Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee--Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

     Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are nominees, and like almost all of others, can be debated on the merits of it's recorded output. What is not debatable is mentioning Jett without first talking about The Runaways.      The Runaways were brought together with the help of Kim Fowley who managed the group and also promoted their jailbait image which unfortunately kept the group from having a real shot at long term success. The core of the the group at the beginning was drummer Sandy West, and Joan Jett (real...

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee--Heart

     The band Heart revolved around sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, although the genesis of the band began before the Beatles hit American shores...      Bassist Steve Fossen, along with brothers Roger and Mike Fischer began a group called The Army back in 1963. The group went through several names before settling on Heart in the early 70's. This is also the time that Ann Wilson was brought in on vocals.      Wilson had lived in Southern California and Taiwan before her dad's retirement...

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee--Deep Purple

        One could argue that if for nothing else Deep Purple should receive a special award from the Hall of Fame for inspiring hundreds of thousands of guitar players to begin a musical road with those now famous power chords which open, "Smoke on the Water". However there was much more to the band, and honestly am baffled as to why it has taken so long for them to be considered.      The group started out from drummer Chris Curtis, formally of the band The Searchers ("Needles and Pins", "Love Potion...

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Hall of Fame Nominee--Chic

     I know every one of you who went down the list of nominees at some point (for some of you many points) went, "Huh?" My moment was Chic. I know them for two songs, but their influence went much deeper than that...      Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards met as studio musicians in 1970, and formed a rock band called, "The Boys", and later, "The Big Apple Band" up to 1976. The band disbanded after a second album failed to chart. In 1977, they recruited drummer Tony Thompson and as a trio did some club work....

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Hall of Fame Nominee--The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

     Paul Butterfield was born and raised in Chicago and grew up studying classical flute, but discovered blues harmonica and the blues. Paul and fellow student Elvin Bishop (guitar) began hanging around the blues houses in the city, rubbing elbows with greats like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. By 1963, they had teamed with Jerome Arnold (bass) and Sam Lay (drums) to form the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.      The were signed to Electra records in 1965 which also was the year of their first release. By this time...

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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Version 2013

     Some of you may have already heard this, but here are the nominees for the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:      The Paul Butterfield Blues Band      Chic      Deep Purple      Heart      Joan Jett and the Blackhearts      Albert King      Kraftwerk      The Marvelettes      The Meters      Randy Newman     ...

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The Eagles--Take It Easy (1972)

    In the spring of 1971, singer Linda Ronstadt was preparing for a summer/fall tour and her manager, John Boylan was looking to put together a backing band. Glenn Frey was from Detroit and had moved to LA back in 69, Don Henley had come to the city from Texas the next year. Both were recruited for the band. A few months later a couple of relative veterans came into the fold. Bernie Leadon had just finished a stint with the Flying Burrito Brothers after recording a couple of albums with the group. Randy Meisner had begun doing session...

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Bob Dylan--The Times They Are A-Changin (1964)

     There is not a lot to add here about Bob Dylan that has not already been said. It is important to note however, that if you are under the age of 40, many of you might wonder what the fuss was really all about. After all, in all of his years he only had four songs in the top 10. His voice has been parodied to the point of exhaustion, and in interviews (like the latest one in Rolling Stone), he comes as a cross between a curmudgeon and a religious zealot.      Let me put it as succinctly as I can. There has...

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Duran Duran--Hungry Like The Wolf (1982)

     If I were born ten years later, there might be a quaintness to the synthesizers of the 1980's. As it turns out, growing up during the early days of the Moog taught me a few things (like enjoying the bass sound in a recording) and it seemed as if the entire technology took a step back. Which is why a lot of early 80's stuff leaves me cold except for those artists who understood musical textures and could make the best of lousy keyboards.      Which brings me to Duran Duran. One could, I suppose discuss...

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The Drifters--Under the Boardwalk (1964)

     By 1964 The Drifters had been a mainstay on the charts having been there 26 times with four top ten hits. Ben E. King had been their lead singer until 1960 when he left for a solo career and was replaced in that position by Rudy Lewis. Lewis was the voice you heard singing such hits as, "Up On The Roof", and "On Broadway".      The group had planned to head to the studio once again in May of that year to record, "Under the Boardwalk", written by Kenny Young and Arthur Resnick. On the 21st of that month...

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The Dream Academy--Life in a Northern Town (1985)

     The story of The Dream Academy began with the meeting of singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes and keyboard player Gilbert Gabriel in the late 70's. They formed a duo called the Politics of Pop which emphasized different musical textures such as strings and woodwinds. They met and invited multi-instrumentalist Kate St. John to be a part of the group. With her addition, they changed the name to The Dream Academy and spent the next couple of years developing their sound. They were rejected by many record companies when Warner...

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The Dramatics--In The Rain (1972)

     Sometimes I'll post a blog because of specific reasons (i.e. death, retirement, new album, etc.), and today it's all about the rain. The Dramatics first big hit was 1971's, "Watcha See is Watcha Get". But today in Nashville is cloudy, wet, and cool. A perfect early fall day from my perspective, and my mind wandered to a song that to me is a lost classic. "In the Rain" hit the charts in February of 1972 and rose to number 5 on the charts, which made it the biggest hit for the group on the Hot 100 and their only number 1...

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Lamont Dozier--Trying To Hold On To My Woman (1973)

     Before getting started with today's post, I wanted to direct you to a blog that you might find interesting. For several months now, I've been reading Mike Descz's, "A Bit Like You and Me". It also takes a song a day, but his focus is on songs that are a bit more obscure than what we do here on the bus. It's a fun trip and hope you check it out.  ABitLikeYouAndMe.blogspot.com      Lamont Dozier was born in Detroit in 1941, and from 1957 to 61 recorded with groups like The Romeos and The Voice Masters...

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Joe South (1940--2012)

     Joe South, who passed away on September 5th had not been heard from very much since his heyday in the late 60's/early 70's. His style of songwriting and guitar playing which was filled with a  distinctly southern feel which still holds up very well today.       Born Joseph Alfred Souter in Atlanta Georgia, he started songwriting during the late 50's, penning the novelty song, "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor" in 1958, and a couple of songs for Gene Vincent. His first big hit as a songwriter...

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Joe Dowell--Wooden Heart (1961)

    Joe Dowell was from Indiana then moved with his family to Illinois where he went to college. During a semester break he drove to Nashville to look for a record company to record him. On his last day in the city, he was signed to Smash records not only because of his voice, and his clean cut look. After school was out in May of 1961 he went to record four songs.      The night before the recording session, producer Shelby Singleton was at the movies watching "G.I. Blues" which was Elvis' latest movie. He was...

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The Dovells--Bristol Stomp (1961)

     The group formed as the Brooktones in 1957. The Philadelphia based group consisted of Jerry Summers, Mark Stevens, Len Barry, Mike Dennis, Arnie Satin, and Danny Brooks. Their early songs attracted a small amount of attention in the city, but not enough to warrant a look from any record company, so in the summer of 1960 Jerry and Mike left to form The Gems.       Things began to change however late that year as Cameo/Parkway records brought in The Brooktones for an audition and did well enough...

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Sunday Morning Vault: Hal David (1921-2012)

     Yesterday we lost one of the great American lyricists of the last 50 years. Hal David with his songwriting partner Burt Bacharach defined 60's pop music. His timeless lyrics are still being sung by many an artist who's parents were children when they were first performed.      David dabbled in lyric writing, but was preparing for himself a career in journalism. He was writing for the New York Post, when a lucky break allow him an opportunity to write for big band leader Sammy Kaye. Several hits came...

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Carl Douglas--Kung Fu Fighting (1974)

     In the history of popular music, there are many examples of songs that make you scratch your head, laugh out loud, or both. Even better when said music can make you move. The 70's for some reason was full of stuff like this....and so we come to the story of Carl Douglas.      He spent his youth in his native Jamaica and California, then moving to England to study sound engineering. While there, he formed the group Big Stampede and even issued a couple of singles. From the mid-60's to early 70's he spent...

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Donovan--Jennifer Juniper (1968)

     Jenny Boyd was the younger sister of Patti Boyd who was the first wife of George Harrison. She lived the life of a swinging London single. She began an on again/off again with drummer Mick Fleetwood beginning in 1965 when she was only 18, it would eventually lead to them being married, divorced and married again during the 1970's. But in 1967 she was a successful model and business woman owning a boutique called, "Juniper" in downtown London.      Despite her success however, she felt a restlessness...

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Lonnie Donegan & His Skiffle Group--Rock Island Line (1956)

     Over the years, all four of the Beatles had discussed their influences. Elvis, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and so on. One name however that comes up that most in the US have never heard of was Lonnie Donegan.      Skiffle was a type of music that drew from traditional jazz, blues and folk, and generally performed with homemade instruments. It's roots are disputed, but began to show up in recorded form in Chicago during the 1920's. It popped up from time to time over the next 20 years, but...

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Lee Dorsey--Working in the Coal Mine (1966)

     A native of New Orleans, Lee Dorsey moved to Portland Oregon in his pre-teen years. After a stint in the Navy, he began a career as a light heavyweight boxer in the early 50's. After retiring from the sport, he moved back to his hometown and opened an auto body shop, and singing in some of the R&B clubs at night. It was working the clubs that he met up with the person that would become integral in his career.      Allen Toussaint was just getting his career off the ground as an arranger and was attempting...

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The Doors--Light My Fire (1967)

     It's probably sacrilege to some of our readers, but the Doors rarely do anything for me. As much potential as Jim Morrison had as a writer, his self destructive indulgence and total disregard for his audience rendered him for the most part an artist who's potential was unfulfilled. That isn't to say that he didn't have talent. On the contrary, his abilities and more importantly his charisma was the key to the success of the group.  As opposed to poetry, where the reader gets to interact with the words as opposed to...

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The Doobie Brothers--Listen to the Music (1972)

     The beginning of the group came about as drummer John Hartman arrived in California to work with former Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape artist Skip Spence. Things didn't work out musically between the two, but Spence introduced Hartman to singer/guitarist Tom Johnston. The duo began working together with a rotating crew of musicians under the name, "Pud" for about a year until teaming up with bassist Dave Shogren and Patrick Simmons. They changed their name to "The Doobie Brothers" and began to tour through Northern California,...

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Donovan--Sunshine Superman (1966)

     Over the years, Donovan has been considered a lightweight, but as opposed to "heaver" psychedelic bands his music would stand up much better over 40 years later. The music however, was truly a product of the "flower power" era.  Early in his career he had been unfairly compared to Dylan, mainly because of the same influences. (Woody Guthrie, Ramblin' Jack Elliott) Although the early style was similar, there was really nothing the same about them as far as content went.      He had some success in...

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Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods--Billy, Don't Be A Hero (1974)

    Listening to the bubblegum pop of "Billy, Don't Be A Hero", one would think that Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods would have been a studio group. One just put together to record the song without any intention of touring. That could not have been further from the truth....      The Heywoods were formed in 1965 by keyboard player, Robert "Bo" Donaldson in Cincinnati.  The name came from one of the members at the time,  Corky Pickering. The group spent the second half of the decade opening for several...

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Thomas Dolby--She Blinded Me With Science (1983)

     Am not sure why, but when I think of Thomas Dolby, Food Network personality Alton Brown comes to mind. It just be the mad scientist that both give off. Of course, in both cases, the men are somewhat quirky, but much more than what we see.      In Dolby's case, he has shown a brilliance in technology that far exceeds his contributions as an artist, although those are quite significant. With little musical training, he taught himself guitar and later piano, when he discovered synthesizers. From that point on,...

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Dr. John--Right Place, Wrong Time (1973)

     There are times in the history of the singles chart where the mix of different genres will cross with artists who's music is eclectic as well and the paths will cross and an off the wall hit is born. Such is the way this song made it to the top ten.      Dr. John, (who's real name is Mac Rebennack Jr.) began his professional career in his native New Orleans as a guitar player and producer. An incident where he was defending the keyboard player in his band ended with a shooting where Mac ended up with an injured...

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Dr. Hook--Sylvia's Mother (1972)

     Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show got it's start in 1970 as the three members of the group, The Chocolate Papers broke up, than reformed with new lead singer Dennis Locorriere. The name of the group came from one of their first gigs when a club owner said they needed a name for a poster that would promote a gig that night. Guitarist George Cummings made a sign that said, "Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: Tonic For The Soul". The name Dr. Hook was a play on bandmate Ray Sawyer's eye patch (he had lost an eye in a 1967 car accident).  ...

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Dire Straits--Sultans of Swing (1979)

     Mark Knopfler (born 1949), had been a student at Leeds University, and for a time was a rock critic for the Yorkshire Evening Post. He was also an excellent guitar player and was playing in a pub band, when he gathered brother David (guitar)  and his roommate, John Illsley (bass) in 1977. Later that year they picked up drummer Pick Withers and made a six song demo tape. They approached DJ Charlie Gillett about listening to the tape and just giving some advice about how good it was. Gillett was so impressed by it, he...

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Sunday Morning Vault: The Dixie Cups--Chapel Of Love (1964)

     Sisters Barbara and Rosa Hawkins along with school friend Joan Johnson began singing in the Calliope housing project in New Orleans. First known as Melltones, they caught the attention of singer Joe Jones who became their manager. By 1963, they went to New York for an audition and was signed by Leiber and Stoller signed them to Red Bird Records.       They were renamed "The Dixie Cups" and was assigned a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector which had originally been meant...

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Dion--Ruby Baby (1963)

     I have always thought that Dion has been on of the most unappreciated artists in rock and roll history. Part of this has been caused due to an overall negative view of musicians who broke through in a big way in the early 60's. However the quality of the music was usually head and shoulders above most pop groups of that day. With the Belmonts, he started out singing Italian-American doo-wop, then on going solo he went into more of a pop mode with definite  blues leanings (as you can hear on "Ruby Baby").     ...

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Dino, Desi, & Billy--I'm A Fool (1965)

     Nepotism in the arts has always been a fact of life. The idea being that if Mom or Dad had the talent, then Junior must have some too. Today we have more than a few examples of the family trade being passed along. At least to my ears however, because of the current conditions in the music industry, you still have to have the goods talent-wise, just your good (musical) name won't be enough.      The first of these didn't come from the rock era, but rather the pop era of an earlier generation. Dean Paul...

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Sunday Morning Vault: Mark Dinning--Teen Angel (1959)

     From a purely historical standpoint, I was always amused by certain religious groups in the late 80's and 90's who were claiming that rock songs promoted death. Not that the subject would be worth discussing, but this was not the first time that popular music had been preoccupied with it. In fact, it has been a part of rock and pop music since the late 50's. There have been many over the years, but for those who think this is a subject of later rockers consider the death in a car songs, "Dead Man's Curve" (1964), and ...

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Neil Diamond--Sweet Caroline (1969)

     Neil Diamond is one of the few songwriters left (along with Carole King) who's musical heritage flows directly through the Brill Building which is the 60's equivalent of Tin Pan Alley. He began as a pure pop singer who crafted some of the best songs of the late 60's/early 70's. His desire to become a more "serious" songwriter took him to some strange places musically and didn't always work, but his attempts were fascinating, and  often took flight as successful hits.      Neil was born in Brooklyn in...

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Andy Griffith--The Fishin' Hole (1960)

     For several generations the character of Andy Taylor and the actor who played him (for many of us one in the same) presented a vision for many of what life could be. Played in the fictitious Mayberry, North Carolina, it was as close to utopia as television would ever get. But I've often thought, "Why?". Well, there are those who will take a deeper look into the sociological aspects to the show, and this isn't the venue for that kind of analysis...so let's take a look at the man.      Andy Griffith was born...

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