Category Archives: BigBrotherHoldingCo.

ON THE TURNTABLE: 1968

18 Monday Feb 2019

Posted by in #WhiteBoyBlues, Aretha Franklin, BigBrotherHoldingCo., DYLAN, Eric Clapton, Fillmore East, Garrick Theatre, Humble Pie, Indie records, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Kevin Patrick, Madison Square Garden, Michael Bloomfield, Monterey Pop 67, Rock music, The Band, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Doors, The KinKs, THE MOTHERS of INVENTION, The radio, The Stones, Ticket Stubs, Vinyl Records

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ON THE TURNTABLE: 1968

1968 polarized me. The news, not only in print but on TV and radio had vivid footage, reports from the field of the Vietnam Conflict. Gun shots could be heard in the background as the reports were being taped. The newspapers and magazines did not concentrate solely on the war abroad but also on the conflict developing on the home front, particularly the protests against the war occurring in every major city. The Anti-War Movement was big news. Campus sit-ins, teach-ins, black arm bands, fist salutes,“the long hairs versus the hard hats” with the hard hats being saluted as “Pro America” while the “long hairs” were depicted as “Anti-American”.

A blurb written in Howard Smith’s SCENES in the Village Voice (February 17) addressed a Janis Joplin performance at The Anderson Theatre. I remember being amazed at how Smith described the show. This particular Big Brother and The Holding Company gig, with B.B. King on the bill,was meant to be a “coming out” party, NY style for the recently (8 months ago) herald band’s performance at Monterey. Smith compared Joplin to Bessie Smith (whom I never heard at that point in time), Aretha Franklin, and James Brown. But Janis, is a white girl. Hmmmm, this had to be good.

Besides the VOICE with it’s legendary Howard Smith (SCENES) and Richard Goldstein’s POP EYE column, I read CRAWDADDY , RAMPARTS, ROLLING STONE (newspaper format)and EYE magazine along with the weekly hit paraders that the local stations produced, GO(WMCA), etc. I vividly remember THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION ads run that summer in THE VOICE for their Garrick Theater performances. Also, the first Rolling Stone magazine with John Lennon gracing the cover and pictures from Monterey Pop. However, the risk of bringing home or to work a copy of THE EAST VILLAGE OTHER (EVO) was always a challenge. Oh yeah, that summer I had an intern’s job at CHASE MANHATTAN BANK on Wall Street NYC. 75 bucks a week, wearing a tie, short corporate hair.This 16 year old was now “citified” as I traveled on a daily early morning commute from “out in the country” to the Big Apple.

At CHASE, each Wednesday was pay day and that would be the day I would head to the WALL STREET RECORDS store where I would buy an album or two. I would also slip an EVO from the news stand, cooly placing it on top of the pile of my vinyl selections. After purchase I would carefully place EVO in the bag containing the records. I would only consider reading the EVO in the sanctity of my own room as some folks in my home, or anywhere in fact would deem even the comics a bit obscene. Mom would have freaked. I loved it. Overall, it was a wonderful summer job. My cousin John worked around the corner and we would get together for lunches. At only 16, looking like I was a 12 years old in a suit, I still was served beer at lunch, no questions asked. I did have a phony draft card which I paid 15 bucks for, it had my name printed out, matching my school ID photo and it looked legit but I was never asked for it, anywhere.

That summer from my desk on the tenth floor of the Chase building I watched the TWIN TOWERS being erected two streets over. From my perch I saw TRINITY CHURCH where Alexander Hamilton is buried, the Hudson River a few streets over, and basically the world at large. At work I progressed from a “runner/go-fer” handling mail the first few days, to sitting in the Signature Verification Department, to later helping to find a $1,000,000.00 error all by the end of my second week. I got a raise to $95.00 and was given a desk with my own adding machine and phone. Cool. Every day I still volunteered to take all the outgoing materials to the data processing center on the ninth floor at about 4:30 PM. Everyone considered this a lowly task, except me. The pretty girl at the window greeted me with a huge smile, knew my name by week 2 and gave me the receipt promptly which allowed me the time to zip down the stairs, out the door to the subway all in hopes of catching the 5:08 which I did most evening.

1968: My record collection was growing in leaps and bounds and with a decent paying job and having a record store only a street away well…it was now mostly albums (vinyl) and some cassettes, with an occasional single thrown in.

THE BEATLES “The Beatles” aka The White Album. I already posted about my experience in the manufacturing of the cassettes of this collection but I needed the vinyl. Wore that sucker out.

THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE- “Electric Ladyland,” this double set was a late year release,one which my girlfriend bought and I borrowed until she demanded it back so I had to get my own copy.I also picked up a 45 of “All Along The Watchtower” which I recently sold for 15 bucks.

JEFF BECK GROUP-“Truth” Arguments occur when I state that I like this lp better than “Electric Ladyland”. Most of my guitarist friends adored Hendrix and tolerated Beck, until they see him live. Different story they tell. This album was a killer , also bought on Wall Street that summer.

THE ZOMBIES-“Odessey and Oracle” yes the title is a misspelling and never corrected. This was one I bought on a lunch hour after seeing the poster of the band in a record store on Wall Street. Truly a gem “This Will Be Our Year”, the sheer fun of “Care of Cell 44” and of course the overlooked (for one year) “Time Of The Season”.

THE BAND-“Music From Big Pink” bought this early summer of 68, along with an accompanied 45 from THE BAND. Years later I won 5 or 10 bucks from a DYLAN fanatic who claimed the album was recorded AT “Big Pink” the house the band used for rehearsals. My disagreement lead to a minor argument, a few insults, and ultimately he handing over the money when he found out it was recorded in NYC and LA, not in the “basement”. I love being right.

THE DOORS-“Waiting For The Sun” I bought this the same day as “Big Pink’. Yuck, this album sucks, the gateway sleeve sucks, the photos suck,the songs suck, THE DOORS suck, yet I bought it so I suck,too.

ARETHA FRANKLIN- “Lady Soul”(my brother’s record but I took it constantly).Roger Hawkins on the kit,ERIC CLAPTON guitar, JOE SOUTH guitarist extradanaire on the unedited version of “Chain of Fools”,SPOONER OLDHAM keys and KING CURTIS on sax…what a line up and with the Queen of Soul at the mic…there is not one bad song here, geez, there is not one bad note.
“In December 1967, while he was still a member of Cream, 22-year-old British guitar phenom Eric Clapton was brought into a recording studio in the U.S. and asked to add a guitar part to Franklin’s powerful “Good to Me As I Am to You.”

BLOOMFIELD/KOOPER/STILLS-“Super Session” a great listen,especially the Mike Bloomfield side. Before this I thought of STILLS as just part of Buffalo Springfield. After this I thought of him as an amazing guitarist, which he is. Education is a strange thing, this educated me.

THE BYRDS-“Sweetheart Of The Rodeo” Not one of my friends had this, in fact not one of my friends like this. I was warned not to put it on at any house parties. My Pop liked it and that says alot. This album was a big change for the BYRDS, a big change for music, intro a new category “country rock”. God Bless Gram Parsons.Those in country music hated it, rock fans hated it, I loved it.

BIG BROTHER and THE HOLDING COMPANY-“(Sex,Dope and)Cheap Thrills”- this, contrary to popular myth, is not a live recording, only one track Ball and Chain is live, and what a great live track it is.
Dave Getz,drummer….“Cheap Thrills seems to have stood the test of time,It might be because it is arguably the greatest work by a great artist, Janis Joplin. It is certainly the greatest and closest representation of what Big Brother & the Holding Company was as a band and I would add to that argument that Big Brother/Janis as a band, and as a SOUND, was the embodiment of the San Francisco, psychedelic, counter-culture of the 1960s.”

CREAM-“Wheels Of Fire” their third album, a double lp set with one live the other studio recording. “Crossroads”,“Spoonful”, “White Room”, “Sitting On Top Of The World” and “Born Under A Bad Sign”, need I said more.

SMALL FACES-“Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake” is a blast. It is a precursor for HUMBLE PIE to be sure and “Happiness Stan” is one of my heroes.I played side two regularly on my college late night radio program and never got one complaint. Either people didn’t care or weren’t listening. Makes no never mind to me, I loved that album.

THE ROLLING STONES-“Beggar’s Banquet”- to this day this collection is one of my favorite albums, not just by the STONES but by every other artist.

I got that record the moment it was released and it very rarely left my turntable for one full year. Side 1, Side 2, back to Side 1, and on and on. There are very few albums I can said that about, very few albums I listen to in its entirety without getting bored by a clunker or two. I was enamored by this collection of Stones tunes. The slick printed cover (American version which was completely different from the British cover), the photo spread inside, and the music. These songs were individually and collectively a great relief, a wonderful change in direction from the ROLLING STONES ’67 set of THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST, which I owned but never played all the way through. The only tunes I liked on TSMR were 2000 LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME and SHE’S A RAINBOW. The rest,rubbish.

Before SATANIC MAJESTIES I was stuck on BETWEEN THE BUTTONS(1967) (US version), especially side 1 which we played endlessly at my buddy George’s house.TSMR is/was nothing like BUTTONS. But then, BEGGAR’S BANQUET is released and with that a new STONES approach to the blues.The BB album was the real deal, and foreshadowed what would become of the STONES over the next few years and releases. To my ears Beggar’s Banquet was a Keith album as Brian Jones due to “personal reasons” is limited here to slide guitar on NO EXPECTATIONS, a harmonica on PARACHUTE WOMAN, DEAR DOCTOR and PRODIGAL SON. It was the last ROLLING STONES album to be released during Brian Jones’ life.

Side One Track 1, SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL, just listen to the title before you put the needle down, WHAT? Sympathy for whom? Are you kidding me? Conga, screams, maracas, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and THE WORDS…PLEASE TO MEET YOU, seriously this is not Satanic Majesties at all. WOW.Then the voices, Get down,hit it, guitar riffs…six minutes plus of sheer ecstasy . I danced around my room so many times shaking imaginary maracas.
Track 2:NO EXPECTATIONS, Keith on acoustic, Brian in a semi-sober moment plays slide. Bill with a few bass thuds,I still play this tune on my guitar, “never in my sweet short life have I felt like this before”.
Track 3: DEAR DOCTOR, humorous to say the least..”Help me please Doctor I’m damaged”…“preserve it right there in that jar”. Many a nights I sang this tune with like minded folks, very poor off keyed singers we were after a few cocktails.
Track 4:PARACHUTE WOMAN: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, some echo added to vocals, and Charlie beating it down, “join me for a ride”.
Track 5: JIGSAW PUZZLE: The drum beat is awesome, I played it thousands of time, Charlie was the man. “Me, I waiting so patiently, lying on the floor”.

SIDE TWO Track 1 STREET FIGHTING MAN: The guitar intro and then the drums…this was the tune revolutionaries were using as their theme song, well, pseudo- revolutionaries. Hey, it was a sign of the times.
Track 2: PRODIGAL SON: Not a Stones tune but a remake that they called their own.Charlie’s high hat work is exceptional, Mick’s vocals is a take on a blues man.
Track 3: STRAY CAT BLUES: This was sex, straight out.”I bet your mama don’t know you can scream like that”…
Track 4: FACTORY GIRL: I first thought this was the same riff from “2000 Light Years”, but no. As I was working in a factory at the time this tune made so much sense.”Waiting for a factory girl…”
Track 5: SALT OF THE EARTH: This is the one that did it for me. Aren’t we all salt of the earth? and when the drums kick in….”Let’s drink to the uncounted heads”…these words made so much sense to me…and then the mention…. “A choice of cancer or polio”.

Salt Of The Earth
The Rolling Stones
Let’s drink to the hard working people
Let’s drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth
Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth
And when I search a faceless crowd
A swirling mass of gray and
Black and white
They don’t look real to me
In fact, they look so strange
Raise your glass to the hard working people
Let’s drink to the uncounted heads
Let’s think of the wavering millions
Who need leaders but get gamblers instead
Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio
And when I look in the faceless crowd
A swirling mass of grays and
Black and white
They don’t look real to me
Or don’t they look so strange
Let’s drink to the hard working people
Let’s think of the lowly of birth
Spare a thought for the rag taggy people
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth
Let’s drink to the hard working people
Let’s drink to the salt of the earth
Let’s drink to the two thousand million
Let’s think of the humble of birth

TICKETS TORN IN HALF: January 16,1971- HOT TUNA/TAJ MAHAL/ BRETHREN @ FILLMORE EAST

16 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by in #WhiteBoyBlues, BigBrotherHoldingCo., Fillmore East, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane, Kevin Patrick, Rock music, Taj Mahal, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized, Vinyl Records

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According to my friends I possess a somewhat eclectic taste in music and by my constantly seeking out new shows to attend, sometimes it is difficult to find an accompanist who would enjoy what I was going to see/listen to. This show was one of those nights. HOT TUNA (Jorma and Jack) was on a semi-official departure from JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, a band I was fascinated with.The last two times watching the Airplane, one night at Suffolk Community where there was more TUNA than AIRPLANE, and their last November Thanksgiving run at FILLMORE EAST when HOT TUNA did a complete set outshining the (newer) AIRPLANE, I was ready for this, HOT TUNA. Seems like most of my guy friends had plans or worse case scenario, had no interest in this particular show. So, a good friend, a woman accompanied me to FILLMORE EAST for HOT TUNA, TAJ MAHAL and BRETHEN. Brethren was a band out of New York, and a friend of mine knew one of the members so that connection made me pay close attention to what they were doing. They were alright, just alright, but somehow in the next few months they continued to pop up on the bills of other shows I attended. I learned to appreciate that band when I became familiar with their stuff.

TAJ MAHAL on the other hand was noteworthy from the git-go. He slipped out on stage, sat on a stool, and started to play a National Steel guitar. While slowly working through his repertoire other members of the band “appeared” without announcement of fanfare,  to the point were there were four tubas on the stage accompanying him. FOUR TUBAS. It was mind blowing. Besides Taj his band consisted of HOWARD JOHNSON on tuba (later to be musical director for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE), JOHN HALL (later of ORLEANS fame and update NY politics) on guitar, JOHN SIMON, piano (producer of THE BAND’s “Music From Big Pink”, BIG BROTHER’S Cheap Thrills, BLOOD,SWEAT and TEARS “Child is the Father To The Man” and other recordings) and ROCKY DziDzournu on congas, a standout in my memory as  he was the cat who takes THE STONES’ “Sympathy For The Devil” to new heights, along with a host of other musicians, totaling ten players on stage.Great stuff . A month later, at the same venue TAJ MAHAL is back to record his live album.

To close out the night, Hot Tuna which was now ELECTRIC HOT TUNA was ear shattering loud, to say the least, and being seated second row on the left directly in front of a huge bank of speakers…LOUD.Will Scarlett on harp, the aforementioned JORMA KAUKONEN on guitar, JACK CASADY, my favorite bass player, SAMMY PIAZZA, a (adequate) drummer (I miss Spencer Dryden) and PAPA JOHN CREACH from the AIRPLANE on violin/fiddle. The boys were on fire. Overall, it was another great night at FILLMORE EAST, a truly great night.

Set list from TUNABASE.com

Fillmore East, New York, NY

Water Song

Been So Long

That’ll Never Happen No More

Keep On Truckin’

Trial By Fire

Sea Child

Milk Train

Feel So Good

Come Back Baby

Papa’s Jam *

ON THE TURNTABLE: November of 1967

01 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by in #WhiteBoyBlues, Arthur Lee, BigBrotherHoldingCo., blue eyed soul, Cream, Creedence, Dr. John, DYLAN, Elektra Records, Eric Clapton, Golden Age of Radio, Grateful Dead, Jeff Beck, Jefferson Airplane, Kevin Patrick, LOVE, Michael Bloomfield, Neil Young, Otis Redding, Rock music, rock music trivia, Steve Winwood, The Beatles, The Byrds, The Doors, The KinKs, THE MOTHERS of INVENTION, The radio, The Rascals, The Who, Ticket Stubs, Traffic, Uncategorized, Vinyl Records, Zappa

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ON THE TURNTABLE: In November of 1967 I was purchasing mostly albums, having drifted away from single (45rpm) releases.This change in my purchasing, as well as the purchases of like minded teens listening to the same current music, was due in part, a large part, by one singular event; that being the change in FM radio broadcasting.

(A brief history thanks to Allen Sniffen) In 1966 the Federal Communications Commission ruled that major market FM radio stations could no longer simulcast their AM sister stations.  FM had to become separate with individual programming.  This was deemed necessary to allow FM to grow and develop its own audience.  The ruling put radio station owners in a bind.  They needed to come up with new formats for these weaker and less desirable stations. Since FM was more difficult to receive,  its universe of potential listeners was much smaller… and so was its billing.  The new formats therefore had to be both different and relatively inexpensive to program. It was in that environment that RKO General Broadcasting launched its new WOR-FM  (98.7Mhz) “Hot 100” format on July 30, 1966.  The name is deceiving because, in fact, it was the first progressive rock station in the country.  It marketed itself as stereo as a way to distinguish itself from AM radio.  The problem was that many of the records played by the station were not in stereo.  While it was true that most record albums were stereo, singles were not.  Since the singles came out before the albums, much of the new music it was breaking was in mono.

So to me as a 14 year old, my listening experience changed overnight, well actually after purchasing an AM-FM radio which did not exist in my house.The newly staffed WOR-FM hired some of NYC’s hottest “Top Ten” dj’s, specifically MURRAY“The K”(Kaufman) from 1010 WINS, SCOTT MUNI from 570 WMCA and later 770 WABC, and ROSKO, the coolest sounding person on the radio, anywhere. Murray The K appeared to be the draw for WOR-FM and the “new” MURRAY was a 180 degree departure from what I was familiar with while listening to him on 1010 WINS (AM). This was not “Top 40” jive talking any longer, as a matter of fact it was a “cool” MURRAY, one who it has been claimed broke the song  “Society’s Child” in the Summer of 67 (because it should be heard), as well as PROCOL HARUM’s “Whiter Shade of Pale” simply because HE “liked it”.AND Murray  was famous in the area  for his holiday stage show extravaganzas, the last which brought THE WHO and (as billed) THE CREAM to NYC for the first time, Easter of 1967. My buddy went and raved about those two bands.

But WOR-FM was a short lived experiment as program directors tried to rein in the playlist, to the chagrin of the radio hosts. Murray was fired in September of 67 despite having the highest rated FM program in NY, even higher than most AM shows. During his short tenure at WOR-FM “The K” attracted not only a large audience but in the audience advertisers found a different demographic, a newer demographic,that being a more mature college aged kid and with this newer, older audience the station drew in record companies as their advertisers. Record companies had found the station (WOR-FM) was highly valuable at influencing sales of rock albums especially new artists and groups like Cream, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, acts which were having their records played and /or being introduced.

At WOR-FM (October 1967)with a new tighter playlist ROSKO quit while “on the air”. He was soon found (October 30,1967) hosting the 7PM to midnight program at the “all girls dj’s” of WNEW-FM 102.7 FM. WNEW-FM was at that time a MOR station with an entire staff of female Dj’s, a unique experiment at the time. But at the 7PM hour Rosko had a free hand to “do his thing”. JONATHAN SCHWARTZ (10AM- 2PM) was added on November19, and a few days later SCOTT MUNI (2-6PM) joined the staff. ALLISON STEELE  later dubbed “The Nightbird” (2AM-6AM) was held over from the formerly “all girl” staff and WNEW-FM took off.

Note: a few years later the line up included John Zacherle and Pete Fornatale with Vince Scelsa added on weekends.

So all this AM/FM babble is the background to my “new” listening experiences which in turn changed my record purchases from TOP 40 hits (45RPM) to albums.

During that November I purchased “Love Forever Changes”, my first LOVE lp, their third and final collection. I picked up  CREAM’s “Disraeli Gears” (did not have “Fresh Cream”) and spent hours looking at the cover while trying to decipher the meaning of “SWLABR”. Incidentally, the album was recorded (May 1967) following the nine days of CREAM being part of MURRAY THE K’S “Music In The Fifth Dimension” series.

Murray The K’s Music In The 5th Dimension | RKO 58 St Theater (28 shows over nine days and nights) featuring:

Mitch Ryder & Detroit Wheels, Wilson Pickett, The Who, Hardly-Worthit Players, Cream, Blues Magoos, The Blues Project, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Jim & Jean, Mandala, The Chicago Loop, Phil Ochs, Simon & Garfunkel, The Young Rascals

(udiscovermusic.com)When both The Who and Cream made their live debut in America, it could hardly have been any less auspicious. It happened for both of them on 25 March 1967 at the RKO Keith Theater on 58th and 3rd Ave in New York City. The shows were redolent of the old 1940s variety shows with a bill packed with artists that actually began at 10 o’clock in the morning and ran all day with a movie thrown in for good measure. All the artists on the bill played five shows a day and it was grueling; the whole thing was promoted by New York’s legendary DJ, Murray the K.

The Who and Cream, or The Cream as they were billed, were well down the bill. Headlining were Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Wilson Pickett, with Buddy Miles was on drums, The Hardly Worthit Players, The Mandala, the Chicago Loop, Simon & Garfunkel, Jim & Jean, Phil Ochs, The Young Rascals and The Blues Project, Al Kooper’s band.

My next album was “Buffalo Springfield Again” their second album (my first) followed by JEFFERSON AIRPLANE’s  “After Bathing at Baxters”. “Surrelistic Pillow” was a man stay on my turntable before this collection was released on November 30,1967. This was departure and I loved that band. By the end of the CHRISTMAS release season I also had Hendrix’s “Axis As Bold As Love”, Dylan’s “John Wesley Harding” and an album I still love “The Who Sell Out”. Times surely had changed and so did my record collection.

Recently, I checked the files for purchases I made when I was 16 years old in 1968. Not surprisingly, those discs were all receiving heavy rotation on WNEW-FM: “Super Session”-Bloomfield,Kooper and Stills, The Airplane’s “Crown of Creation”, Jeff Beck’s amazing “Truth”, Big Brother and The Holding Company’s “Cheap Thrills”, Traffic’s second album, The Doors “Waiting For The Sun” and a fav of mine The Small Faces “Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake”. Also included were:Dance To The Music,We’re Only In It For The Money, The Notorious Byrds Brothers, Anthem of The Sun, Child Is The Father To The Man, Odessey and Oracle, SweetHeart of The Rodeo, The Village Green Preservation Society, Wheels of Fire, Dr John’s GRIS GRIS, Electric Ladyland, Beggar’s Banquet, Music From Big Pink and of course THE BEATLES akaThe White Album.

 

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD: CHAPTER 20: 1968-BE INS, TEACH INS, and ASSASSINATIONS

16 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in Albert King, BigBrotherHoldingCo., Fillmore East, FillmoreEast,BillGraham, Jimi Hendrix, Monterey Pop 67, Rock music, THE MOTHERS of INVENTION, Uncategorized

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ROCK’S IN MY HEAD: CHAPTER 20:1968-BE INS, TEACH INS, and ASSASSINATIONS

1968 polarized me. The news, not only in print but on TV and radio, had vivid news footage with reporting from the field of the Vietnam Conflict. Gun shots could be heard while the reports were being taped. The newspapers and magazines did not concentrate solely on the war abroad but also on the conflict developing on the home front, particularly the protests against the war occurring in every major city. The Anti-War movement was big news. Campus sit-ins, teach-ins, black arm bands, fist salutes, you know “the long hairs versus the hard hats”the hard hats being the ones who despised most protesters as being ANTI-AMERICAN.

“You faggots, you commies, you pussies, you… whatever”… shouted out in the streets. The news, the War, the demonstrations, the politics, the dynamics, I was absorbed with this which finally led to the proverbial, mostly unpleasant, verbal exchange during dinner with my WorldWar 2 Naval Veteran father. He who did NOT understand my opposition to our involvement in the conflict and he actually thought I was too young to understand, which pissed me off to no end. I was not too young, and I understood more than he wanted me to and probably more than he understood. I was 16, only two years away from the draft.

North Vietnam and the Viet Cong troops launched the TET OFFENSIVE  on The Lunar New Year, late January striking villages and towns throughout South Vietnam. More and more I began to understand whom we were fighting. My dad did not see it as I did, he did not understand that the North Vietnam Army and The Viet Cong were NOT the same army but rather two separate armies which coordinated this event. There was a huge difference between guerrilla warfare of the Viet Cong and uniformed soldiers of the NVA, both whom we were fighting. Dad fought in WWII and questioned my anti-war stance. Why should we not fight these Commies, North Vietnamese? I told him I did not want to die in a rice paddy killed by an enemy whom I could not identify.

The My Lai Massacre occurred  March 16 but was not news until later that autumn, somehow it never made the news when it occurred but when it did, WOW. The My Lai Massacre was a mass execution of between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians of South Vietnam; men, women, children and infants killed by U.S. Army soldiers under the leadership of Lieutenant William Calley, Jr. These soldiers, our soldiers, did not hold back, showing no remorse. Women were gang-raped, bodies mutilated. Twenty six soldiers were charged with criminal offenses but only Lt. Calley was convicted. He himself had killed 22 villagers and was given a life sentence. It was a short life in the slammer as he served only 3 1/2 years under HOUSE ARREST and then released.

My alarm clock was set to my favorite FM radio station which usually woke me up most morning, sometimes I needed an extra nudge but usually just the radio . One morning in April  I was awaken to the news that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr , the Nobel Prize winner, was killed. I was a bit depressed, how could any man kill another human. I was confused. This assassination made no sense, Dr. King was a Man of The Cloth, a Man of Peace. Somehow my parents didn’t get upset like I did, not that they were racists, but….

Then the morning the news that Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Those two in rapid succession affected me tremendously.  Kennedy was at least a white Catholic so I saw a few tears shed at our dinner table.

LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, USSR invades Czechoslovakia, and LBJ ends the “Rollin Thunder” bombing of North Vietnam. He also announces he will “not seek” another term for President. The BLACK POWER salute is seen during the Summer Olympics in Mexico, viewed throughout America  and the world in “living color”.

Students overtake Columbia University (thanks Mark Rudd, Dad will never let me go there now), Apollo 8 orbits the moon, and The Beatles release THE BEATLES aka as the White Album. And what was I doing?

I was listening to the Small Faces OGDEN’S NUT GONE FLAKE and SUPER SESSION.

A blurb written in Howard Smith’s SCENES in the Village Voice (February 17) addressed a Janis Joplin performance at The Anderson Theatre. Wherever The Anderson was to this Long Island boy, it could have been on Mars. I remember being amazed at how Smith described the show. This Big Brother and The Holding Company gig, with B.B. King on the bill,was meant to be a “coming out” party, NY style for the recently (8 months ago) herald band’s performance at Monterey. Smith compared Joplin to Bessie Smith (whom I never heard at that point in time), Areatha Franklin, and James Brown.  Janis, is a white girl. Hmmmm, this had to be good.

At this point in time besides the VOICE with it’s legendary Howard Smith (SCENES) and Richard Goldstein’s POP EYE column, I read CRAWDADDY , RAMPARTS, ROLLING STONE (newspaper format)and EYE magazine along with the weekly hit paraders that the local stations produced, GO(WMCA), etc. I vividly remember THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION ads run that summer in THE VOICE for their Garrick Theater performances. Also, the first Rolling Stone magazine with John Lennon gracing the cover and pictures from Monterey Pop. However, the risk of bringing home or to work a copy of THE EAST VILLAGE OTHER (EVO) was always a challenge. I only consider reading the EVO in the sanctity of my own room as some folks in my home, or anywhere in fact would deem even the comics a bit obscene. Mom would have freaked. I loved it.

But I digress, let’s go back a few months to when FILLMORE EAST opens. The  Village Voice, last week of February 1968, announced a show featuring Big Brother and The Holding Company, Tim Buckley, and Albert King at a place called Fillmore East. I needed to find out where that was. Then a friend at school brought in a program from Fillmore East for a DOORS show he had seen there. Now, I definitely need to go.

See you next time….Chapter 21:Can’t See A Thing Til’ You Open My Eyes . Comments? jazzbus@gmail.com

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD:  CHAPTER 19- THE SUMMER OF LOVE:

11 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by in BigBrotherHoldingCo., Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Monterey Pop 67, Otis Redding, Rock music, rock music trivia, Scott McKensie, Steve Cropper, Summer Of Love, Uncategorized, Vinyl Records

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ROCK’S IN MY HEAD:  CHAPTER 19- THE SUMMER OF LOVE:

“If you’re going to San Francisco,be sure to wear some flowers in your hair…If you’re going to San Francisco, Summertime will be a love-in there”

So sang SCOTT McKENZIE, a true one hit wonder himself but what a hit it was. This so called “anthem” arrived on the airwaves May 13, 1967, and was used as an invitation “across the nation” as a way to publicize the upcoming “charity” concerts called THE MONTEREY INTERNATIONAL POP FESTIVAL June 16 to June 18, 1967. This 3 day event was organized by PAPA JOHN PHILLIPS who incidentally wrote the aforementioned tune, LOU ADLER who produced the tune, along with a host of others who planned this weekend showcase as a way to sanctify “rock” music, similar to the way the Monterey Jazz Festivals gave legitimacy to that genre. All proceeds would be given to charity. Artists were expected to play a 40 minute set without a fee, however their flights, accommodations, etc, would all be first class.

The song becomes an instant radio hit ,#4 on the BILLBOARD charts, and while estimates vary, thousands celebrated rock music that weekend in a fair grounds 120 miles south of San Francisco. Yet, the tune transcended its purpose. The imagery of the song provoked and encouraged thousands of listeners to attend “the party”  which would become THE SUMMER OF LOVE in San Francisco.

HOW DO WE GET THERE? Well, not directional or travel arrangements wise but rather how did this LOVE thing happen?

Well, The BEAT poets of NORTH BEACH, SAN FRANCISCO could be considered the fore fathers of the movement with their non-conformist attitudes while rejecting materialistic values.

Then there was the celebration entitled the HUMAN BE-IN at Golden Gate Park in January of 67, an idea of MICHAEL BOWEN the avant-garde artist and co-founder of THE ORACLE, a premier “underground” newspaper which announced the event. This Be-In inspired  the play HAIR: The American Tribal Love -Rock Musical by Rado and Ragni. Also, TIMOTHY LEARY asked the attendees to “turn on,tune in,drop out”.About 30,000 attended.

The mainstream media picked up the story, highlighting Tim Leary, the drugs (LSD and mushrooms), the clothing and the music. These photos and images were shown on the nightly news. TIME magazine ran a cover story on THE HIPPIES and even CBS NEWS had a special report in August.This influx of “flower children” arrived to the 25 square block area of San Francisco with the cross streets , the intersection of it all, HAIGHT-ASHBURY.

With psychedelic music and drugs prevalent, one could only predict that the future of THE HAIGHT would not be so rosy or happy. Homelessness, drug abuse, poverty became rampant. The BEE GEES even wrote a song, MASSACHUSETTS, in response to what was happening in SAN FRANCISCO, a ditty about someone who lost the vision, the hope, and was homesick.

Yet, the SUMMER OF LOVE despite its misgivings gave us a great soundtrack for that time and for years to come: THE WHO, JIMI HENDRIX, BIG BROTHER and THE HOLDING COMPANY, COUNTRY JOE and THE FISH,THE ELECTRIC FLAG,QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE,STEVE MILLER,MOBY GRAPE,HUGH MASEKELA,THE BYRDS,LAURA NYRO,JEFFERSON AIRPLANE,BOOKER T and THE MG’s,OTIS REDDING, THE BLUES PROJECT,BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD and the organizers of Monterey Pop THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS.

See you next time…CHAPTER 20:1968-BE INS and TEACH INS and ASSASSINATIONS

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FILLMORE EAST: 50 Years ago this week

05 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by in ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, BigBrotherHoldingCo., FillmoreEast,BillGraham, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, Rock music, rock music trivia, Uncategorized

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FILLMORE EAST:

Fifty years ago this week BILL GRAHAM opened FILLMORE EAST with a show featuring BIG BROTHER and THE HOLDING COMPANY, TIM BUCKLEY, and ALBERT KING.

This little venue at 205 Second Avenue off of Sixth Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan was my home away from home from my first night there in 1969 until it’s closing weekend June of 1971. During that period I saw almost every type of music imaginable. Experiencing live music was a real education for me and here at Fillmore East it was at the Ph.D level of instruction. Jazz, folk, rock, experimental, comedic, whatever, this eclectic bill was all presented usually with a light show in the background. The seating of about 2700 was theatre style, no ballroom here. Programs were distributed at the door and you were escorted to your reserved seating by real ushers wearing their official garb of Fillmore East yellow and green football jerseys. Snacks, no alcohol,were available on the second floor, and all seats were a gem as the sight lines were amazing and the sound system the best in the land (at that time).

Most nights two shows were offered (separate admissions), one at 8 PM and the second scheduled for 11:30PM, Friday and Saturday evenings. The proprietor Bill Graham ran this place as if it was on Broadway. Bands were expected to be ready at show time AND conform to their given time slots. Mr. Graham would introduce the bands (when he was in town) or one of the Fillmore managers were left to the honors. Intros were usually pretty classic for the “head” billed act. Intermissions were entertaining also, as cartoons, or short films would be shown. A crowd favorite was THE SUNSHINE MAKERS, a black and white cartoon from 1935. Obvious a fan favorite because of the way it displayed: Sunshine as a liquid when it hit its victim, well that grouch turned happy ala Orange barrel sunshine of the LSD variety.The crowd roared in delight every time it was played.

So thanks to FILLMORE EAST for the memories.