Category Archives: Jimi Hendrix

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD- CHAPTER 29: WOODSTOCK

15 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Albert Grossman, Bethel Woods, Canned Heat, Creedence, CSNY, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, John Sebastian, Rock music, rock music trivia, Ten Years After, The Grease Band, The Who, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized

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ROCK’S IN MY HEAD- CHAPTER 29: WOODSTOCK

Joni Mitchell did not attend WOODSTOCK. Her agent DAVID GEFFEN in his ultimate wisdom thought it would be best for her to remain in the CHELSEA HOTEL in Manhattan resting up for her appearance on the DICK CAVETT television show the following Monday night. The afternoon of the Cavett taping, surprise, many of her friends, those who performed during the legendary weekend arrived to sit in on the taping.They were David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Jefferson Airplane.

In the months and years that followed the giant festival, it would be the “Woodstock” song that Joni Mitchell had written about the gathering which she composed on the basis of reports from her then boyfriend Graham Nash, plus what she saw on television.

I didn’t go to Woodstock, thought about it and planned to go with 3 friends but decided against it at the last minute. I never regretted giving the tickets away. No doubt the music was amazing but I enjoy the modern convinces of food, bath, etc. Festivals are not made for me, or me for them. I’d much rather be in a small club seeing a few bands then be in a large, muddy field hearing (might not be seeing) many, many groups. However, The WOODSTOCK MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL was a pivotal moment in history circa 1969.

As a historian I studied who played and when they played, what they played, how much they were paid, the weather they played in, the traffic problems in getting the artists to the stage,as well as the hundreds of filed news reports which later documented the financial dilemma of the festival ,and ultimately,information regarding the movie. So here goes, whether you want it or not…

Originally the promoters established a cap set at $15,000 per artist (band) to perform, except Hendrix ($18,000) which was a story unto itself.

After being denied permits for the original site (Wallkill, NY), which was near WOODSTOCK (hence the name)  the promoters of the festival found a good soul of a farmer located in BETHEL (White Lake),NEW YORK (43 miles away from original site) named MAX YASGUR who received $10,000 to lease the land (damage estimate to his fields was over $50,000).

Ticket prices were advertised as $6.00 a day (single day tickets) or $18.00 for the entire weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). Prior to the event 186,000 tickets were (reportedly) sold. (My math: tix sales $3,348,000…band fees $139,825)

Looking years hence, one “bargain” group for the festival would be SANTANA, paid a measly $750.00 as they were unknown act managed by Bill Graham. And then there was IRON BUTTERFLY for not showing up to collect a $10,000 fee, which was a hefty price to pay a band on a sharp decline. The WOODSTOCK movie would have been 4 hours longer if IB showed up and played IN A GADDA DA VIDA.

The first band to agree to perform, and given a hefty fee ($10,000) as well as being offered a prime spot in the line up, was CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL. Until that agreement the promoters found it difficult to find any band to perform. Once CCR was announced the other “big named” acts signed up. A note of importance: CCR under the leadership of John Fogerty refused to be taped for the movie and Fogerty bitched about the GRATEFUL DEAD “putting the crowd to sleep” prior to CCR hitting the stage.

Friday Aug.15th- THE LINEUP

Richie Havens 5:07 pm – 7:00 pm

Swami Satch 7:10 pm – 7:20 pm

Sweetwater 7:30 pm – 8:10 pm

Bert Sommer 8:20 pm – 9:15 pm

Tim Hardin 9:20 pm – 9:45 pm

Ravi Shankar 10:00 pm – 10:35 pm

Melanie 10:50 pm – 11:20 pm

Arlo Guthrie 11:55 pm – 12:25 am

Joan Baez 12:55 am – 2:00 am

Richie Havens ($6000) 5:07-7:00PM

Richie Havens opened the festival with a rousing performance. He was asked to continue playing by the promoters as other acts were delayed due to the traffic problems, the roads leading into the small upstate New York town and the major highway feeding it were at a virtual standstill. Knowing he had run out of tunes, Havens improvised a tune he called “FREEDOM” which is actually an old spiritual known as “MOTHERLESS CHILD”.

From The Prison

Let’s Get Together

From The Prison (reprise)

Minstrel from Gault

I’m A Stranger Here

High Flying Bird

I Can’t Make It Anymore

With A Little Help From My Friends

Handsome Johnny

Strawberry Fields Forever/Hey Jude

Freedom (Motherless Child)

Next up was SWAMI SATCHIDANANDA (7:10-7:20PM) who offered his blessing to the masses in the audience.

SWEETWATER ($1,250) (7:30-8:10) Actually Sweetwater was scheduled to open the festival but were stuck in traffic and had the pleasure of an additional stop requested by NYS Troopers. These conditions slowed their arrival to be the first ACT to perform but they were the first BAND to play and what do they open with one might ask:

 

Motherless Child.

Look Out

For Pete’s Sake

Day Song

What’s Wrong

Crystal Spider

Two Worlds

Why Oh Why

Let The Sun Shine In (from Hair)

Oh Happy Day

BERT SOMMER (fee unknown)was “the hair” from the Broadway play HAIR. Bret was once a member of THE LEFT BANKE before landing on The Great White Way . He penned a few tunes for The Vagrants (Leslie West’s band of old). Bret on his own( with a few side men) offered a ten song set.(8:20-9:15)

Jennifer

The Road To Travel

I Wondered Where You’d Be

She’s Gone

Things Are Going My Way

And When It’s Over

Jeanette

America (Simon Garfunkel tune)

A Note That Read

Smile

TIM HARDEN: ($2000) 9:20- 9:45 plays a very short set. As short as it was it was a great set of tunes. Mr. Harden was overwhelmed, reportedly due to his heroin addiction and his fear of performing, after seeing the massive crowd out front.

(How Can We) Hang on to a Dream

Susan

If I Were a Carpenter

Reason to Believe

You Upset the Grace of Living When You Lie

Speak Like a Child

Snow White Lady

Blues on My Ceiling

Simple Song of Freedom

Misty Roses

RAVI SHAKAR ($4,500) played for about a half hour (10:00- 10-35) and I can’t really spell the ragas he played but he played three.

MELANIE: ($750)  plays at 10:50-11:20 in place of THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND who refused to play in the rain. Hmmmm, strange, an acoustic ensemble afraid of the water. So MELANIE steps up and offers the following set list:

Close to It All

Momma Momma

Beautiful People

Animal Crackers

Mr. Tambourine Man

Tuning My Guitar

Birthday of the Sun

ARLO GUTHRIE:($5000)11:55- 12:25AM

Coming into Los Angeles

Wheel of Fortune

Walking Down the Line

Arlo Speech: Exodus

Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep

Every Hand in the Land

Amazing Grace

JOAN BAEZ: A pregnant Joan Baez was paid $10,000 bucks to close out  Day 1 aka The Folk Segment.

Oh Happy Day

The Last Thing On My Mind

I Shall Be Released

Story about how the Federal Marshals came to take David Harris into custody

Joe Hill

Sweet Sir Galahad

Hickory Wind

Drug Store Truck Driving Man

I Live One Day at a Time

Take Me Back to the Sweet Sunny South

Let Me Wrap You in My Warm and Tender Love

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

We Shall Overcome

Saturday Aug. 16th  DAY TWO SCHEDULE

Quill 12:15 pm – 12:45 pm

Country Joe McDonald 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Santana 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm

John Sebastian 3:30 pm – 3:55 pm

Keef Hartley Band 4:45 pm – 5:30 pm

Incredible String Band 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Canned Heat 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Mountain 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Grateful Dead 10:30 pm – 12:05 am

Creedence 12:30 am – 1:20 am

Janis Joplin 2:00 am – 3:00 am

Sly & Family Stone 3:30 am – 4:20 am

The Who 5:00 am – 6:05 am

Jefferson Airplane 8:00 am – 9:40 am

QUILL (12:15- 12:45)

They Live the Life

That’s How I Eat

Driftin’

Waitin’ for You

COUNTRY JOE McDONALD – solo (1:00- 1:30PM)

Janis

Donovan’s Reef

Heartaches by the Number

Ring of Fire

Tennessee Stud

Rockin’ Round the World

Flying All the Way

Seen a Rocket

“Fish” Cheer / I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag

SANTANA ($750) 2:00- 2:45PM

Waiting

Evil Ways

You Just Don’t Care

Savor

Jingo

Persuasion

Soul Sacrifice

Fried Neckbones And Some Home Fries

JOHN SEBASTIAN ($1000) 3:30- 3:55PM

John Sebastian was there as a spectator, one allowed to pitch a tent in the backstage area. When the managers realized they had a huge time lapse after SANTANA they asked Sebastian if he would sing a few ,offering to pay him $1000.00  Before that moment he had no intention of performing but said okay. With no true (rehearsed) set list and a BORROWED guitar he hit the stage, loaded as all get out in his tie dyed outfit. One thousand bucks for a five song 25 minute set. Not too shabby, and a great way (after the movie) to revitalize his career.

How Have You Been

Rainbows All Over Your Blues

I Had A Dream

Darlin’ Be Home Soon

Younger Generation

KEEF HARTLEY BAND: (4:45-5:30) ($500.00)

The first question most ask is: WHO?. KEEF Hartley was a drummer of some renown having taken the drum throne in RORY AND THE HURRICANES when RICHARD STARKEY  aka RINGO STARR left for greener pastures. KEEF later joined forces with JOHN MAYALL playing drums on Mayall’s solo endeavor THE BLUES ALONE.  At Woodstock , their FIRST American gig, KHB performed as a Big Band complete with horns, ala Blood Sweat and Tears.

Spanish Fly

Think It Over

She’s Gone

Too Much Thinking

The Halfbred

Believe In You

Rock Me Baby

Medley: Sinnin’ For You, et al.

THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND (6:00-6:30)($2250.00) Imagine you are the acoustic ISB at Woodstock,it’s late Saturday afternoon and you are called upon to perform for a crowd that is in PARTY mode. Good luck, especially since you refused to play Friday night in the rain.Karma is a bitch.

Invocation (Spoken Word)

The Letter

Gather Round

This Moment

Come With Me

When You Find Out Who You Are

It’s early Saturday evening and everybody is here. It’s time to BOOGIE. Hey, after The Incredible String Band you could get thunderous applause for tuning up for an hour and get the crowd going.

CANNED HEAT 7:30-8:30 ($6500)-  to me this is a huge fee to pay the band as Harvey Mandell replaced Henry Vestine on guitar only a few days before.

I’m Her Man

Going Up The Country

A Change Is Gonna Come/Leaving This Town

I Know My Baby

Woodstock (Refried Hockey) Boogie- (45 minutes long)

On The Road Again

MOUNTAIN: ($2000.00) (9PM-10PM)

Blood of the Sun

Stormy Monday

Theme for an Imaginary Western

Long Red

For Yasgur’s Farm (named later)

Beside the Sea

Waiting to Take You Away

Dreams of Milk and Honey > Guitar Solo

Blind Man

Dirty Shoes Blues

Southbound Train

THE GRATEFUL DEAD: (10:30-12:05) ($2500.00)

Rumor has it that this was one of the worst Dead performances. Mid show they stood without playing, just tuning up for ten minutes.

The Dead’s lifeless show pissed off John Fogerty who with Creedence was scheduled to go on next but The Dead put everyone to sleep, he said.

St. Stephen

Mama Tried

Dark Star

High Time

Turn On Your Lovelight (45 minutes)

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL (12:30 AM-1:20 AM)($10,000) Crazy money but these swamp rockers were huge that summer.

Born on the Bayou

Green River

Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do)

Commotion

Bootleg

Bad Moon Rising

Proud Mary

I Put a Spell on You

The Night Time Is the Right Time

Keep on Chooglin’

Suzy Q

JANIS JOPLIN (2AM-3AM)$7,500

Raise Your Hand

As Good As You’ve Been To This World

To Love Somebody

Summertime

Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)

Kosmic Blues

Can’t Turn You Loose

Work Me Lord

Piece Of My Heart

Ball and Chain

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE(3:30-4:20 AM)$7,000

M’Lady

Sing A Simple Song

You Can Make It If You Try

Everyday People

Dance To The Music

Music Lover

I Want To Take You Higher

Love City

Stand!

THE WHO (5AM- Sunrise 6:05)$11,200 (fee is questionable) Abbie Hoffman made a surprise cameo and met Pete’s boot.

Heaven And Hell

I Can’t Explain

It’s A Boy

1921

Amazing Journey

Sparks

Eyesight To The Blind

Christmas

Tommy Can You Hear Me?

Acid Queen

Pinball Wizard

*Abbie Hoffmann Incident*

Fiddle About

There’s A Doctor I’ve Found

Go To The Mirror Boy

Smash The Mirror

I’m Free

Tommy’s Holiday Camp

We’re Not Gonna Take It

See Me Feel Me

Summertime Blues

Shakin’ All Over

My Generation

Naked Eye

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE “Good morning people” 8AM -9:40 ($7500)

The Other Side of This Life

Somebody to Love

3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds

Won’t You Try / Saturday Afternoon

Eskimo Blue Day

Plastic Fantastic Lover

Wooden Ships

Uncle Sam Blues

Volunteers

The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil

Come Back Baby

White Rabbit

The House at Pooneil Corner

Sunday Aug. 17th (Day 3)

Joe Cocker and The Grease Band 2:00 pm – 3:25 pm($1,375)

Jam (without Cocker)

40,000 Headmen (without Cocker)

Dear Landlord

Something’s Coming On

Do I Still Figure in Your Life

Feelin’ Alright

Just Like a Woman

Let’s Go Get Stoned

I Don’t Need No Doctor

I Shall Be Released

Hitchcock Railway

Something to Say

With a Little Help from My Friends

THUNDERSTORMS-DELAY

Country Joe and the Fish 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm($2500)

Rock & Soul Music

(Thing Called) Love

Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine

Sing, Sing, Sing

Summer Dresses

Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife

Silver and Gold

Maria

The Love Machine

Ever Since You Told Me That You Love Me (I’m a Nut)

Short Jam (instrumental)

Crystal Blues

Rock & Soul Music (Reprise)

“Fish” Cheer / I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag

Ten Years After 8:15 pm – 9:15 pm ($3250)

Spoonful

Good Morning Little Schoolgirl

Hobbit

I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes

Help Me

I’m Going Home

The Band 10:00 pm – 10:50 pm($7500)

Chest Fever

Don’t Do It

Tears of Rage

We Can Talk

Long Black Veil

Don’t You Tell Henry

Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos

This Wheel’s on Fire

I Shall Be Released

The Weight

Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever

Johnny & Edgar Winter 12:00 am – 1:05 am($3750)

Mama, Talk to Your Daughter

Six Feet Under the Ground

Leland Mississippi Blues

Mean Town Blues

You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now

Mean Mistreater

I Can’t Stand It (With Edgar Winter)

Tobacco Road (With Edgar Winter)

Tell the Truth (With Edgar Winter)

Johnny B. Goode

Blood, Sweat & Tears 1:30 am – 2:30 am ($15,000)

More and More

Just One Smile

Something’s Coming On

I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know

Spinning Wheel

Sometimes in Winter

Smilin’ Phases

God Bless The Child

And When I Die

You’ve Made Me So Very Happy

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 3:00 am – 4:00 am ($5000)

Stephen Stills said, “This is the second time we’ve ever played in front of people, man. We’re scared shitless.”

(Set One – Acoustic)

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

Blackbird

Helplessly Hoping

Guinnevere

Marrakesh Express

4 + 20

Mr Soul

Wonderin’

You Don’t Have To Cry

(Set Two – Electric)

Pre-road Downs

Long Time Gone

Bluebird

Sea Of Madness

Wooden Ships

(Encores)

Find The Cost Of Freedom

49 Bye-Byes

Paul Butterfield Blues Band 6:00 am – 6:45 am (fee unknown)

Born Under a Bad Sign

No Amount of Loving

Driftin’ and Driftin’

Morning Sunrise

All in a Day

Love March

Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

Sha Na Na 7:30 am – 8:00 am($700)

Get A Job

Come Go With Me

Silhuettes

Teen Angel

Jailhouse Rock

Wipe Out

(Who Wrote) The Book of Love

Little Darling

At The Hop

Duke Of Earl

Get A Job (Reprise)

Jimi Hendrix 9:00 am – 11:10 am($18000)

Message of Love

Hear my Train a Comin’

Spanish Castle Magic

Red House

Mastermind

Lover Man

Foxy Lady

Beginnings

Izabella

Gypsy Woman/Aware of Love

Fire

Voodoo Child- slight return

Stepping Stone

The Star Spangled Banner

Purple Haze

Woodstock Improv

Villanova Junction

Hey Joe

 

 

FEES:

Jimi Hendrix – $30,000 for two sets plus $2,000 for expenses. Note- There was a cap of $15,000 per artist at Woodstock so a deal was made for Hendrix to play two sets, an acoustic set and a set with his band.Actually he made $18,000.

Blood, Sweat & Tears – $15,000

Joan Baez – $10,000

Creedence Clearwater Revival – $10,000

The Band – $7,500

Janis Joplin – $7,500

Jefferson Airplane – $7,500

Sly and the Family Stone – $7,000

Canned Heat – $6,500

The Who – $6,250 (also reported at $11,200 but Variety claimed that number was inaccurate)

Richie Havens – $6,000

Arlo Guthrie – $5,000

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – $5,000

Ravi Shankar – $4,500

Johnny Winter – $3,750

Ten Years After – $3,250

Country Joe and the Fish – $2,500

Grateful Dead – $2,500

The Incredible String Band – $2,250

Mountain – $2,000

Tim Hardin – $2,000

Joe Cocker – $1,375

Sweetwater – $1,250

John B. Sebastian – $1,000

Melanie – $750

Santana – $750

Sha Na Na – $700

(photos and clippings may or may not be from WOODSTOCK. Just representations of artist which performed there.)

Led Zeppelin Times Eight

31 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in #BuddyGuy, #WhiteBoyBlues, Blind Faith, Cream, Delaney,Bonnie and Friends, Eric Clapton, Fillmore East, Jeff Beck, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum, Rita Coolidge, Rock music, rock music trivia, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized, Vinyl Records

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Overall,I witnessed the act known as Led Zeppelin a total of eight times over eight years (1969-1977),from the first album through their last official tour of the US. I bought all the albums up to PRESENCE. After that record I stopped buying their albums until the recent (vinyl) re-mastered collections. Every time I attended their show, each one was a unique experience. This band of four changed musically throughout the years, gaining momentum and a rabid fan base with each new release. From a blues based band which rose from the ashes of THE YARDBIRDS, a band playing for recognition as a new unit and up to the mega-band which could sell out many nights in a row at the WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS ARENA in a moments notice,they were truly something to behold, collectively.

January 12,1969: LED ZEPPELIN is released.I almost burnt that record out. It replaced JETHRO TULL’s “This Was” on my turntable.

(1)May 30,1969@Fillmore East: For me the first time and in the best place in NYC, FILLMORE EAST was THEE venue to see LED ZEPPELIN. The talk since late January was how this band from England, the undercard on the bill, destroyed IRON BUTTERFLY which was the headliner for this weekend of shows. The buzz was that Led Zeppelin left IB stunned in the wings awaiting to hit the stage,left only to play their hit IN A GADDA DA VIDA to the chagrin of many. The schism is now widened as a new sound is in town. One must know the background of LED Zeppelin to understand how this one weekend enchanted the NY crowd.

For those who only know of the power and popularity of Led Zeppelin of later days, let me take you back to a time before their very first album hit the stands.

Jimmy Page was one of the “three”, the Triumvirate of Rock Guitarist Gods who moseyed through a British band of some renown named THE YARDBIRDS. This band, legend states took their name from Charlie YARDBIRD Parker, was somewhat known in the USA, but more popular in their homeland of Great Britain. Without giving the long history of the Yardbirds let’s just say they got a CRAWDADDY (a club) gig when the spot was vacated by THE ROLLING STONES, a band on the move. Eric Clapton was the YARDBIRDS guitarist at that time, one who became uncomfortable with the band veering away from it’s blues roots by heading into a pop direction. Clapton leaves and suggest Jimmy Page take his spot. Page was the “go to studio guitarist” at the time and didn’t want to vacate that profitable role, so PAGE suggested JEFF BECK who took the gig.

With BECK’s influence the YARDBIRDS moved toward a psychedelic route with fuzz tones, feedback, and his overall guitar virtuosity. By 1966 JEFF BECK was voted Melody Maker’s GUITARIST OF THE YEAR.When the bass player drops out of The Yardbirds JIMMY PAGE steps in for a spell. When a new bassist is recruited PAGE stays on for a BECK/PAGE “new” dual guitar attack approach. Beck gets sick, misses a few gigs and ultimately leaves the band to Page.With the lead singer Keith Relf’s alcoholism and the band not having any more hits, as well as with the rise of CREAM and JIMI HENDRIX, soon most of The Yardbirds disappeared, leaving Jimmy Page with the name. To fulfill  some contractual commitments,with a new manager PETER GRANT on board, the band hits the road as THE NEW YARDBIRDS.

Page had recruited TERRY REID as vocalist but he, with a new MICKIE MOST contract, could not leave. Reid suggested a friend, ROBERT PLANT who brought along his drummer friend JOHN BONHAM. Page called his studio buddy JOHN PAUL JONES for bass and keyboards and after a short tour of Scandinavia, the NEW YARDBIRDS hit the studio to record what would become LED ZEPPELIN’s debut.

The album is released January 12,1969. Some of the tunes hit the New York FM airwaves before but especially immediately after the band’s now legendary performance as the opening act for IRON BUTTERFLY at FILLMORE EAST January 31 and February 1, 1969. This is Led Zeppelin’s first US tour. My buddy Pete attended one of those shows that weekend. He raved about this new band who blew Iron Butterfly off the stage, leaving Iron Butterfly to play just one song, their hit IN A GADDA DA VIDA, and according to Pete, Led Zeppelin came back out due to the booing of Butterfly and the calls for  “MORE” Zeppelin. I have never been able to verify that but Pete said it, so…it must be true.

It is now Memorial Day weekend of 1969, a new beginning for a group of us as we copped tickets (5 bucks each) to see Led Zeppelin at Fillmore East, the early show on a Friday Night of a Holiday Weekend.The crowd outside on line awaiting admittance to the sacred hall was a buzzed. Finally, in and seated, house lights go down and BOOM, Woody Herman’s Big Band was way too cool. Followed by DELANEY,BONNIE and FRIENDS with the beautiful RITA COOLIDGE, oh my. The JOSHUA LIGHT SHOW afforded a great back drop, something that I had never witnessed before. Then, “OHHHHH, I CAN’T QUIT YOU BABE” with a power chord which shook me to the core. This tune followed by Dazed and Confused, White Summer, How Many More Times, a drum solo, and the crowd cheering “MORE,MORE”… The encore was short, yet loud, COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN.(Contrary to any set list including on Zep’s website, the band did not open with THE TRAIN KEPT A ROLLIN’)

(Show #2)August 30,1969@ NYS Pavilion (Former World’s Fair Site

My END OF THE SUMMER celebration show was to finish the season where it started with Led Zeppelin exactly three months to the day of my first experience seeing the band live. Tonight would be LED ZEPPELIN, BUDDY GUY &JR. WELLS and RAVEN (August 30,1969). Originally to be held at The Singer Bowl this show was rescheduled for the opened air, standing room only, former site of New York State Pavilion at The World’s Fair. This night would prove to be a totally different experience for me. Standing Room Only, first come first in, no reserved seating and I was very reluctant. Yet, we got there early enough to be one of the first in line, standing outside prior to opening the doors, hoping to find a viewing spot in front, maybe at mid stage. When the doors opened, we got a spot stage right, in front of where I knew Jimmy Page would stand. RAVEN (not the metal band of years later) was as most opening acts would be, an opening act and forgettable when they finished their set but Buddy Guy/ Jr. Wells was a great addition to the bill. Buddy played angelically, and nasty as sin when need be. At one point a balloon from the audience was bounced to him mid song to which he captured and used as a slide on his guitar. To my amazement the balloon did NOT break. This spot where we were standing became dangerous as LED ZEPPELIN time grew nearer, and more so as the show progressed. About the time they performed MOBY DICK, I had had enough and was up stairs walking around the balcony area having given up our prime location. And yes, this IS the show where Bonzo collapsed on the drums to end the night. The set list was similar to the May show @ Fillmore East. NOTE: My ticket stub is featured on the LED ZEPPELIN website.

October 22,1969 LED ZEPPELIN II is released.

(Show #3)September 19,1970: Led Zeppelin @Madison Square Garden.One year later from when I last saw them and the boys have hit the big time doing an unusual afternooon/ evening performance with one show at 2pm and then another at 8pm. We had four tickets for the 8pm show, where they opened with IMMIGRANT SONG. Geez, the band was so good and getting bigger by the moment. With two albums under their belt,  and the third LED ZEPPELIN III to be released a few weeks after this gig.

October 5,1970 LED ZEPPELIN III is released.

(4)September 3,1971: Led Zeppelin @ MSG This was advertised as a “2 and1/2 hour show with no opening act” and became a disaster of an evening almost immediately. SOLD OUT in a matter of hours. The show was marred by a huge protest mob (riot) developing outside due to “overpriced” tickets $5:50 – $7:50. Inside we were treated to a (dangerous) fireworks show as some idiot was tossing M-80’s from the upper balcony toward the ceiling in the Garden, each exploding just before it landed close to those seated below. Then the stage collapsed.Show over, lights on. Didn’t know if I wanted to experience that again.

November 8,1971 LED ZEPPELIN IV is released.

(5)June 15, 1972: Led Zeppelin @ Nassau Coliseum was advertised as a 3 1/2 hour show and as I was still shaking from the MSG fiasco (9/3/71) less than a year ago so I had NO intentions of going to this venue to see Led Zeppelin especially in this new arena which made headlines by have the Nassau PD bust scores of concert goers in the parking lot for drinking (tailgating) and smoking before a GRATEFUL DEAD show only a few weeks before. BUT at the Todd Rundgren show only a few days before, my girlfriend found two tickets for LZ next to the gear box in my VW. Strange as it sounds she did not place the tickets there and to this day I still never found who or why, but we went to the show, with me looking over my shoulder the whole time. (Great review by Robert Christgau in NEWSDAY- see LZ website for setlist and review of this 2 night stand.)

March 28,1973 HOUSES OF THE HOLY is released.

Rolling Stone: Gordon Fletcher (June 7,1973)

For me, Led Zeppelin began as the epitome of everything good about rock: solid guitar work, forceful vocals and rhythmic backing, devotion to primal blues forms, and most of all, thunderous excitement on stage and vinyl. But as superstardom came to them, so too came the gradual evaporation of those qualities from their sound. In the same way that the Rolling Stones evolved into a senior, “safe” bizarro-perversion band, Led Zeppelin has become a senior, “safe” heavy-metal band. But by its very nature safety cannot coexist with heavy-metal fire and macho intensity (or bizarro-perversion, for that matter), which is probably why Houses of the Holy is one of the dullest and most confusing albums I’ve heard this year.

So with that note by Mr. Fletcher for an album released a few weeks before we enter the HOUSES OF THE HOLY aka Madison Square Garden for my sixth time seeing LED ZEPPELIN, who are probably the most popular band in the world at this moment in time.

(6)July 28, 1973 LED ZEPPELIN @ MSG open with ROCK N ROLL and while my handwritten notes in my journal are limited this very performance was filmed for the  THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME. However, this is the stop (NYC) on the tour where $203,000.00 was missing from the band’s hotel safe. Also MSG had decided it safer to sell all tickets for the 3 shows via Money Orders sent to the box office(SASE) rather than deal with the nasty crowds at the box office.

(7)February12,1975: LED ZEPPELIN @ MSG Opened with ROCK AND ROLL, No QUARTER, SONG REMAINS THE SAME,DAZED AND CONFUSED, STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN,MOBY DICK, WHOLE LOTTA LOVE, BLACK DOG, HEARTBREAKER

February 24,1975 PHYSICAL GRAFFITI is released.

March 31,1976 PRESENCE is released.

October 1976 THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME is released.

(8)JUNE 14,1977: LED ZEPPELIN (8th and my last time)@ MSG The NY radio station WPLJ gave away LED ZEPPELIN buttons celebrating the bands six (6) sold out shows.This will be a 3 hour extravaganza when it starts as we were delayed an hour before the band took the stage. In total they played 18 songs opening with  THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME, had an acoustic set thrown in for good measure, the obligatory  Moby Dick, Jimmy Page violin solo, Achilles Last Stand, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love and closed out with Rock and Roll. This was the last US tour for the original foursome.

September 25,1980 Drummer John Bonham dies.

No matter how many rumors hit the streets, no matter how many times it might be said that LED ZEPPELIN is reuniting, I can’t or won’t go see that band. John Paul, Robert, and Jimmy playing with PHIL COLLINS hurts my ears, and Bonham,Jr… well no thanks.  RIP Led Zeppelin and thanks for the memories.

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD-CHAPTER 23: AT SEVENTEEN

24 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in heart broken, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Madison Square Garden, Otis Redding, Rock music, rock music trivia, Scott McKensie, The Animals, The Doors, The Who, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized, Vinyl Records

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CHAPTER 23: AT SEVENTEEN

They say it’s your birthday, It’s my birthday too, yeah

They say it’s your birthday, We’re gonna have a good time

I’m glad it’s your birthday, Happy birthday to you

What a way to celebrate my 17th birthday with two tickets to see THE DOORS on January 24, 1969 at Madison Square Garden. New brown corduroy slacks, brown boots, a new overcoat, with a few extra bucks in my pocket from my folks as a birthday gift and away I go. A new pack of Marlboro Reds, train fare, money for the food after the show at the diner, I was psyched to go to another live show. But on the train ride in, the “problem” soon reared its ugly head as I had a girlfriend who was more excited about seeing Jim Morrison and chatting with her friends about Jim Morrison on the train ride in and again on the way home than celebrating my birthday.

In THE GARDEN the stage was set in the middle of the arena and as the lights dimmed, The Staple Singers appeared first. Beautiful mood and music is the best way to describe what The Staples did. Even with a poor sound system their set was fascinatingly simple, elegant and spiritual. I was awestruck. After a rather extensive intermission, THE DOORS with a bass player (Harvey Brooks) appeared on stage, and adding a small horn section for a few tunes this being their Soft Parade days. According to The Doors faithful, this show, one of the band’s first attempts at an arena rock show, was one of their finest. That night included songs from The Soft Parade, as well as Tell All The People, Love Me Two Times, Spanish Caravan,Back Door Man, Light My Fire, Five To One and When The Music’s Over

The Doors were, to my limited live experienced ears, musically okay, but not what I had anticipated. I expected a great rock band. Jim Morrison was an idiot, or was it just me? Nah, he was an idiot, hindering an otherwise good band with his “poetry” and rants. One interlude by Mr. Morrrison was something about him sitting on a fence, “and boy, do my balls hurt”. Musically my night was made by really digging The Staple Singers and developing a true appreciation for what they did. They were one cool group with a smooth, unique sound. Needless to say the Staples did not fit into the conversation on the return trip home. And neither did my birthday which seemed to have been overlooked. So as the song goes, TURN OUT THE LIGHTS…

February 1969 a group of us went to see the film MONTEREY POP in the local movie house. It was a night of enlightenment for me. The Who fantastic, Otis Redding was the MAN, Big Brother and The Holding Company’s feedback guitars with Janis Joplin singing, Country Joe and The Fish, the harmonies of The Mamas and The Papas, the horns of Hugh Masekela, Jefferson Airplane and according to all my compatriots Jimi Hendrix was the star of the show and rightfully so. I took this movie experience more as a lesson in what I was MISSING, new horizons to be explored and I was excited, oh so excited to start the exploration.

At this time I am in a relationship with a girl, one who I had an on and off again kinda thing going for the last few months. We dated a bit in the spring and summer of 67, she being the one I listened to SGT PEPPERS at her house while playing whiffle ball. She was a bit of an athlete playing softball and a cheerleader at the local high school. We parted company at the start of the school year as I saw her being driven home by an older neighbor. They soon became an item as my Mom would have said. Cool. We saw each other at house parties and occasionally at Hullabaloo. Then we met up again in the spring at my buddy house where he was having one of his notorious bashes with bottles and bottles of alcohol sent to his house by a friend of ours who worked making deliveries for the local liqour store. George’s goal tonight was to get the girl who caught his eye to be his date for our school (not hers) Semi-Formal Dance, a semi-big thing. He needed the alcohol to get up the nerve I guess. Bingo, as I was smoking a smoke outside he ran out shouting “YES, She’s going”. Cool. The party proved to be another fun night, a classic with guys falling down, guys throwing up outside, girls laughing at idiot guys. The usuals, me being one, stayed back to clean up before his parents would arrive home which we figured to be about 2 AM. A few girls stayed also. Spotless. Now my “used to be” girl asked me to walk her home. At her door she told me what a great time she had and we should get together soon. She said, “Call me”. Confused? Oh boy was I. A few days later, I had new arrangements for the SEMI FORMAL SPRING DANCE of 1968.

So now you are up to date on my relationship status. The girl from the SUMMER OF 67, and me, as Mom did say, “were an item”. It’s now February 1969 and we are going to different high schools. Her older brother a recent graduate of University of Maryland with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration had volunteered for service in the U.S. Army, ultimately being sent to Vietnam. With a spare car in her family she would occasionally meet me up at my high school dismissal.

One day late February, she had no activities after school and arranged to pick me up. I would blow off work as we expected to go riding around in her car. I exited school from the usual side door, headed over to my favorite smoking area behind the buses for a quick puff.  Walking toward her car, my girlfriend’s best friend came out of the car and said, “Larry is missing in action”… My heart dropped.

The strange phenomena here is my Mother, only the night before said she was thinking about my girlfriend’s brother and hoped all was okay. Mom actually asked “Did your Mom hear from him lately?”

A few day later the soldiers came to her house to deliver the worst news, February 26, 1969, he was killed in action. A death in the family. I didn’t know what to do. We spent many of the next few nights secluded in my basement, seated quietly.

TICKETS TORN IN HALF July 17,1970: NY POP FESTIVAL @RANDALLS ISLAND

17 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in #WhiteBoyBlues, Delaney,Bonnie and Friends, Eric Clapton, heart broken, jazz-rock, Jimi Hendrix, John Sebastian, Rock music, rock music trivia, Ten Years After, The Grease Band, Ticket Stubs, Uncategorized

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TICKETS TORN IN HALF July 17,1970: NY POP FESTIVAL @RANDALLS ISLAND

JULY 17: NY POP FESTIVAL @ RANDALL’S ISLAND The promoters of this event, as crooked as they were, thought they could recreate the Woodstock festival on Randall’s Island, an island in the middle of the East River. Many of the “scheduled” acts did NOT show up and the local radical groups made the atmosphere worse by encouraging gate crashing. One saving grace about this weekend was that at least there wasn’t any mud like Woodstock but this was a disaster nonetheless. Delaney Bonnie and Friends did not show, No Richie Havens, no Ravi Shankar (Thank goodness) and the band I was anticipating, one of the head liners for Saturday night, TONY WILLIAMS LIFETIME WITH MILES DAVIS AND ERIC CLAPTON was nowhere to be found, actually the band did not exist, shows you how crooked these promoters were. Joe Cocker cancelled but Sly and The Family Stone was to be his replacement. Sly, as usual was late, so late that the crowd would still be waiting.They didn’t show either. That was a sham and a scam. The bands that did show played quick, mostly uninspiring sets, knowing they were NOT getting the promised big paydays or paid at all. Many bands felt a kinship to the audience which got angrier at every announcement canceling the next act. It was getting real nasty fast.  Grand Funk played a few recognizable tunes then a drum solo which seemed to last for days. John Sebastian was well….John Sebastian. Cactus showed some promise, Ten Years After (yes again) did their usual set, and the NY Rock ENSEMBLE closed out the evening.  Bottles were thrown at the stage, a garbage can set afire, etc, etc. We were supposed to camp out with our group of friends but heeded the warning in the crowd to GET OUT, so home we all went.

NOTE: My remaining ticket, the Jimi Hendrix night, was sold on eBay years later for $250.00 cash.

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

On The Shelf: IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD- 1967 AND THE HIPPIE IDEA- DANNY GOLDBERG

12 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in books, Central Park, Cream, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, John and Yoko, Monterey Pop 67, Otis Redding, Rock music, rock music trivia, Scott McKensie, The Doors, The Great Society, THE MOTHERS of INVENTION, The Who, The Yippies, Uncategorized

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On The Shelf: IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD 1967 AND THE HIPPIE IDEA- DANNY GOLDBERG

Wow, name after name after…you get the idea. This document takes the reader behind the scenes for a comprehensive look at 1967 and as the title suggests, “the hippie idea”. The time line alone, for me, is the gem. Reagan is governor of California, the first Human Be-IN takes place, The first SUPER BOWL, Surrealistic Pillow is released,  the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour hits the air. The Fugs’  ED SANDERS is featured on the cover of LIFE in an issue about HAPPENINGS. “Penny Lane/ Strawberry Fields Forever” is released.Adam Clayton Powell, Jr is denied a seat in Congress, as LBJ announces the draft lottery, and on and on. Names, dates, places, all fully researched, many sources quoted. Needless to say the history buff in me loved every word. All 280 pages.

(A review)   1967 was the year of the release of the Beatles’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and of debut albums from the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin, among many others. 1967 was also the year of the Summer of Love; the year that millions of now-illegal LSD tabs flooded America; Muhammad Ali was convicted of avoiding the draft; Martin Luther King Jr. publicly opposed the war in Vietnam; Stokely Carmichael championed Black Power; Israel won the Six-Day War; and Che Guevara was murdered. It was the year that hundreds of thousands of protesters vainly attempted to levitate the Pentagon. It was the year the word “hippie” peaked and died, and the Yippies were born.

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

Comments? jazzbus@gmail.com

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD:  CHAPTER 18: AND THE JUKEBOX KEPT ON PLAYING…

10 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in Cream, DYLAN, EdSullivan, ElvisPresley, Golden Age of Radio, James Brown, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, LOVE, Monterey Pop 67, Otis Redding, R&B, Rock music, rock music trivia, Scott McKensie, Summer Of Love, The Beatles, The Beatles on Sullivan, The British Invasion (1964-1966), The Doors, The radio, Uncategorized, Vinyl Records

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ROCK’S IN MY HEAD:  CHAPTER 18: AND THE JUKEBOX KEPT ON PLAYING…

“There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear”, Stephen stills wrote in the 1967 song FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH.

The music of the 60s famously captured the countercultures activism and ethos of those times. Music can inspire, it can galvanize and fuel movements, it can spread the key messages for social causes. However, do we define the music that the artists create or do the songs they sing about the social issues defined us? Sometimes it’s both as its almost impossible to separate the art from the artist.

In my generation’s time the biggest example of music affecting culture had to be the music of the Beatles. Their music created an iconic shift in our culture. Take a look at photos in any high school yearbook before 1964, and you will see the American middle-class males all have really short haircuts. However in just one years time, everyone’s hair was a little longer. The Beatles were influencing culture, as a matter of fact they changed the entire culture. Fortunately during that time the music scene was not as fragmented as it is today. With about only five popular radio stations and/or TV stations( in NY) everyone heard the same songs. It was truly broadcasting in a “broad” sense of the word as opposed to today’s “narrow” casting. Music mobilized people and songs became anthems as music was one of the strongest ways to influence our generation.

By ’67 I was an avid reader of magazines, books, news weeklies, most somewhat politically skewed to the left, well as left as I could get away with in my household. Even my newspaper of choice was the VILLAGE VOICE, a weekly out of Manhattan. My high school’s reading assignments, the general novels assigned, the poems, did little to excite me, but I read what I was asked to read, mostly.  But then, I read Ralph Nader’s UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED which intrigued me. His invitation to the auto makers to produce a safer machine was researched so well, and his requests and suggestions to the industry and to the government made so much sense. Yet no one did anything about it. The CORVAIR car, transmission gear positions on cars, safety to pedestrians, wind shield standards and seat belts.WOW, simple safety. That year Nader was “the man” to me.

THE SUMMER OF LOVE: 1967

A news item came across the screen the other day (2017) declaring that JEFFERSON AIRPLANE’S album SURREALISTIC PILLOW was certified Platinum, I’m talking a few month shy of it’s 50th anniversary of its release. That’s a long haul. The LP went GOLD back in July of 1967, THE SUMMER OF LOVE, finally platinum in 2017.

50 Years ago “it” was all over the press: San Francisco and the “SUMMER OF LOVE”. The SF Chronicle was the first to depict that designation to which I am sure they regretted almost immediately. But, WHAT WAS THAT SUMMER OF LOVE LIKE?

I was 15 and it was no summer of Love for me, summer of Confusion might best describe my circumstances. SURREALISTIC PILLOW was on my turn table yet I actually had to look up and research what the heck “surrealistic” meant and how the hell did it apply to a pillow. This was too far out.

Summer of ’67 nearly 100,000 kids head to San Francisco’s HAIGHT ASBURY  with “flowers in their hair, flowers everywhere”. It is time to “turn on, tune in, drop out”. This coincides with young adults declaring rock and roll was here to stay, it was not some phase we would grow out of. Rock was to be our music, an essential part of our being, the way we expressed ourselves. I’m in, I ready to volunteer. Frank Sinatra, not for me. Even the sounds recorded at that moment in time changed. Listen to JORMA KAUKONEN’s feedback on PILLOW. It was new, unique, and different.We took this music, our music seriously, and so did the musicians who made it . Singles were fading fast as bands/musicians sought to make a statement or two. Albums became the rage. Musicians experimented and so did we.

Our radio changed. AM stuck to the hit parade format. Recent legislation stated that AM stations could no longer simulcast on FM, so the clearer sounding FM was free to experiment and experiment they did. The AM dj’s catch phrases, their gift of gab would not survive the coolness of the FM disk jockey playing THE DOORS Light My Fire (extended version).And in June of 67 The BEATLES released Sgt. Pepper’s which had no singles on it. Truly the listening teens were FM bound.

Reporting on the “happenings” changed also. The cigar smoking, shirt and tie wearing newsman suddenly had long bushy sideburns, bell bottom jeans, smoked a joint and wrote from the heart. Journalism,the reporting of the news was way different from what it was only a few months before. Slanted as it might have been, these new writers helped me develop a better understanding of culture and politics. An example would be RAMPARTS magazine, which started as a Catholic Quarterly, but now in ‘67 it was a full blown anti-establishment rag. It’s articles raised the hair on the back of my neck; Vietnam, the CIA, The Black Panthers. And then the NewYork Times Best Sellers List had names like Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe and other non-traditional authors topping the charts. Hail, hail to THE CLASS OF ’67.These “New Journalists” led me to read authors who influenced the new generation: Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell, and many other so called “muckrackers” as Teddy Roosevelt named their genre.

So what was 1967 through the eyes and ears of a fifteen year old boy? Well, January 15 the very first SUPER BOWL was held with a television audience of 60 million folks.The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10. Interesting to note that according to all research this singular event catapulted the NFL in viewership which in turn drew advertising money to football. The cost of a 30 second SUPER BOWL ad in 67 was a mere $37,500.

By February my neighbor, a guy I tried to get to take me to see the Lovin Spoonful told me about a new group he saw at Stony Brook, a local university. The band was Jefferson Airplane, yes, same group I read about in NEWSWEEK. Now, I was more than interested in that band.

The 25th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in February 1967 thereby establishing the “succession” to the Presidency which was vitally important as our Vice-Presidency had been vacant at least 16 times through our short history. This Amendment gave us a clear path to what steps were needed to take place, especially after the death of JFK when we had a void. This would prove to be politically significant in subsequent years.

In April Muhammed Ali, aka CASSIUS CLAY the Heavy Weight Champ who became a CO, was stripped of his heavyweight boxing title for refusing induction in to the US Army.

THE SIX DAY WAR (June 5-10) occurred just as we were finishing our school year. The  Arab Forces were defeated and Israel took possession of additional territories.  This news item intrigued me as I knew little if anything about the Middle East which we had studied this past year history class, but not like this.This was for real. My knowledge or lack thereof about the Middle East would soon change.

Thurgood Marshall became the first black Supreme Court Justice in October. These events made ’67 an interesting year. Monterey Pop was held (June), Otis Redding died, and SGT.PEPPERS was released. We listed to Sgt. Peppers almost every afternoon that June at my girlfriend’s house,with the music blasting through the speakers from her brother’s stereo which she placed in the front window while a group of us were playing whiffle ball in the street. Life and relationships were simple then.

My 45’s record collection seemed to grow by the end of each week: The Letter by the Box Tops with Alex Chilton on vocals is still a gem today, Light My Fire by The Doors (the edited radio version of course), The Rascals lovely Groovin’, Little Bit Of Soul, Kind Of A Drag, Expressway to Your Heart, Soul Man, Incense And Peppermints, Somebody To Love,and Whiter Shade of Pale just to name a few. However, I used more of my limited cash on albums: The Doors(first), the aforementioned Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow,  Moby Grape’s first, The Beatles Sgt. Peppers, Jimi Hendrix Experience, The KinKs Something Else,The Doors Strange Days (which my dad bought for me),Cream’s Disraeli Gears, The Who Sell Out, The Rascal’s Collections and The Soul Survivors, which I was led to believe by the guy behind the counter at the local RECORD RACK sounds “exactly” like the Rascals.This proclamation was not necessarily true and another story all together. By years end I included the newly established ROLLING STONE magazine to my mandatory reading list .

By end of 1967 heading into ’68, listening to FM radio and watching television rock was not enough for me. Like every other red blooded discophile I was drawn to the fire of live music. Having no true curfew I started to attend The Hullabaloo, a local teen club in the neighboring town of Lindenhurst. A true TEEN SCENE club serving 15-20 year olds  with an affordable  $2.00 cover. Their stage hosted a few bands each weekend (Friday and Saturday nights), many were local garage style combos, with a few noted National acts tossed in…The Vagrants, The Hassels, and Vanilla Fudge just to name a few.

During this period I saw The Critters (Younger Girl; My Dyingly Sad) at the local Roll N Ice, followed by Every Mothers Son (Come On Down To My Boat, Baby) at my 10th grade dance, The Good Rats (pre-TASTY) at a high school art show(1968), and a WMCA (NY Radio station-THE GOOD GUYS)sponsored “Sock Hop Show” featuring The Left Banke (1967).  And of course Long Island’s own The Vagrants (Leslie West), and The Hassels (Billy Joel) regularly played at the aforementioned Hullabloo.

At home I played Rubber Soul and Revolver over and over again. Two of my favorite albums at that time and probably my two favorite Beatles albums of all times.

See you next time….Chapter19:THE SUMMER OF LOVE. Comments? jazzbus@gmail.com

ROCK’S IN MY HEAD: Chapter 15-THE FUZZ BOX and TECHNO THINGS 

29 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in DYLAN, Garrick Theatre, Jimi Hendrix, LES PAUL, Rock music, rock music trivia, Stevie Ray Vaughn, THE MOTHERS of INVENTION, The Stones, Zappa

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Funny how we take things for granted, things that are common place, unnoticeable until something brings it to our attention. Example: THE FUZZ BOX. Most folks don’t know what a FUZZ BOX is let alone its significance to rock music. The Stomp Box, aka FUZZ, was in the news with the death of a 96 year old, GLENN SNODDY. Mr. Snoddy was a Nashville recording engineer who stumbled upon a unique sound when recording MARTY ROBBINS’ “Don’t Worry” in 1961. According to various reports, the console used to record the bass tracks malfunctioned causing a “rumbling” fuzz sound. Against the producer’s request for a retake the recording was issued as is, and history begins.

Mr. Snoddy went about developing a device which could recreate the unique sound on demand.The FUZZ BOX is actually a(stomp) foot controlled preamp device which changes the tone of the guitar sound from “clean to dirty”. Listen to Keith Richards’ buzzing guitar riffs during, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” or select songs by CREAM, JIMI HENDRIX and basically every garage band during the late 60’s and you will hear the FUZZ tone.

 

THE WAH WAH PEDAL:  A mid range boost switch developed by DICK DENNEY at VOX UK was the prototype for THE WAH WAH PEDAL . An American guitarist DELTON KASHER aka DEL CASHER took that device to another level. Previously, at age 21 CASHER “invented” a tape delay system. In subsequent years he was working as a performer with his band THE THREE SUNS, also as a featured guitarist on THE LAWRENCE WELK SHOW, as a guest performer on THE GENE AUTRY SHOW and could be found jamming with the legendary MOTHERS OF INVENTION in Los Angeles. Pretty impressive credentials.

CASHER took the VOX UK mid range booster and further developed it using transistors making it a variable switch so that the mid range boost could be controlled. He further experimented using a VOX organ pedal as the controller. First envisioned for usage by horns,when it didn’t catch on  CASHER used one for his guitar. Soon he was receiving recording dates as the first seat guitarist all due to him having the WAH- WAH sound. Others guitarist paid it no never mind, it was a hard sell. CASHER called his buddy FRANK ZAPPA who took one to NEW YORK when THE MOTHERS were at their GARRICK residency. JIMI HENDRIX experienced it there and requested one (VOODOO CHILE- SLIGHT RETURN) for himself. BINGO.

John W. Troutman, curator of American music at the Smithsonian Institution’s division of culture and the arts stated “Over the last 50 years, only a handful of innovations have truly revolutionized the sound of the electric guitar, The wah-wah is one of them. It radically transformed the instrument’s voice in a slew of genres, and Del Casher stood at the pedal’s ground zero. 

THE WHAMMY BAR aka the fluctuating volume and pitch control arm is a guitar attachment which enables the player to temporarily change the pitch of the strings. Without going into the science behind the device or its invention as there are many different types I’ll focus on the sound by naming artists which will bring its unique sound to the forefront: CHET ATKINS, DUANE EDDY, THE VENTURES, DICK DALE, JIMI HENDRIX, JEFF BECK,FRANK ZAPPA, EDDIE VanHALEN, and of course STEVIE RAY VAUGHN.

LES PAUL:THE KING OF THEM ALL: It was always a great pleasure to head over to THE IRIDIUM for “Monday Nights featuring THE LES PAUL TRIO”. To see the maestro himself in the flesh with his surgically positioned right arm playing one of the legendary guitars that he designed and is named in his honor. But, the LES PAUL solid body guitar is NOT the only thing he invented and without his inspired forward thinking our recorded/ performing music would not be as it is today.

So here’s to LESTER POLSFUSS aka LES PAUL.

As a youngster in WISCONSIN Les played guitar and harmonica. Deciding he wanted to play both simultaneously young RED as he was called, took a coat hanger and fashioned a harmonica holder. BOB DYLAN and NEIL YOUNG as well as other singer- songwriters, guitar- harmonica folks can be seen using it still today.

Next up, LES experimented with multi-track recording (1946) and with AMPEX Corporation (1956) developed an “eight-track recorder” allowing sound on sound recording sessions.  To that he added tape delays and phasing techniques.

THE GUITAR:

Young LES was told by a member of the audience that his acoustic guitar could not be heard so…coil and magnets later and LES invents the guitar pick-up. To that he continues to experiment with the sound of his guitar and tones produced by it. Finally, THE LOG is developed, a 4×4 with strings which creates a “different” sound then the hollow body guitars do. AND that becomes the first “solid body” guitar.

See you next time….Chapter16-BIGGER THAN JESUS …Comments? jazzbus@gmail.com

ON THE SHELF: SMALL TOWN TALK- BOB DYLAN,THE BAND, VAN MORRISON, JANIS JOPLIN, JIMI HENDRIX AND FRIENDS IN THE WILD YEARS OF WOODSTOCK by Barney Hoskyns, DaCapo Press 

28 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by in Albert Grossman, Bearsville Records, books, DYLAN, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Judy Collins, Monterey Pop 67, Rock music, rock music trivia, Todd Rundgren, Uncategorized

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ON THE SHELF: SMALL TOWN TALK- BOB DYLAN,THE BAND, VAN MORRISON, JANIS JOPLIN, JIMI HENDRIX AND FRIENDS IN THE WILD YEARS OF WOODSTOCK by Barney Hoskyns, DaCapo Press

Yesterday’s post was JUDAS! so I thought this a decent follow up to the exploits of one, Robert Zimmerman.

“There’s a veil of secrecy around all this stuff,” the folk singer Artie Traum told me when I first visited Woodstock in the summer of 1991. “And for no particular reason, because there’s really nothing to hide. I don’t think there are any skeletons that aren’t already public. But one of the whole things that Dylan started was ‘Don’t talk to anybody.” (preface)

This book is small town name dropping at its best. ALBERT GROSSMAN being the star attraction, arriving as his way to escape the hustle and bustle that he brought upon himself,a way to escape those that despised him, he settles on a spread in upstate New York, BEARSVILLE, and consequently an entire army of like minded folks (pun intended) arrive a few years later, BOB DYLAN being the most famous.

They are all here in and around WOODSTOCK , the small town as the title suggest, some only visited, while others settled or “escaped” from drugs, money, spouses, or just for the serenity of what the surrounding had to offer.

MY LITTLE KNOWN FUN FACT THAT I LOVE: Gate Of Horn co-owner LES BROWN who with ALBERT GROOMSMAN opened that Chicago club in 1956:“Les Brown loathed him so much that, after Grossman’s death, he made a special trip to urinate on his grave” (p32)