I swiped this image from Diane's post:
Lee
Saturday, June 27, 2009
"Where's Johnny?" at For Better or Werts
In the Remembering Ed Dept., a funny 1972 Tonight Show take-off by the Credibility Gap (Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and David L. Lander) at Diane Werts' For Better or Werts.
I swiped this image from Diane's post:
Lee
I swiped this image from Diane's post:
Lee
Friday, June 26, 2009
Breaking news, memories
At WFMU's Beware of the Blog. Brilliant: This Just In... Breaking News.
My main Michael Jackson memory concerns the time I ceased believing anything the media tells me. It was around 1980, and it was announced that Disco was dead. I was happier than I'd ever been. Then I turned on the radio--THUMP! CRASH! Didda-Didda-CRASH!
Disco was not dead.
And I can't describe the extent to which Jackson's brand of THUMP! CRASH! etc. never appealed to me on any level whatsoever. His stuff is just another reminder that THUMP! CRASH! music will never die. And never mind the media's promise. And, so, I associate that broken promise with Jackson's music.
And, as we speak, a number of eBay buyers are keeping alive the received cliche that, the more popular an artist and the more best-selling his stuff, the more it'll be worth when he passes away. Totally illogical, but it's one of the great urban legends of our day. A still-sealed copy of Thriller went for stupid money yesterday. A few weeks from now, the title will be back down to 99 cents. Of course, we could save a lot more than that by stacking all the copies to make a bridge to the moon, thus saving money on any planned lunar launches.
What aggravates me about the present coverage-athon is the underlying message of "You MUST like Michael's music." I mean, it's other than American not to--you just know it. Not liking Michael is just not an option. I remember when I panned Phillip Glass at Amazon.com in a customer review, and I had outraged people informing me that no one is allowed to not like Philip Glass. No one. It's not even possible, apparently. Ditto for the Beach Boys' Smile CD and the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. If our culture is going to carry on like this, the government should pass out little booklets telling us what we're required to like (and forbidden from not liking). It would make life in the mass-mediated age easier.
When confronted with this attitude, people automatically deny it. No, they're not telling me I have to like anything--they're just telling me what I'm not allowed to not like. Which, evidently, isn't the same thing.
One fellow Amazon customer thought I was being irrational by not liking Smile--he sent me a concerned private email to say so. Well, what if I liked Smile but remained convinced that blue zebras clad in tuxedos were munching on the eight-foot-tall tulips in my back yard while singing Heart of My Heart in Swahili? Would I be rational?
These are the questions that keep us going.
Lee
My main Michael Jackson memory concerns the time I ceased believing anything the media tells me. It was around 1980, and it was announced that Disco was dead. I was happier than I'd ever been. Then I turned on the radio--THUMP! CRASH! Didda-Didda-CRASH!
Disco was not dead.
And I can't describe the extent to which Jackson's brand of THUMP! CRASH! etc. never appealed to me on any level whatsoever. His stuff is just another reminder that THUMP! CRASH! music will never die. And never mind the media's promise. And, so, I associate that broken promise with Jackson's music.
And, as we speak, a number of eBay buyers are keeping alive the received cliche that, the more popular an artist and the more best-selling his stuff, the more it'll be worth when he passes away. Totally illogical, but it's one of the great urban legends of our day. A still-sealed copy of Thriller went for stupid money yesterday. A few weeks from now, the title will be back down to 99 cents. Of course, we could save a lot more than that by stacking all the copies to make a bridge to the moon, thus saving money on any planned lunar launches.
What aggravates me about the present coverage-athon is the underlying message of "You MUST like Michael's music." I mean, it's other than American not to--you just know it. Not liking Michael is just not an option. I remember when I panned Phillip Glass at Amazon.com in a customer review, and I had outraged people informing me that no one is allowed to not like Philip Glass. No one. It's not even possible, apparently. Ditto for the Beach Boys' Smile CD and the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. If our culture is going to carry on like this, the government should pass out little booklets telling us what we're required to like (and forbidden from not liking). It would make life in the mass-mediated age easier.
When confronted with this attitude, people automatically deny it. No, they're not telling me I have to like anything--they're just telling me what I'm not allowed to not like. Which, evidently, isn't the same thing.
One fellow Amazon customer thought I was being irrational by not liking Smile--he sent me a concerned private email to say so. Well, what if I liked Smile but remained convinced that blue zebras clad in tuxedos were munching on the eight-foot-tall tulips in my back yard while singing Heart of My Heart in Swahili? Would I be rational?
These are the questions that keep us going.
Lee
RATC--the clock tickens.
Oops--I mean, the plot thickens.
Last time, I posted about how Rock Around the Clock (RATC) was altered by Bill Haley from the original sheet music version by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers, but I didn't say a thing about my (?) theory that RATC, as recorded, is very much based on the 1949 R&B hit Rock the Joint (RTJ), as recorded by Jimmy Preston. R&B, of course, being what black rock and roll was called before someone (Alan Freed, they say) coined the term. The origin of the term rock and roll is one of those things no one is sure about, given that the phrase predated Freed's use of it, even if he popularized it. All we're sure of is that we're not sure, though we're not even sure of that.
Meanwhile, I tried to find my copy of John Swenson's Bill Haley biography, in case it turns out I borrowed the notion from Swenson (that RATC was Haley's own Rock The Joint). But the book is hiding on me. At any rate, I do believe RATC was an update of RTJ, even if it sounds like I'm discussing a McDonald's secret menu plan.
My reasons are simple: 1) Haley's RATC sounds a lot like his 1952 version of RTJ. And 2) the 1953 Sonny Dae (Paschal Vennitti) version of RATC is very close to the 1949 RTJ original, as recorded by Jimmy Preston. If that's not a compelling case, then, I ask you, what is?
Ah, an email: "So, Lee, you're saying that RATC is an update of RTJ, and that your evidence consists of the fact that Sonny Dae's RATC is... um.... Are you drunk?" No, I'm not drunk. Doped from sinus meds, at worst. Look, try to keep up, please.
Examples will help. One must hear music; one cannot talk it. Well, unless one is rapping. Anyway, we start with Jimmy Preston's fabulous Rock the Joint (1949), courtesy of The Roots of Rock and Roll, 1946-1954, which is one heck of a fine three-CD set with notes by the great Pete Grendysa.
Rock the Joint, Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians, 1949.
Now give a listen to the 1953 Sonny Dae and His Knights version of Rock Around the Clock, which happens to be the first recording of the number. The boogie shuffle, the timing, the style of singing--for that matter, same key. Very Rock the Joint:
Rock Around the Clock--Sonny Dae and His Knights, 1953.
And we have Haley's own 1952 recording of Rock The Joint (key of A, I hear) which sounds like a warm-up for Haley's 1954 RATC. The similarities between the two recordings are more than stylistic, even if the first one has a four-bar verse vs. the second's eight-bar verse. The identical guitar solos (by the great Danny Cedrone, who died in 1954) help immeasurably in making the two records sound similar as can be:
Rock the Joint--Bill Haley with the Saddlemen, 1952.
And that's my case. There's a lot of debate around the whole subject of RATC, but going into it gives me a headache. (Alternate punchline: ticks me off.) So all of this is my take, and only my take (tock?). But, as always, I'm absolutely up to the minute.
Coming up before long--(mostly) budget versions of Haley hits.
Lee
Last time, I posted about how Rock Around the Clock (RATC) was altered by Bill Haley from the original sheet music version by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers, but I didn't say a thing about my (?) theory that RATC, as recorded, is very much based on the 1949 R&B hit Rock the Joint (RTJ), as recorded by Jimmy Preston. R&B, of course, being what black rock and roll was called before someone (Alan Freed, they say) coined the term. The origin of the term rock and roll is one of those things no one is sure about, given that the phrase predated Freed's use of it, even if he popularized it. All we're sure of is that we're not sure, though we're not even sure of that.
Meanwhile, I tried to find my copy of John Swenson's Bill Haley biography, in case it turns out I borrowed the notion from Swenson (that RATC was Haley's own Rock The Joint). But the book is hiding on me. At any rate, I do believe RATC was an update of RTJ, even if it sounds like I'm discussing a McDonald's secret menu plan.
My reasons are simple: 1) Haley's RATC sounds a lot like his 1952 version of RTJ. And 2) the 1953 Sonny Dae (Paschal Vennitti) version of RATC is very close to the 1949 RTJ original, as recorded by Jimmy Preston. If that's not a compelling case, then, I ask you, what is?
Ah, an email: "So, Lee, you're saying that RATC is an update of RTJ, and that your evidence consists of the fact that Sonny Dae's RATC is... um.... Are you drunk?" No, I'm not drunk. Doped from sinus meds, at worst. Look, try to keep up, please.
Examples will help. One must hear music; one cannot talk it. Well, unless one is rapping. Anyway, we start with Jimmy Preston's fabulous Rock the Joint (1949), courtesy of The Roots of Rock and Roll, 1946-1954, which is one heck of a fine three-CD set with notes by the great Pete Grendysa.
Rock the Joint, Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians, 1949.
Now give a listen to the 1953 Sonny Dae and His Knights version of Rock Around the Clock, which happens to be the first recording of the number. The boogie shuffle, the timing, the style of singing--for that matter, same key. Very Rock the Joint:
Rock Around the Clock--Sonny Dae and His Knights, 1953.
And we have Haley's own 1952 recording of Rock The Joint (key of A, I hear) which sounds like a warm-up for Haley's 1954 RATC. The similarities between the two recordings are more than stylistic, even if the first one has a four-bar verse vs. the second's eight-bar verse. The identical guitar solos (by the great Danny Cedrone, who died in 1954) help immeasurably in making the two records sound similar as can be:
Rock the Joint--Bill Haley with the Saddlemen, 1952.
And that's my case. There's a lot of debate around the whole subject of RATC, but going into it gives me a headache. (Alternate punchline: ticks me off.) So all of this is my take, and only my take (tock?). But, as always, I'm absolutely up to the minute.
Coming up before long--(mostly) budget versions of Haley hits.
Lee
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Not on the same page: Burt and Love's "My Little Red Book."
This is not my copy of Love's version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's My Little Red Book:
My copy is a chintzy-looking reissue on the same label. So, I decided to swipe an image from (you guessed it) the Internet.
Don Brockway asked if I knew of other songs besides Rock Around the Clock that had been "adapted" or "reinvented," and the Bacharach-David My Little Red Book came to mind as one of the major examples of departure from the music manuscript. So, without further keystrokes, here's Tony Middleton, as accompanied by Burt, singing the song as Burt and Hal intended. This is followed by the group Love, from 1966, not doing so. Love paraphrased the song very cleverly, but they reduced it to modal garage rock in a sort of Misirlou mode. Both versions (the correct and incorrect) work for me. You, dear listener, can let your ears decide for you....
Click here to hear ZIP FILE NO LONGER AVAILABLE
1) Tony Middleton w. Orch. and Chorus conducted by Burt Bacharach, 1965.
--From Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits (Kapp KS-3577)
2) Love, 1966.
Lee
My copy is a chintzy-looking reissue on the same label. So, I decided to swipe an image from (you guessed it) the Internet.
Don Brockway asked if I knew of other songs besides Rock Around the Clock that had been "adapted" or "reinvented," and the Bacharach-David My Little Red Book came to mind as one of the major examples of departure from the music manuscript. So, without further keystrokes, here's Tony Middleton, as accompanied by Burt, singing the song as Burt and Hal intended. This is followed by the group Love, from 1966, not doing so. Love paraphrased the song very cleverly, but they reduced it to modal garage rock in a sort of Misirlou mode. Both versions (the correct and incorrect) work for me. You, dear listener, can let your ears decide for you....
Click here to hear ZIP FILE NO LONGER AVAILABLE
1) Tony Middleton w. Orch. and Chorus conducted by Burt Bacharach, 1965.
--From Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits (Kapp KS-3577)
2) Love, 1966.
Lee
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Ed McMahon: The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues; Those Beautiful Girls (1971)
The late Ed McMahon sings two Stephen Sondheim songs on this 1971 Capitol label 45, which I saved to cassette years ago. While not much of a singer, Ed could adequately carry a tune.
From disc to cassette to CD, these are...
1) The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues (Sondheim)
2) Those Beautiful Girls (Sondheim) (Capitol P-3213; 1971)
Click here to reach zip file: ZIP FILE NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Lee
From disc to cassette to CD, these are...
1) The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues (Sondheim)
2) Those Beautiful Girls (Sondheim) (Capitol P-3213; 1971)
Click here to reach zip file: ZIP FILE NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Lee
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The REAL "Rock Around the Clock"
My copy of Rock Around..., complete with mustaches drawn on three of the members (I didn't do it). There is only one true Rock Around the Clock, and that is the music contained in this sheet music--i.e., the melody as written, not as modified by Bill Haley. I believe this very sincerely and powerfully. Just kidding.
In fact, Bill Haley improved on the song considerably when he (and, earlier, Paschal Vennitti, a.k.a. Sonny Dae) modified the verse and chorus. But the very few recordings of RATC that follow the song as written are pretty interesting, too--especially Al Caiola's masterful 1970 arrangement (as the Living Guitars).
We are about to hear the three versions I've found to date that follow RATC as originally written. Originally, RATC started out with a verse in F minor (notated, of course, as A-flat Major) with a melody that resembled Leroy Anderson's Syncopated Clock:
Haley recorded this verse as a brief intro in Major mode, the melody following a simple 1-3-5 pattern. Then, to the chorus, whose melody originally started on the tonic:
Haley, instead, continued the broken-triad gimmick (1-3-5). However, we'll be hearing two versions that follow the 1-2-3-(down to)5 pattern of the sheet music, along with a version--by one-time Glenn Miller vocalist Artie Malvin--that starts on the third (A, in this case of the sheet music).
Fascinating, you say? Hm. That sounded a bit sarcastic. Hey, this is important stuff....
Click here to reach zip file: The REAL Rock Around the Clock.
"ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK" PLAYLIST
No Artist Credited (Velmo Records 1009).
Artie Malvin, with the Light Brigade (from Waldorf label LP).
The Living Guitars (Arr. and Conducted by Al Caoila), 1970.
DISCLAIMER: In the event that the accompanying essay made no sense, I'll deny having penned it.
Lee
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday morning gospel: The Smuckers--All Original Music
I know--with a name like Smucker, they have to be good. And they are. Bible selections set to a Cappella vocal music, the latter ("Vocal Music and Scriptural Arrangements") credited to Christina Smucker (left). This 10-inch Bassett Recording Service LP showed up at my latest Goodwill jaunt (I just had to type "Goodwill jaunt"), and I thought, "Cool." And it is.
I suspect the Smuckers are Mennonites, but I can't be for sure. For their location (West Liberty, Ohio), three Mennonite churches show up on Google, so make your own guess. The archivist in me is just glad that delightful music like this has been preserved on vinyl.
To the sounds: ZIP FILE NO LONGER AVAILABLE
PLAYLIST
PSALM 125: They that trust in the Lord...
GEMS FROM PSALM 119.
MATTHEW 5: And seeing the multitude...
JOHN 16: He shall glorify me....
PSALM 122: I was glad when they said unto me.....
EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK OF JOSHUA.
Vocal Music and Scriptural Arrangements by Christine Smucker.
(Bassett Recording Service, Springfield, Ohio. Record B-1373.)
*Meanwhile, Buster at Big 10-inch Record has posted a Mennonite tent revival meeting (with music and preaching). Great bloggers blog alike!
Lee
Obama testing the left's faith
Read all about it at MY(P)WHAE Text. It's all my mere opinion, of course:
Obama testing the left's faith.
Hope everyone is enjoying the Smucker Family (previous post).
Lee
Obama testing the left's faith.
Hope everyone is enjoying the Smucker Family (previous post).
Lee
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