Dave Clark Five--Bits and Pieces (1964)

     The Dave Clark Five was probably the most immediate beneficiary in the wake of the British Invasion after the Beatles. Clark, who was the drummer and had led bands since 1957, turned out to be a smart businessman and shrewd when it came to the direction of the group. They were the first British band to tour the US, they not only leaped at the chance to be on Ed Sullivan (the Beatles were first), but promoted a more wholesome image and found themselves on the show 18 times through the 1960's.      The success...

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Eric Clapton--Hello Old Friend (1976)

    Thinking of just ONE song for Clapton is not easy. When you have been around as long as he has, you find your share of great songs and also your share of duds. With Eric, it's a bit more difficult not only because of the high quality of the music, but he has spread his talent around so many places. Do I play something from The Yardbirds? or maybe Delaney and Bonnie. Derek and the Dominoes is an obvious choice, not so much but just as good would have been Blind Faith. You can't talk about "Slowhand" without mentioning Cream....so....where...

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Cinderella--Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone) (1988)

     "Hair Metal" is misrepresented in many quarters, but it's hybrid of heavy metal, pop, with a sensibility that comes directly from 70's glam rock had it's place in defining the 1980's (especially from 1985-1990). To my ears at least, they came upon a formula that was genius. Put out an album of metal, or in the case of Cinderella, a blues/metal/rock mix, record a couple of radio ready hits, stir generously  with music videos that included a LOT of women and Aqua net, and you had a hit group.     ...

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Lou Christie--Lightning Strikes (1965)

     Lou Christie had three distinct periods of popularity during the 60's. The first was centered in the year 1963 where he claimed two top forty hits, most notably, "Two Faces Have I". Shortly after the release of that singe, he was inducted into the army for the next two years.      After his release, he signed with MGM recorded and his first release was not thought of well. In fact, the president of the company threw his version in the trash! Luckily for him (and for us), his management team in California...

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Chilliwack--Fly at Night (1977)

     My formative years listening to the radio was during a time I consider one of the best eras for rock music, the early/middle 70's. FM radio had taken hold in many cities with a devil-may-care attitude about everything but the music. KSHE radio in St. Louis in a studio that was about half the size of a single-wide trailer. the DJ's were fun, more than a little irreverent, and had a love for the music that was equaled by their fans. It was this radio station that formed my love of rock music.      This kind...

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Sunday Morning Vault: Chubby Checker--The Twist (1961)

     Ernest Evans at times lamented the fact that many overlooked his talent, but one thing is for sure, he was smart enough to ride "The Twist" to a solid career for the entirety of his career.      Evans was working at a chicken processing plant and a produce market in the late 50's, and was known as a good singer who had the gift of making impressions of popular singers of the day, Fats Domino, Elvis, and Jerry Lee Lewis were just a few of the artists that he would imitate. He would entertain workers at both...

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The Chi-Lites--Oh Girl (1972)

     It's Friday morning and rainy here in Nashville...one of those mornings one wishes to crawl up on the couch with a book and let the day pass you by. The music needs to be mellow as well and the Chi-Lites seem to fill the bill.      The group was formed in the late 50's as the "Hi-Lites", but changed it in 1964 to give tribute to their hometown. It was in the 60's that Eugene Record was added to sing lead, and with his vocals, and songwriting ability, they began to make some waves by the late 60's. They...

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William Shatner--Rocket Man (1978)/Bohemian Rhaposdy (2010)

     Today William Shatner turns 81. I have to list myself as a fan since his days as Captain Kirk in Star Trek. There are many who consider himself a pompous, overblown bag of air, including those who worked with him. For some strange reason, his ability to project such a narcissistic persona, while making fun of it at the same time is one of the things I like about him. That and his ability to sing....      Well...not really SING. It's more what I call "song as  dialogue". The genre isn't as full as it...

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Chic--La Freak (1978)

     It's thought that I hate disco....and am not sure if it's just mellowing with age, or with reflection just realizing that just like any other trend in music, there are trendsetters, then everyone else. For every great band, there are a bunch of poseurs who do nothing but make a parody of things. How many attempted to follow the footsteps of Elvis, The Beatles, Dylan, Nirvana, etc....and just made us wish even more for the original?      In my mind there are a handful of artists who made disco a quality...

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Cheap Trick--Surrender (1978)

     Cheap Trick was formed in 1972 as  Guitarist Rick Nielsen, drummer Bun E. Carlos, and bassist Tom Petersson and vocalist Randy "Xeno" Hogan had been in bands in their native Illinois throughout the late 60's/early 70's and join forces. Hogan left shortly after their formation and was replaced by Robin Zander.      By 1975, they had recorded their first official demo and after seeing them at a gig in Wisconsin, was signed by Epic records. In 1977/78 they released three albums to some critical acclaim,...

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Charlene--I've Never Been To Me (1982)

     Remember tonight at 9pm central US, The Rock and Roll Omnibus will be on the air. Just go to www.radiofreenashville.org, and for two hours hear the best music and the stories behind them.....      There is no doubt of the connection between radio and records, and how one fuels the other. There are more than a few occasions where a radio station will spark a company into releasing a song nationwide based on it popularity in a certain area.      This is what happened in the case of...

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Sunday Morning Vault: Ray Charles--I Can't Stop Loving You (1962)

     By 1962, Ray Charles was already considered a ground breaker. As an r&b singer, who broke through in the late 40's and early 50's as a considerable talent. Later as the man who fused r&b with gospel and created what was known as soul music, and now, a move to country music?      Looking back, you might have been able to see this coming. One of his first hit singles with ABC-Paramount was, "Georgia On My Mind", which mixed the blues, gospel, and country. However, he had always been a fan of country...

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Tracy Chapman--Fast Car (1988)

     I usually never know what the subject matter of my blogs will be until the morning their written. It's interesting that the artist that's spotlighted today has ties to the blog from yesterday.      Tracy Chapman, like Harry Chapin, is an activist. Whereas Harry focused on world hunger, Tracy writes about and donates much of her time, money, and energy to human rights across the globe. She attended Tuffs University in Boston and it was there, playing in the coffee houses, that one of her classmates recommended...

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Harry Chapin--Taxi (1972)

     It would be very easy to write about, "Cat's In The Cradle" since that was by far Chapin's most popular song, but when I think of Harry this is the song that always sticks in my mind.      Before Bob Geldof and Live Aid made it fashionable to support causes such as hunger and other world wide issues, Harry Chapin was regularly giving most of his money away. According to his widow, he thought "Money was for people" and was giving it back to help others. He supported many humanitarian causes and was instrumental...

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Now...a place where you can hear the Bus on the Radio!!

You know....it's great to have friends here who can point out the obvious. I got a note yesterday from a fan who said, "I would have never known you were on the radio by looking at your blog". Lo and behold, he was right. The actual Bus website has a place to find our affiliates, but the majority of you don't go there. So if you look on the right, just under the archive, you will find all of the places during the week you can hear the bus, and a link to their website. Am attempting to work out legalities of having a podcast put on the site as well...but...

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Gene Chandler--Duke of Earl (1962)

     Gene Chandler was a member of the vocal group, "The Dukays" beginning in 1957. After a stint in the Army in 1960, he returned to the group and began professionally recording late that year. In fact, in 1961, they had a minor Billboard hit with, "She's A Devil". Later that year, they recorded "Nite Owl" and "The Duke of Earl". "Nite Owl" was slated for release, but the story of "The Duke of Earl" is a bit more complicated. The following is directly from his bio at http://www.genechandler.com. "The Du-Kays would warm up...

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The Champs--Tequila (1958)

     The Champs were not even a group. They came together as a studio backup group to Dave Burgess, who had recorded the A side, ("Train to Nowhere") with the The Daniel Flores trio. There was some studio time, and it was during that time that the group came up with an impromptu riff that was developed into a song. This song was put on the "B" side of the record, and soon after it's release became a hit on Gene Autry's, Challenge Records.       Wanting to capitalize on the success of the record, they...

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Chairmen of the Board--Give Me Just A Little More Time (1970)

     Most of the time band and vocal groups would come together by a series of events that are usually orchestrated by a lead member, or a couple of members bringing in others. It was not uncommon, especially in 60's for soul and R & B groups to be brought together. by record executives.       General Johnson had a couple of regional hits as lead singer of The Showmen in the early 60's. In 1967, the writing team of Dozer/Holland/Dozer left Motown to start up their own record label. Invictus/Hot...

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Sunday Morning Vault: Richard Chamberlain--Three Stars Will Shine Tonight (1962)

     Richard Chamberlain has had a long, varied and successful career. His list of accomplishments range from the stage where he has played in latter versions of My Fair Lady and  The Sound of Music. He played the title role of "Hamlet" with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, being the first American to do it since John Barrymore in 1929.       He has, and continues to act in films. His first being in 1960, and as recent as last year played roles in several movies. However, his fame for most of us has been...

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Chad & Jeremy--A Summer Song (1964)

     Not all of the bands who came in through the British Invasion were of the Beatles/Stones variety. Chad Stuart & Jeremy Clyde rode in on that tide as a pair of intellectual folk singers. Their first hit, "Yesterday's Gone" was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, but it was the last and only hit in Britain.      Seeing clips of them from back in the day, I have to believe their success in the US was based on 1). The music was light and poppy, with a hint of folk. Remember that just before the Beatles...

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Peter Cetera--Glory of Love (1986)

     One of the wonderful things about this blog, is that I get confess all things musical under the guise of "serious" writing. No matter how respected you are as a critic in your field, it still comes down to what you like or don't like...just like the reader.  Hopefully, you find these blogs interesting, and that the few times I have opinions, you agree with them. But the bottom line is that it's MY opinion, and your mileage may vary.      Having said that I must confess that I have always loved...

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Jimmy Castor Bunch--Troglodyte (Cave Man) (1972)

     Novelty records come in many shapes and sizes. Some are topical, that deal with pop culture such as dances, or fashion or just things that are not music related, but taken the country by storm (like Pac-Man Fever or The Streak). Or songs like this one. With the advent of funk in the late 60's and early 70's, the beat became paramount which led to some pretty strange lyrical content. It didn't matter what the words said, just as long as you could dance to it.       Jimmy Castor got his start in doo...

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The Castaways--Liar Liar (1965)

     One of the often overlooked sub-genres of 1960's music is the garage band. These were the local bands that every city and town had. If a group was lucky, they would play a lot in their area and make a few bucks and garner some attention. The big groups were the ones who would make records at one of the small independent labels and get some airplay on local radio. The rarest of the rare would have a song that would break through to a larger audience.      The Castaways were one of those groups. Coming...

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Shawn Cassidy--That's Rock and Roll (1977)

     Shawn Cassidy is known, much like his half-brother David (they shared the same Dad, Jack Cassidy, while Shirley Jones was his Mother) as 70's teen idols. However, that was the about the only similarity. Shawn had what would be considered a "normal" teen idol trajectory: the music came first, then other doors opened. David's early career would have been more akin to Davy Jones, in that the music was created FOR television as well as radio.      Also, as much as Shawn loved music, the acting bug bit early....

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David Cassidy--Cherish (1971)

     For the last 20 years, David Cassidy has done a lot. Recording, some TV, but just like his dad, Jack Cassidy, stage acting is where he has made his name.....       If your under the age of 40.       If you are over 40  no matter how hard you may try, he will be Keith Partridge. The star-maker machinery of television did such a good job of marketing, that it's virtually impossible to separate the two. If you think it's hard for you to do that...just think how hard it was for him to escape...

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Sunday Morning Vault: The Casinos--Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye (1967)

     Those who listen to a broad range of music from the past century is familiar with the term "The Great American Songbook". It defines music generally from the late 1920's to the mid 1950's. (although purists and historians would date it back much further than that...say the turn of the century) It was defined by music that was heard on Broadway and then adapted to radio and records and has more to do with the songwriters on Tin Pan Alley then it does the performers.      It has been said that this period...

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Cashman and West--American City Suite (1972)

     Terry Cashman and Tommy West has have found success in songwriting, recording, and producing as a duo in the early/mid 70's, most notability for Jim Croce.  When they went their separate ways, Cashman began writing songs about his true passion, baseball (before going into music, he was a minor league baseball player in the Detroit Tigers organization). The song, "Talkin' Baseball (Willie, Mickey, and the Duke)" became a cult hit in 1981 and fans of the sport keep the song alive today. He has since written albums based...

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We're now on Twitter!!

You want a daily update on what's going on with the bus? Well...we are now on twitter. Follow us at @rokandrollomnibus. Thank...

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Davy Jones (1945-2012)

     This is third tribute I've written this year, which seems way too many. Or maybe it's because all three were musical legends and influential in my life in how I listened to music. Davy Jones was different however, in the fact that he is best remembered best by just being Davy Jones.       He was into the creative world early, being on the BBC soap opera, "Coronation Street" in 1961, but left acting for a brief period after the death of his mother to pursue the life of a jockey. This didn't last long however,...

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