Betty Harris--Cry to Me (1963)

      Music fans love the promising pull of things "lost". It could be a lost recording (as in The Beach Boys' Smile album), or lost 45 gems (if you believe those who research such things...there are hundreds of them), or even the latest artist who you think isn't getting the proper pub and getting lost in the  (if your asking, check out The Explorers Club, or Nathan Angelo).      For decades, lovers of deep soul music had pondered the whereabouts of Betty Harris. She hit the charts with a slow,...

Read More

Slim Harpo--Rainin In My Heart (1961)

     Slim Harpo (real name: James Moore) is one of the great blues harmonica players. Born in Lobdell, Louisiana in 1924, he got his start playing the bars and club in and around Baton Rouge at night, while working as a longshoreman during the day. He was known during the late 30's and 40's as Harmonica Slim as his fame began to grow in the state. Although he signed a recording contract with Nashville based, Excello Records in 1957, he never became a full time musician. His solo debut, "I'm a King Bee" is now in the Grammy Hall...

Read More

Harpers Bizarre--The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) (1967)

     It was the summer of 1966 and Paul Simon was having issues with adjusting with his new found fame. He had been in England the year before writing in anonymity when an electric version of his song, "The Sound of Silence" broke on the charts. Along with singing partner Art Garfunkel, they quickly followed up with, "Homeward Bound" and "I Am a Rock", both top ten hits, but not necessarily songs that were considered upbeat. The rush of new found fame did little to put Simon in a happier frame of mind as he continued to churn...

Read More

The Carpenters--Hurting Each Other (1972)

     It was 1972 when The Carpenters reached number two with this song, becoming easily the biggest charting version of the song, but it has had an interesting recorded history.      Written by Gary Geld and Peter Udell in 1965, it was first recorded by Jimmy Clanton later that year on Mala Records. This version (which has a more urgent sound) reminds you of something The Righteous Brothers would have recorded. The Walker Brothers recorded a version in 1966 that had a similar feel. Chad Allen & the Reflections,...

Read More

Linda Ronstadt diganosed with Parkinson's

     The devastating news crossed my desk tonight that Linda Ronstadt's career is over. The article found here: http://blog.aarp.org/2013/08/23/linda-ronstadt-discloses-her-battle-with-parkinsons-disease/  discloses that she has known for about eight months, but was having symptoms for several years before. On uneven ground she uses a cane, and travels with the use of a wheelchair.      For many of us Linda and Stevie Nicks defined 70's LA style rock/pop. As the 70's turned to the 80's however, Ronstadt...

Read More

Hagood Hardy--The Homecoming (1975)

     As I have mentioned in previous blogs, inspiration for songs literally come from anywhere. As early as the late 60's the lines began to blur between Madison Avenue and the Hot 100. Many of you might know The Carpenters' hit, "We've Only Just Begun" started with Richard Carpenter hearing the tune used on a TV ad for a bank. Just a few years later, a Canadian composer had a hit based on a ad for tea.      Hardy had a very successful career on the vibraphone, piano and other percussion instruments. He...

Read More

Tim Hardin--Simple Song of Freedom (1969)

       As a songwriter, Tim Hardin's career was defined his first two albums in 1966 and 67. Several of his songs, "If I Were A Carpenter", "Reason to Believe" and "Hang On To A Dream" have been a part of the musical lexicon almost from the time they were first recorded. However, what has not been stressed was his abilities as an interpreter of outside material as well. The several albums he released in the early 70's showed someone who's phrasing could take a song and make it his own. His life however was also defined...

Read More

Paul Hardcastle--19 (1985)

     During the late 60s/early 70's, the war was written about and sung about extensively. After the war, musicians, like the rest of the country did their best to forget what had happened and the war was rarely mentioned until the early 80's. At that point several began not only to take a historical look back, but began to access the toll on the men and women who served during that time. Billy Joel was one of the first singers to deal with the issue with the song, "Goodnight Saigon" from the album, "The Nylon Curtain" in 1982.     ...

Read More

The Happenings--See You in September (1966)

      Not all of the music being heard in the mid to late 60's could be considered rock. The pop music of the mid-50 never really went away with the advent of rock and roll, and with the advent of the Beatles and the British Invasion there were artists who mixed the softer sounds of that era's music, with a modern sound. Thus was born what we knew as "soft rock". The Association brought the genre to the fore, but it wasn't until the early 70's that it hit it's stride with groups such as Bread and The Carpenters. This music...

Read More

John Handy--Hard Work (1976)

     Not sure what it is this week, but we seem to be covering artists who are noted more for their jazz career than anything on the pop charts, but here is another example of that with John Handy and, "Hard Work".      Handy got his start playing with the Charlie Mingus band in the 1950's. He later formed his own group in the mid-60's and recorded several landmark albums including their performance at the Monterrey Jazz Festival in 1965.      Although he is most noted for playing the...

Read More

Herbie Hancock--Chameleon (1974)

     In high school, many of my friends were in Jazz Band. I was never good enough to get in on my own, but used to go with them to festivals and contests, which if nothing else, broadened my palate of music. Through that, I have come, if not to love, than to certainly have a knowledge of, and appreciation of 70's era jazz. Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, and Herbie Hancock were some of my favorites to this day. The only one of those three who attempted a broader pop audience was Hancock.      Herbie was born...

Read More

Keith Hampshire--Daytime Night-Time (1973)

     Keith Hampshire is very well known in Canada not only as a rock singer, but of a song that has become somewhat of a theme for the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club. The song, "OK Blue Jays" recorded in 1983, is sung during the seventh inning stretch of home games. His version of, "The First Cut Is The Deepest" in 1973 reached number one on the Canadian charts. This song, which sounds a lot like fellow Canadian, David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat and Tears was the highest charting song of his career in the US reaching #51...

Read More

Albert Hammond--It Never Rains in Southern California (1972)

     "It Never Rains in Southern California" seemed like one of the quintessential early 70's "California" songs, which in fact, it is, but author, singer Albert Hammond comes from climes much different that it's warm, sunny beaches.      Hammond, born in London during the World War II in 1944 and quickly his family evacuated to Gibraltar where they stayed and raised their family. His first bands were located in Spain (which makes sense given the location of the tiny island), where he had a hand in the development...

Read More

Jan Hammer--Miami Vice Theme (1985)

     If you are over 30, you probably remember the effect that the show, "Miami Vice" had in the year 1985. The show was a huge hit and made Don Johnson into a star. It's use of color on the show became a trademark of the 80's (for better or for worse). It had an effect on fashion, as Johnson's pastel t-shirts with white coat and pants ensemble, became a fashion statement in a decade of strange fashion statements. I need to take the time to mention, in full disclosure, that your writer fell prey to that particular statement....

Read More

Marvin Hamlisch--The Entertainer (1974)

     This past Tuesday (Aug. 6), we marked the first anniversary of the death of one of our generations greatest composers. Marvin Hamlisch was on 68, but had a great impact on the world of musical theater. He won an Oscar, an Emmy, Grammy, Tony. He won a Pulizer prize in 1975 (for "A Chorus Line") and is only one of two (composer Richard Rogers being the other) to have won all five of those awards. His listing of songwriting credits in a more pop vein is impressive as well. He won an Oscar for, "The Way we Were" in 1974, and...

Read More

Playlist for Rock and Roll Omnibus--Week of August 7, 2013

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE ...

Read More