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...

Read More

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...

Read More

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...

Read More

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...

Read More

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,...

Read More