The Pretender
Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt join Crosby, Stills & Nash on Teach Your Children
Simon & Garfinkel singing The Sounds of Silence

Another Farquahr comment from Jerry...

The Fabulous Farquahr started as The Avalons in Branford in the late 50's or early 60's. They had one record "Daddy, I Cried" that got some local play. They eventually met up with Doug Lapham and became "Doug Lapham and the McGowan Bros". They became a fixture for awhile at the Hofbrau Haus on Chapel St. in New Haven (Yale Univ area). That led to the Fabulous Farquahr act which entertained many, many fans for several years around CT and the Cape. In addition to My Eggs, My Island and John Deere, I really enjoyed Carol, You're the Bottom of the Barrel. Sorry to hear that we have lost 2 of the brothers too soon.

Game two: Time to step up to the plate, Yankee boyz....

LOS ANGELES – John Legend is going to the World Series. Major League Baseball says the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter will perform the national anthem before Game Two at Yankee Stadium Thursday. New York natives Jay-Z and Alicia Keys will warm up the audience with their single "Empire State of Mind" before Legend sings. The league says Thursday's World Series matchup between the New York Yankees and the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies will be dedicated to "the legacy of Roberto Clemente and the spirit of community service."

Yeah, Yeah, Imma up at Brooklyn, now Im down in Tribeca, right next to DeNiro, But ill be hood forever, Im the new Sinatra...

I'm in a New York state of mind- GO YANKS!!!!...

Happy Birthday, REET!

My eggs don't taste the same without you...

A comment from Millie about the Farquahr:
Wow, I have tears in my eyes from reading all these Fabulous Farquahr tributes. I am now 65, first experiences the FF in my early 20's at the Rockinghorse in Hartford CT. Awesome, unforgettable. When I married, my husband was more fanatic than me, so we kept track of where the band would be playing and attended dozens of shows over the years. Pufferbellies & Christine's (I think that was the name on RT 28) both on the Cape. (Not being skiers, we missed out on a lot.) For many years they were booked for a St Patrick's Day event by the West Hartford CT firemen. We got dozens of friends to join us (50 of us for one show!) year after year. We still reminisce about those marvelous evenings singing along with the guys. My 2 daughters grew up singing along to the songs on Cassette as we drove back and forth to the Cape, and it was BIG when they finally were old enough to attend a performance. I must admit that I never saw them at our local watering hole here on the Cape (the Land Ho) but I think that was before we started to come here around 1970. I sent an inquiry to Branford a few years back and got a sweet reply telling me of Frank's death and the end of the band. There will never be another bunch of guys who took the stage night after night with such a fierce desire to ENTERTAIN everyone present to the very best of their abilities. And that they did, every time.

And a followup by Tony:
In the summer of 1969 I was a waiter at "the Steakpub" in Dennisport. Several nights each week a bunch of us would go up to Orleans see the Farquahr at the "Southward Inn" (original name: Orleans Inn); Never tired of watching one of the most entertaining groups ever; songs like "My Eggs", "My Island", "John Deere", skits like Rocky Gay, Pizza Boy, etc. will always be fondly remembered. In later years, took my kids to see them perform in Branford, Chester, Dock & Dine and other places. They still get a kick when I play their first three albums (cassettes). What a great summer, great era and a great group!.

Hey, they actually made Wikipedia, All Music Guide

Monday afternoon (basking in the glory of a Yankees return to the World Series) trail mix...

Lock, Stock & Teardrops (k.d. lang) Shadowland
If It Ain't One Thing (Marcia Ball) So Many Rivers
Country John (Allen Toussaint) Allen Toussaint Collection
Bye-Ya (Thelonious Monk) Monk's Dream
Nashville Skyline Rag (Bob Dylan) Nashville Skyline
Been Fooling Around (Professor Longhair) A Proper Introduction To...
You Don't Understand Me (The Reconteurs) Consolers of the Lonely
The Bells (Laura Nyro/LaBelle) Gonna Take a Miracle
I Want to Walk You Home (Paul McCartney/Allen Toussaint) Goin' Home: A Tribute To Fats Domino
True Love (Ryan Hartt & the Blue Hearts) Empty Wallet
Django Reinhardt (Taj Mahal) Nuages
Blowin' Away/Wedding Bell Blues (Laura Nyro) The Loom's Desire
Tipitina (Professor Longhair) A Proper Introduction To...
I Can't Hide It (Mitch Ryder & Detroit Wheels) Sock It To Me

If Laura Nyro is not elected to this year's HOF class, there is no justice - she was fantastic:

Early dawning, Sunday morningIt's just the wasted years so close behind ...

Quickie Cleveland Browns playoff hunt report: Up 3-0; lose 31-3. Standing at 1-6.

Van the Man concert report from Keith: "Awesome!!! He actually talked to the audience (about 6 words, but....). And the set was great - the crowd was into it. Great band - and he played for one hour FORTY minutes!!!!" - Eric Danton's (Hartford Courant) review

Call from Johnny Gumbo meeting up with the Pool Hall Studs in the Windy City for the weekend. The Studs are in town to try out new material for their side project, Cool2Guyz:

Spawned in the outsized egos of the Pool Halls Studs after their surprising success, Cool2Guyz ruptured onto the techno scene in 2008 with their debut album, If We're Cool, There's Hope 4U. The band's latest album, Pool Is a Losing Game, blends Smarky's chilling vocals with D-Po's crashing drums to cook up a record brimming with sludgy anthems. With standout tracks like Wannabe Will Farrell When I Get Funny, the music of Cool2Guyz appeals to techno fans and non-techno fans alike. - (Rolling Stone)

Sunday (no golf) trail mix:
Walkin' After Midnight (Cowboy Junkies) The Trinity Sessions
I'm Gonna Change the World (The Animals) The Complete Animals
It's a Long lonely Highway (Ingrid Lucia) Don't Stop
Swing Shift-Interhour (Aho Trio) Groovebox
Intimate Secretary (The Reconteurs) Broken Boy Soldiers
Quattro (Calexico) Feast of Wire
Peggy Day (Bob Dylan) Nashville Skyline
I've Been Working (Van Morrison) His Band And the Street Choir
Love & Happiness/Take Me To the River (Etta James) Burnin' Down the House
Blue Turning Gray Over You (Billie Holiday) Billie's Blues
I'm In the Mood For Love (Erroll Garner) The Complete Savoy Masters
Angie (Rolling Stones) Goats Head Soup

Keith 'n Sharie will be counting down with Van the Man in the 'Bury Saturday night...

Van Morrison Doing 'Astral Weeks' In Waterbury, At Foxwoods
by Eric Danton (Hartford Courant)
These days, an artist who released an album as poorly received as "Astral Weeks" was upon its debut in 1968 would find himself dropped in no time. Instead, Van Morrison kept making records, and "Astral Weeks" grew in reputation like some half-forgotten secret, gathering word-of-mouth momentum until it was viewed as a landmark album — not only Morrison's best but one of the best of all time. At once intimate and inscrutable, the album is an experimental masterpiece contrasting simple acoustic guitar with complicated percussion and lush string arrangements on eight songs mixing folk, soul and jazz. It's a powerful collection that has resonated deeply enough with fans over the years to land at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 best albums of all time. Last year, 40 years after the release of "Astral Weeks," Morrison revived the album for a handful of performances in Los Angeles and New York, marking the first time he had ever performed many of the songs in concert. He reprises "Astral Weeks" at shows Saturday in Waterbury and Wednesday at MGM Grand at Foxwoods. - complete article

Appearing Friday night at Cafe Nine...

Barrence Whitfield & the Monkey Hips. Here is a performance with the amazing Seatsniffers filmed at 2008 The Rockin' Race Festival, Torremolinos, Malaga, Spain.

Don't you have any other skills, like typing....

New album from Flight of the Conchords, but it's actually the show's season two soundtrack - funny:

You Don't Have To Be A Prostit...

Buy me!...

If You Want To Sing Out - Cat (The Terrorist) Stevens teams with Whoopie, Phil Jackson, Dana Carvey, etc. to shill for T-Mobile's My Touch
I'll make you happy, baby, every place we go, so won't you Be My Baby - Cialis uses the old Ronettes classic, but cautions that Baby should be back in the corner before 4 hours.
All You Need Is Love - and a Blackberry is just what you need to provide it.

Chicago Transit Authority: Hey, these guys were good....

...Before the crap they put out later as Chicago. Class act by honoring their contract to play St. Paul's HS in Bristol after their first album exploded. Remembering their great concerts at the Yale Bowl, one with Delaney & Bonnie opening:
Concert summary from Wolfgang's Vault:
Robert Lamm - keyboards, lead vocals
Terry Kath - guitar, lead vocals
Peter Cetera - bass, lead vocals
James Pankow - trombone, percussion
Lee Loughnane - trumpet, percussion, background vocals
Walter Parazaider - woodwinds, percussion, background vocals
Daniel Seraphine - drumsThese recordings are from the final night of a run that featured Chicago Transit Authority opening and closing a show that also featured sets by The Youngbloods and Colosseum in between. These remarkable sets capture the band riding high on the great success of their debut album and performing that material, along with some of the songs destined for their second album, which they were recording in Los Angeles that same month. Many of the songs that established the band are here and remind us that this was once a band with serious musicianship whose wide-ranging creativity was both aggressive and inviting. The group had an undeniable flare for writing captivating pop songs, but it is the lengthier, more experimental material that is most impressive here. Terry Kath's sizzling neo-psychedelic guitar playing is simply outstanding on these sets and reveal exactly why Jimi Hendrix himself was so impressed. Blood, Sweat & Tears (with founder Al Kooper long gone) was the other horn band experiencing great commercial success at this time, but Chicago had a gutsier sound, and in many ways were fulfilling the promise of the original Al Kooper-led version of that band. Chicago would become progressively less adventurous with every album, but in 1969, they were one of the most confident, diverse, and just plain exciting bands on the planet. - complete concert summary

Yankees win, Tynan loses...

Tynan scratched from singing by Yankees
NEW YORK (AP)—Noted singer Ronan Tynan’s scheduled appearance for “God Bless America” at the AL championship series opener was canceled by the New York Yankees after a woman complained to the team that he made an anti-Semitic remark. Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion said Friday a woman sent an e-mail to a team official a day earlier claiming the Irish tenor made the remark while the woman was being shown an apartment in the building where Tynan lives. Tynan confirmed the remark to the team official but said he was joking, McGillion said. “There are no plans for him to sing,” McGillion said. Tynan has become a fixture at Yankee Stadium in the postseason with his rendition of “God Bless America.”

Now, if we can just get Rudy out of there...

A brisk Friday afternoon trail mix...

Wade: Hurricane Suite- IV (Dr. John & the Lower 911) Sippiana Hurricane
Vultures (John Mayer) Continuum
Viva La Money (Allen Toussaint) The Allen Toussaint Collection
Visions of Johanna (Bob Dylan) Blonde On Blonde
Virtue (Mongo Santamaria) Summertime
Virtually Happy (Holly Golightly) The Good Things
Virgo Clowns (Van Morrison) His Band and the Street Choir
Virginia Avenue (Tom Waits) Closing Time
Vinegaroon (Calexico) The Black Light
Vincent (Mary Lou Lord) Live City Sounds
Village Green (The Kinks) The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
Vietnam (Jimmy Cliff) Wonderful World, Beautiful People
Vicious Circle (Fabulous Rhinestones) Freewheelin'
The Very Thought of You (James Hunter) Believe What I See

Diane Birch...DAMN!...

Diane Birch appears on the latest episode (#24)of Live at Daryl's House, which aired tonight:
NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2009—Singer/songwriter Diane Birch's passion for American music, which includes everything from the delta blues to Motown, California surf music, Top 40 pop and south Philly soul, mirrors the same eclectic influences that inspired Daryl Hall, so it seemed a natural pairing to put the two together for the 24th and latest installment of Live From Daryl's House, available starting on Oct. 15 at www.livefromdarylshouse.com. Birch's S-Curve Records debut, Bible Belt, was written entirely by Diane and recorded in New York andNew Orleans, with Grammy-winning producers Steve Greenberg, soul legend Betty Wright and Michael Mangini at the helm.

Birch was born in Michigan, but moved to Zimbabwe with her South African-born parents, who were missionaries; migrating to South Africa and then Australia before returning to Portland, Oregon when she was a teenager. An extraordinarily accomplished keyboardist, whether on piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer or Farfisa, Diane has been compared to fellow singer-songwriters Laura Nyro and Carole King, as well as Elton John and Jerry Lee Lewis. Rolling Stone calls her "Amy Winehouse-style retro pop, minus dysfunction…Her welterweight voice is strong and fetching." The Huffington Post's David Wild said: "I've just heard the future of singer-songwriters and her name is Diane Birch. Bible Belt is more than welcoming… it's downright thrilling."

She plays the City Winery in NYC on Saturday, October 24. Tickets are $15.

This is scary, folks...

Excuse me for rushing the Christmas cheer, but I'm in a state of confusion (shock) after seeing snow falling outside my window and experiencing my first shot of Bobby Zimmerman's Christmas In the Heart on Lala:

Have Yourself A Merry Little C...

It's as if Bobby is doing a poor Tom Waits impression, but without the boozy swagger. If you've been spending the last couple decades rationalizing his badly deteriorated voice and worse concert demeanor in the name of legend, this may be your chance to bail. It's so unbelievably bad, it could become a cult favorite.

Thursday late morning trail mix...

In the Land of Make Believe (Dusty Springfield) Dusty in Memphis
Knapsack (Amy Rigby) Diary of a Mod Housewife
I Just Want To Make Love To You (Etta James) Burnin' Down the House
Turn That Heartbeat Over Again (Steely Dan) Can't Buy a Thrill
Psycho Daisies (Yardbirds) Over Under Sideways Down
Aretha, Sing One For Me (Cat Power) Jukebox
Empty Highway (Joan Armatrading) Into the Blues
I Shall Be Free (Bob Dylan) The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Th'ego Song (Ray Charles) Blues Is My Middle Name
Silverware (Horace Silver) Horace Silver Trio
Burn One Down (Ben Harper) Fight For Your Mind
Dedicated To the One I Love (Laura Nyro) Live: The Loom's Desire
Citadel (Rolling Stones) Their Satanic Majesties Request
Trigger (Calexico) The Black Light
Rosie's Lullaby (Norah Jones) Not Too Late
Some Things Never Get Old (Vince Gill/Emmylou Harris) These Days
Mister Midnight (Johnny Ray) A Proper Intro To...
Autonomy (Heartless Bastards) Stairs And Elevators
The Engadiner Suite- Autumn (The Ahn Trio) Groovebox

Oh, daddy dear, you're still #1, but girls just wanna have fun...

Pro wrestler, music video icon Albano dies at 76
NEW YORK – "Captain" Lou Albano, who became one of the most recognized professional wrestlers of the 1980s after appearing in Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" music video, died Wednesday. He was 76. Albano, whose real name was Louis Vincent Albano, died in Westchester County in suburban New York, said Dawn Marie, founder of Wrestlers Rescue, an organization that helps raise money for the health care of retired wrestlers. He died of natural causes, Marie said. World Wrestling Entertainment called him one of the company's "most popular and charismatic legends."

With his trademark Hawaiian shirts, wiry goatee and rubber bands hung like piercings from his cheek, Albano was an outsize personality who, in a career spanning nearly five decades, was known as much for his showmanship as for his talent in the ring. His fame skyrocketed when he appeared in Lauper's landmark 1983 music video, playing a scruffy, overbearing father in a white tank top who gets shoved against a wall by the singer. - complete article

NRBQ and Captain Lou Albano star in the video for the hit record "Captain Lou."

From the meanstreets of Plantsville come the Sawtelles/Poptelles...

Recorded live at the Sofa Books and Company in Hamden, CT

Everybody's out on the run tonight, but theres no place left to hide...

Cheryl Moran NYC Matathon Update:
So here is my final update (I promise) before the NYC Marathon in 20 days....just completed my last long training run today (22 miles in about 4 hours) and am feeling good.....thank you everyone for all of your support.....I am running to raise money for the largest animal rescue charity in the world....if you would like to donate to this wonderful cause, please visit here and enter my name at the top of the screen......(again, I do apologize if you are in both of our address books and/or on Facebook for the multiple distractions)......thank you again and I hope to be sending an update from the finish line on November 1st !! Best, Cheryl - course map

Waiting for Columbus (Day)...

From Wiki, so it must be true:
Waiting for Columbus is the first live album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1978. It was recorded during seven performances, four at the Rainbow Theatre in London 2-4 August 1977, and three at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. 8-10 August 1977. Local Washington radio personality Cerphe Colwell can be heard leading the audience in a "F-E-A-T" spellout on the first track of the album. The band recorded and mixed enough material from these performances for a triple LP, but for marketing reasons kept it to a double album. Three of the unused tracks were included on their 1981 album Hoy-Hoy!. All were eventually released on the 2002 "Deluxe edition" CD.

Time Loves a Hero - Willin'

The classic:

For what it's worth, we play Buffalo today...

WE WIN 6-3!!!!! POWERHOUSE!

Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth (Monterey 1967) youtube

Sea Of Heartbreak (Feat. Bruce...

Roseanne Cash, The List...

From Roseanne Cash's blog dated 7/1/09:
Dear Friends, I am finished making "The List", my new record, and it will be released on October 6th by the good folks at Manhattan Records.

I really enjoyed writing that last sentence.

Making this record was an adventure and I feel confident in saying that Mr. L’s arrangements are the masterwork of his career so far. The songs were culled from a List of "100 Essential Country Songs" that my dad made for me when I was 18 years old. It could have easily been called "100 Essential AMERICAN Songs", as the list covered every critical juncture in Roots music, from early Folk songs, protest songs, history songs, Appalachian, Southern blues and Delta bottomland songs, to Gospel and modern Country music. This list is not only a personal legacy, but I have come to realize it is also a cultural legacy, as important to who we are as Americans as the Civil War, or the Rocky Mountains.

It is perhaps the only record I could have made at this point in my life, and it is deeply thrilling and very emotional for me to claim this legacy in this way, and, after a lifetime as a songwriter, to showcase some essential and truly great songs as a singer, an archivist, and as a daughter. And mother. This list now goes to my children. What list will you pass on? (Note: find more of Rosanne’s family stories, reminiscences and recipes at thelist.tumblr.com. Join the conversation—submit your OWN list of what’s been passed on to you by family and friends.)

Cat Stevens (a terrorist according to G-Dub) shilling for T-Mobile...

Seen the new T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Commercial (Whoopi, Phil Jackson, Chevy Chase, Darrell Hammond, etc.) with the catchy tune by Cat Stevens?

Stevens wrote this for Hal Ashby's famous 1971 cult movie Harold And Maude, featuring Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon. It was never officially released until the 1984 compilation Footsteps In The Dark. - (songfacts.com)

A history of folk icons: Yvette 'n G: We're Not John and Yoko...

Since forming in the barn of their family farm in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Yvette 'n G: We're Not John and Yoko broke into the folk scene in 2008 with their debut album, Bobby's sleepin'. The band's latest album, Denied by Salty Dog, combines Yvette's "don't-wake-the-neighbors" intonation with G's intricate orchestral accompaniments to reveal simply stunning compositions. With standout tracks like Craigslisting and Johnny's Workin' For the Families, already certified platinum in Europe, Yvette 'n G: We're Not John and Yoko can count on loads of future success.

Manhattan Transfer does Corea; I'll buy it...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Forty years ago, Tim Hauser put together a sophisticated little singing group he hoped would make a few hits. The Manhattan Transfer went on to top music charts in Europe, dominate the U.S. jazz vocal scene for four decades, win Grammys in pop and jazz categories and even equal Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album for Grammy nominations. Hauser is still stunned by the success he and fellow singers, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel and Cheryl Bentyne have achieved around the world. "I wanted to make a couple of hit records and work in the United States," Hauser told Reuters in a recent interview. Asked whether he imagined his group would still be making music 40 years later, he said: "No, I never thought that way. - complete article

Manhattan Transfer website - youtube website discussion
The Offbeat of Avenues
Vocalese master Jon Hendricks sings Airegin with The Manhattan Transfer at Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival (July 19th 1991)

It's better to almost lose than to almost win....

We almost won - 23-20 in OT

Therefore, enjoy Bob Seger's Beautiful Loser to ease the pain.

Colin McEnroe's funny commentary on policing fake oldies groups...

Allowing Fake Platters Just Won't Doo-Wop (Htfd Courant)
The story (and here I am grateful for the reporting of Dirk Perrefort of the News-Times in Danbury, whom I intend to nominate for a Pulitzer Prize in Doo-Wop Investigative Journalism) in a nutshell:

A hotel in Danbury was advertising an event called "An Evening With the Platters." Connecticut's fairly new "truth in music" law is crystal clear on the conditions that must be met for such an event. It must (a) take place in the evening and (b) involve actual members of The Platters or people who have murdered the Platters and taken their identifying papers and (c) appropriate $2.3 million for sewer improvements in Norwalk. (The last one seems a little fishy.)

Somehow, this event and the fact that it involved ersatz Platters came to the attention of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, ....Blumenthal told the hotel they could not host the event unless they changed its name to "An Evening of Platters Songs Performed by Doddering Impostors," although that ran into a little interference from another doo-wop group that tours as Albert Minge and the Doddering Impostors. The fake Platters insisted they had licensed the rights to the name. This was not true, according to Fred Balboni, manager of Herb Reed, who founded the Platters. Balboni told future Pulitzer laureate Perrefort, "Herb founded the group as a kid. He put his blood, sweat and tears into this, and now people are passing themselves off as the Platters. … It's not fair." This was an unfortunate choice of words because under Connecticut law, music groups cannot make reference to blood, sweat and tears unless David Clayton-Thomas is present and actually sings "Lucretia McEvil." The problem of unlicensed musical impersonation is especially rampant, for some reason, in doo-wop, possibly because so many original practitioners have left the field to pursue other opportunities, such as death. - complete column

They said someday you'll find
All who love are blind
When your heart's on fire
You don't realise
Smoke gets in your eyes
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Pretty funny...

Hey, it's early Saturday morning and I'm not playing golf...

Guess who the handsome young Teddy Bear in the middle is? Stumbled across Phil Spector's House on TMZ. Nice taste!



And a very flattering interview with The Ramones about their work with WallOfSoundMan. "He had these guns and wouldn't let me out of the house for a couple days.":


Yet, his early work was legendary, as chronicled in this documentary clip featuring performances by the Crystals and the Ronettes (with the incomparable Ronnie Spector):

Music at the fairs...

Southington Apple Harvest Festival Music - website
Fri 10/2- 7:00-8:15pm Peter Spink Band
Sat 10/3- 7:00-8:15pm Tinted Blue Band
Sun 10/4- 5:15-6:30pm Crossroads Band Performance
Fri 10/9- 6:00-6:30pm Main Stage Music
Sat 10/10- 6:00-8:00pm Main Stage: Live Music with Matt Rossi
Sun 10/11- 2:30-4:00pm The Wanderers

Berlin Fair - website
Fri 10/2- 6:00to9:30pm Nifty Fifties Band
Sat 10/3- 4:00-7:00pm The Bluelights at the Lower Beer Booth
Sat 10/3- 7:00pm Phil Vassar on the Big Show Stage
Sun 10/4- 2:00pm Grand Funk Railroad on the Big Show Stage
Sun 10/4- 3:00-6:00pm Tommy Whalen & Ragged Edge featuring Wally Greaney at the Lower Beer Booth

Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more (but if you do, bring them CDs)...

Ray Charles Contest - 7CD Prize Pack
In celebration of the digital release of 'The Ray Charles Cold Case Playlist' - songs from & inspired by the CBS television series, Raycharles.com, Concord Music Group & CBS are giving away seven classic Ray Charles recordings on CD including: 'Genius Loves Company', A Message From The People, Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music. Enter here to win a seven-CD Ray Charles prize pack!

The giveaway coincides with the new Ray Charles releases 'The Genius Hits The Road' - a deluxe reissue augmented by six bonus tracks, digital re-mastering with new liner notes by Bill Dahl alongside original notes by Rick Ward, and also 'Genius - The Ultimate Ray Charles Collection' - a chronicle of the high points in Ray’s career including 1955’s “I’ve Got A Woman”, plus “Busted,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “Hit the Road Jack” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” All digitally remastered from the original tapes. (AllAboutJazz.com)

If you're going to San Francisco...

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass evolves into world-class musical festival - article - website

STAGES & SET TIMES ANNOUNCED!
Fri Oct 2 (10:30am - Noon & 2pm - 7pm)
The morning (10:30 - noon) on Star stage is a special educational program for local schools (and the general public) as part of the Daniel Pearl Foundation Music Days. The afternoon (2pm - 7pm) features very special guests on the Banjo stage.
Star Stage
* 10:30am The Fireants
* 11:30am MC Hammer
Banjo Stage
* 2:00pm Poor Man's Whiskey
* 3:00pm Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman
* 4:15pm John Prine
* 5:45pm Lyle Lovett & His Large Band
Sat Oct 3 (11:00am - 8:00pm)
Banjo Stage
* 11:10am Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands
* 12:10pm Dry Branch Fire Squad
* 1:15pm The Tim O'Brien Band
* 2:40pm Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers
* 4:05pm Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
* 5:25pm Gillian Welch
* 6:45pm Steve Earle & The Bluegrass Dukes
Rooster Stage
* 11:00am Marshall Crenshaw
* 12:05pm Guy Clark & Verlon Thompson
* 1:15pm Jorma Kaukonen
* 2:30pm Boz Scaggs & the Blue Velvet Band featuring James Cotton, Austin de Lone, Nick Lowe, Buddy Miller, Derek O'Brien, Wes Starr, Jimmie Vaughan and Jack 'Applejack' Walroth
* 3:45pm Songwriter Circle with Tom Morello, Dar Williams, Steve Earle & Allison Moorer
* 5:25pm Richie Havens
* 6:45pm Robert Earl Keen
Star Stage
* 11:00am Great American Taxi
* 12:45pm Roger Knox & the Pine Valley Cosmonauts present the Aboriginal Country & Western Songbook
* 2:30pm Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women (Christy McWilson, Amy Farris, Laurie Lewis, Sarah Brown, Lisa Pankratz, Nina Gerber, Cindy Cashdollar)
* 4:40pm Nick Lowe
* 6:50pm World Party
Towers Of Gold Stage
* 11:45am Buddy Miller
* 1:35pm Okkervil River
* 3:30pm Old 97's
* 5:40pm Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
Arrow Stage
* 11:00am Eliza Gilkyson
* 12:00pm Hayes Carll
* 1:05pm Austin Lounge Lizards
* 2:15pm Reckless Kelly
* 3:35pm Billy Joe Shaver
* 5:00pm Rosie Flores with Jon Langford and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts
* 6:30 The Flatlanders feat. Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock
Porch Stage
* 11:00am The Wronglers
* 11:50am Abalone Dots
* 12:35pm The Barefoot Nellies
* 1:40pm Pamela Rose with Wild Women (and Other Friends)
* 2:40pm The Claire Lynch Band
* 3:40pm Natalie MacMaster
* 4:40pm The Duhks
* 5:45pm Dr. Magpie
Sun Oct 4 (11am - 8pm)
Banjo Stage
* 11:00am Darrell Scott Band
* 12:00pm Hazel Dickens
* 1:25pm Doc Watson & David Holt
* 2:45pm Earl Scruggs
* 4:00pm Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
* 5:20pm The Del McCoury Band
* 6:45pm Emmylou Harris
Rooster Stage
* 11:00am Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane & Fats Kaplin
* 12:00pm Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3
* 1:15pm Billy Bragg
* 2:45pm Mike Farris & the Roseland Rhythm Revue
* 4:00pm Mavis Staples
* 5:30pm The Knitters
* 7:00pm Old Crow Medicine Show
Star Stage
* 11:40am Elvis Perkins in Dearland
* 1:15pm The Chieftains
* 3:05pm Galactic
* 5:20pm Neko Case
* 6:50pm Amadou & Mariam
Towers of Gold Stage
* 11:00am Marley's Ghost with Special Guest Cowboy Jack Clement
* 12:25pm Dr. Dog
* 2:05pm Allen Toussaint
* 4:10pm Marianne Faithfull
Arrow Stage
* 11:00am Moonalice
* 12:15pm Booker T. & the Drive-By Truckers
* 1:45pm Rodney Crowell & The Outsiders
* 3:05pm Aimee Mann
* 4:25pm Todd Snider
* 5:40pm Malo
* 6:55pm Little Feat
Porch Stage
* 11:00am ODC/Dance
* 12:05pm Red Wine
* 1:10pm Kimmie Rhodes
* 2:15pm Jessica Lea Mayfield
* 3:20pm The Brothers Comatose
* 4:40pm Elizabeth Cook
* 5:45pm Allison Moorer

It's Sunday, we (Brownies) lose 34-3...

Our tribute song of the week: Loser by Beck
Soy un perdedor
I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me?

New Austin City Limits...

Here is the broadcast schedule:
Oct 3: Dave Matthews Band
Oct 10: Ben Harper and Relentless7
Oct 17: Kenny Chesney
Oct 24: Andrew Bird, St. Vincent
Oct 31: M. Ward, Okkervil River
Nov 7: Elvis Costello, Band of Heathens
Nov 14: Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel
Nov 21: Pearl Jam
Jan 9: Allen Toussaint
Jan 16: Mos Def, K'Naan
Jan 23: TBD, Heartless Bastards
Jan 30: Steve Earle, Kris Kristofferson
Feb 6: Them Crooked Vultures
Feb 13: Madeleine Peyroux, Esperanza Spalding.

All the leaves are brown - Yikes!...

Mackenzie Phillips says she had sex with her dad
CHICAGO – Former child star Mackenzie Phillips said Wednesday her father, John Phillips, who was a leader of the 1960s pop group the Mamas and the Papas, raped her when she was a teenager and that her sexual relationship with him later became what she termed "consensual." Mackenzie Phillips writes in her new book, "High on Arrival," that she had sex with her father on the night before she was to get married in 1979 at age 19, according to People magazine.

Phillips wrote in her book: "I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father." She told "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in an interview that aired Wednesday that her siblings "definitely have a problem with this." Winfrey also read a statement from Genevieve Waite, John Phillips' wife at the time of the alleged abuse and Mackenzie's stepmother. Waite's statement said John Phillips was "incapable, no matter how drunk or drugged he was, of having such a relationship with his own child." Phillips, 49, who starred on TV's "One Day at a Time," said the sexual relationship with her father lasted a decade and ended when she became pregnant and didn't know who had fathered the child. She had an abortion, which her father paid for, and "and I never let him touch me again." - complete article


Creeque Alley
John and Mitchy were gettin' kind of itchy
Just to leave the folk music behind;
Zal and Denny workin' for a penny
Tryin' to get a fish on the line.
In a coffee house Sebastian sat,
And after every number they'd pass the hat.
McGuinn and McGuire just a-gettin' higher in L.A.,
You know where that's at.
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.

Zally said, "Denny, you know there aren't many
Who can sing a song the way that you do; let's go south."
Denny said, "Zally, golly, don't you think that I wish
I could play guitar like you."
Zal, Denny, and Sebastian sat (at the Night Owl)
And after every number they'd pass the hat.
McGuinn and McGuire still a-gettin higher in L.A.,
You know where that's at.
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.

When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swarthmore
But she changed her mind one day.
Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike,
"Take me to New York right away."
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps;
Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps.
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
But that's what they were aimin' at.
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.

Mugwumps, high jumps, low slumps, big bumps---
Don't you work as hard as you play.
Make up, break up, everything is shake up;
Guess it had to be that way.
Sebastian and Zal formed the Lovin' Spoonful;
Michelle, John, and Denny gettin' very tuneful.
McGuinn and McGuire just a-catchin' fire in L.A.,
You know where that's at.
And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.

Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted,
And Mitchy wants to go to the sea.
Cass can't make it; she says we'll have to fake it---
We knew she'd come eventually.
Greasin' on American Express cards;
Tent's low rent, but keeping out the heat's hard.
Duffy's good vibrations and our imaginations
Can't go on indefinitely.
And California dreamin' is becomin' a reality...

Oh, those damn lefty libs, they think they're sooooooo glib....

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

New Harry Connick...

Your Songs - Harry Connick Jr.

Hello, Wisconsin!...

Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles on tour:

Monday Sept 21 at Shank Hall in Milwaukee
Blueheels opening up

Tuesday Sept 22 at High Noon Saloon in Madison
7pm early show

Thursday Sept 24 at Millcreek Blues in Appleton
Opening up for Blueheels

Who the hell are The Blueheels, you say? Well, check 'em out:

Happy Birthday to Jonathan!...

Billboard's #1 song on the day you were born 9/20/80 was Upside Down by Diana Ross. Here is the cool website to look up #1 songs back to the 1940s.

Saw a Ringo 8 vanity license plate yesterday and wondered if it was for Ringo Starr or former Green Bay great Jim Ringo.

The Browns, of course, dampened today's festivities by losing again 27-6 to the Denver Broncos.

You took my joy, I want it back...

The club's staff wore dress shirts. The guitar tech wore a tux. The bride wore all black, with knee-high, high-heeled boots -- and when she finished her vows, she went right into Rolling Stones and AC/DC songs. First Avenue nightclub played host to a royal rock 'n' roll wedding Friday night starring Grammy-winning alt-country singer Lucinda Williams. After a 90-minute performance with her band -- a surprisingly tight set, given the circumstances -- the Louisiana-bred tunesmith married her Minnesotan beau and manager, Tom Overby, in front of 1,500 fans.

"I thought I'd wear something besides jeans tonight," Williams, 56, joked to the crowd after she took the stage in a silky, tight skirt and matching blouse. Coming back out for the encore, Williams set the matrimony tone with solo performances of two blissful songs by singers not known for writing happy endings: Her own "Plan to Marry," followed by one she adapted from unrecorded Hank Williams lyrics, "I'm Happy I Found You." Hank's on-stage wedding to his second wife inspired Lucinda's spotlighted nuptials. She fought back tears singing his words. - complete artcle

Chill, it's Friday (and I'm playing Bull's Bridge)...

For the next 22 minutes, put this on in the background while you peruse the news, check your email or look at porn. Enjoy.

Where have all the flowers gone...

Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary dead at 72 (AP)
Mary Travers, one-third of the popular 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary who were perhaps best known for their hit "Puff (The Magic Dragon)," died in a Connecticut hospital after battling leukemia for several years. She was 72.

Mary Allin Travers was born on Nov. 9, 1936 in Louisville, Ky., the daughter of journalists who moved the family to Manhattan's bohemian Greenwich Village. She quickly became enamored with folk performers like the Weavers, and was soon performing with Pete Seeger, a founding member of the Weavers who lived in the same building as the Travers family.With a group called the Song Swappers, Travers backed Seeger on one album and two shows at Carnegie Hall. She also appeared (as one of a group of folk singers) in a short-lived 1958 Broadway show called "The Next President," starring comedian Mort Sahl.

It wasn't until she met up with Yarrow and Stookey that Travers would taste success on her own. Yarrow was managed by Albert B. Grossman, who later worked in the same capacity for Bob Dylan. In the book "Positively 4th Street" by David Hajdu, Travers recalled that Grossman's strategy was to "find a nobody that he could nurture and make famous." The budding trio, boosted by the arrangements of Milt Okun, spent seven months rehearsing in her Greenwich Village apartment before their 1961 public debut at the Bitter End. Their beatnik look — a tall blonde flanked by a pair of goateed guitarists — was a part of their initial appeal. As The New York Times critic Robert Shelton put it not long afterward, "Sex appeal as a keystone for a folk-song group was the idea of the group's manager ... who searched for months for `the girl' until he decided on Miss Travers."

The trio mingled their music with liberal politics, both onstage and off. Their version of "If I Had a Hammer" became an anthem for racial equality. Other hits included "Lemon Tree," "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "Puff (The Magic Dragon.)" They were early champions of Dylan and performed his "Blowin' in the Wind" at the August 1963 March on Washington. And they were vehement in their opposition to the Vietnam War, managing to stay true to their liberal beliefs while creating music that resonated in the American mainstream. - complete article

Record-Journal notes weekend record conventions...

From JP's Music Blog - Now that summer's almost gone, and the kids are back in school, it is time once again for the Cromwell Record Riot. It has been 4 months since the last Cromwell Record Riot (I hope you saved your pennies). The Crowne Plaza in Cromwell, CT will once again be swarmed with vendors and collectors looking for that missing piece of music collection. This Sunday, September 20, is the date. The Crowne Plaza is located off exit 21 from I-91. Admission is $3. Come early (9:30 am - 3:30 pm) as not to miss out on some great deals on CDs, vinyl, DVDs, T-shirts, posters and more. Be sure to sign up for the mailing list to receive notices and admission discounts.

Now, if your Sunday is bogged down with picnics, parties and football, there is hope. On Saturday, September 19, there is the aptly titled "Back To School" Record Convention. It will take place at the Hamden Elks Lodge. Easily located off I-91 and Route 15 (Merritt Parkway). Admission is $3. The "Back To School" Record Convention will feature over 20 vendors, DJs, food and cash bar. This record show is open to ALL AGES from 10:30 am - 5 pm.

Both shows will be filled with plenty of music paraphernalia. So stop by either Saturday or Sunday or both days and check out all the great deals this weekend. If this weekend is bad for you because of poor timing, do not fear. The next New Haven Record Riot will take place Sunday, October 11 at the YMA Annex in New Haven. Admission is $3 and will run from 9:30 am - 3 pm. So, I don't want to hear any complaints that their isn't any good places to buy music anymore. Here are 3 reasons to go out and get some new music for your collections.

I was standin' on the corner, suitcase in my hand...

Interview on the Lionel Show (Air America)- Jim DeRogatis, author of the just-released The Velvet Underground: An Illustrated History of a Walk On the Wild Side. Makes me want to break out the "Banana" album again.



Publisher Comments:
Hardly anyone bought the Velvet Underground's albums when they were released, but most everyone who did formed a band. This was the kind of influence the Velvets exerted, and it persists to this day in the sounds of groups as diverse as Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Sex Pistols, R.E.M., My Bloody Valentine, and Sonic Youth--all of whom claim the Velvets as their most important influence. And then there are such soundalikes as Yo La Tengo, Luna, and the Strokes, to name a few. Published on the forty-fifth anniversary of the Velvet Underground's founding, this is the first illustrated history of the band that rocked rock--one of the most inspired and influential rock 'n' roll bands of all time. The book follows this icon of Sixties rock from its heady first days with Lou Reed, John Cale, German chanteuse Nico, drummer Moe Tucker, and guitarist Sterling Morrison; through its management by pop artist Andy Warhol, who made the band the siren of his Factory and part of his traveling multimedia show, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable; to its later incarnations in the early Seventies. They opened wounds worth opening with brutal imagery, without apology, Patti Smith said, upon the band's 1996 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And this book offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at how the Velvet Underground did it.

A brand spanking new Chuck...

Well, it's Trish again in the winner's circle. Gus, I'm disappointed in you. A complete lack of effort from the Stone(hill)man. Anyone remember Stoneman from PLR? Okay Trish, your prize for winning is The Complete Captain & Tennille set of CDs. Forever!

The Captain & Tennille stumped you guys until Trish finally got it. Still got game?

Here's the deal: My long lost golf/tennis partner has resurfaced! Chuck knows his music and wants to test you with these drawings. I know my vast audience (measured in the dozens) can do this. Respond in the comments section below (if it doesn't work for you, send your answer to johnnykmusic@yahoo.com and I will post it); the prizes for guessing right are extraordinary!

Oh, those sensitive Trojans.....

USC's Pete Carroll enlists Bill Withers (ESPN video, but you must endure a brief ad first):


Bill Withers singing 'Lean on me' This is taken from the long out of circulation 'Brothers and Sisters' Live in concert video, which is a film of the 1972 Save the Children benefit gig in Chicago:

The Monday morning QB: Cleveland Browns' tribute (we lost again!)...