Good Morning, Music Lovers of the Universe! I hope that your Monday can be made brighter by our programmng selections (call me dramatic).
Joni Mitchell performs on stage at The Wall Concert, Berlin, 21st July 1990. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
Here’s today’s killer line-up:
11:00 a.m. Joni Mitchell Live at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, Colorado, July 30, 1983
Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell’s career has spanned four decades. Mitchell’s talents embrace various musical styles, including folk, pop, rock and jazz. I had the opportunity to see her at Boston’s Music Hall with Tom Scott & The L.A. Express on her tour supporting the release of her album, Court & Spark. She was amazing.
3:00 p.m. The Shadow: 04 Death Under The Chapel NEW!
An insane professor is dropped from the faculty after causing the suicide of one of his students. You can imagine that he might have revenge in mind.
7:00 p.m. Bob Dylan Live in ’75: The Rolling Thunder Revue
Bob Dylan on his Rolling Thunder Review tour, along with his loosely-assembled back-up band called Guam, which included Ronee Blakeley, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, T Bone Burnett, Mick Ronson and Scarlet Rivera, among others. The tour was unorthodox and almost spontaneous, and it took place just prior to the release of his fantastic Desire LP.
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Good Morning, Music Minions! We are here getting a proverbial “jump” on the week with our Monday edition of all the news that’s fit to print!
Martha & The Vandellas broke up on this day.
Here’s today’s musical lesson!
December 21, 1963: Joan Baez was gaining steam as she entered the Top 10 on the Album chart with Joan Baez In Concert.
Also on this day, The Beatles did their first Christmas show at the Gaumont Theatre in Bradford, England.
December 21, 1966: The Beach Boys receive three gold records: for the single Good Vibrations, and for the albums Little Deuce Coupe and Shut Down, Volume 2.
December 21, 1967: The Beatles throw a costume party at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London to celebrate the showing of their film, Magical Mystery Tour, on the BBC.
December 21, 1968: The newly-formed trio of Crosby, Stills & Nash performed together for the first time.
Also on this day, Glen Campbell topped the Billboard 200 with the album, Wichita Lineman. It would remain on the charts for 46 weeks, but will also be Campbell’s only number one.
If that isn’t enough, Janis Joplin made her debut as a solo concert artist at an event for the Stax/Volt record label. The Stax house band, Booker T & The MG’s, also performed at the event.
December 21, 1969: Diana Ross & The Supremes make their final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. They sang Someday We’ll Be Together, their twelfth and final number one single.
December 21, 1970: Traffic’s album John Barleycorn Must Die is certified gold.
December 21, 1972: Martha & The Vandellas play their last show at Cobo Hall in Detroit. Their career spanned nine years, charting over two dozen times. Ten of their singles reached the Top Ten of the Billboard R & B chart, and twelve made it to the Top 40 of the Hot 100, including Dancing In The Street, Nowhere to Run, and Jimmy Mack.
December 21, 1974: Harry Chapin enjoys his only number one single with Cats In The Cradle, one of the best damned songs every recorded.
December 21, 1979: The Eagles, Chicago and Linda Ronstadt perform a benefit show for California Governor Jerry Brown’s presidential campaign. Brown also happens to be Ronstadt’s boyfriend.
December 21, 1990: A concert in memory of John Lennon was held at the Tokyo Dome. Taking part were Sean Lennon, Hall & Oates, Natalie Cole and Linda Ronstadt.
December 21, 1991: Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody returned to #1 after the death of Freddie Mercury, and remained there for five weeks.
December 21, 1992: Legendary bluesman Albert King dies of a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 69.
Born On This Day
December 21, 1940: Frank Zappa, rocker, composer and performer with the Mothers of Invention (and solo), was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
December 21, 1942: Soul singer Carla Thomas, soloist and also a duet performer with Otis Redding, was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
December 21, 1943: Albert Lee, famous session guitarist (Emmylou Harris, among others), was born in Lingen, Herefordshire, England.
December 21, 1946: Carl Wilson was born in Hawthorne, California. He forms The Beach Boys with older brothers Dennis and Brian, then becomes the band’s lead guitarist.
And that’s it from The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge today!
Good Morning, Music Lovers! We have another great Sunday of music lined up for you. It’s a day of rest. Stop fucking shopping for one day and put your damned feet up.
The Band’s Moondog Matinee debuts as our Album of The Week.
Here’s today’s line-up:
11:00 a.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live From The Vic Theatre, Chicago, April 17, 2003
The house band is back, and this is a great show here from a small venue — holding 1,400 people, but 1,000 if seated. I regret not seeing Petty in a small venue. I had the opportunity with Mudcrutch at The House of Blues in Boston in 2016, and I blew it big time.
3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Moondog Matinee by The Band NEW!
There’s not much more you can say about The Band, but their fifth studio album is an homage to OPM (Other People’s Music). Released in 1973, the album reflects the group’s love of R & B and the blues, covering songs written by Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, and others. The only exception to this is their interpretation of the theme from The Third Man. We are giving you the expanded version here.
6:00 p.m. Truffle Live at The House of Haze, Farmington, NH, October 18, 2020 NEW!
Truffle is not exactly new. In fact (Savoy) Truffle has been around since 1986. Seems incredible to me that the name isn’t rolling off everyone’s tongue.
Truffle is David Bailey (bass, vocals), Ned Chase (mandolin, guitar, lap steel & vocals), Mike Gendron (drums), Pete Kowalski (percussion) and Dave Gerard (vocals, electric & resonator guitars). Both Dave’s and Ned have been creating music together since 1986. They have performed in all but ten states across the U.S., playing as many as 275 shows in one year. Mike (still the rookie) joined the band with years of experience in 1996; the only lineup change in the band’s history. Truffle has achieved widespread popularity by headlining many respected venues as well as sharing the stage with international acts as Little Feat, Phish, The Band, Dave Matthew’s Band, David Lindley, The Radiators, and Blues Traveler to name only a few.
Tonight we have them in the spotlight live from The House of Haze in New Hampshire. The set list will be up and under the Playlist tab.
Again, let me reiterate how much time you’re wasting with radio stations that talk incessantly, sell you shit, and cost you money. What the hell is wrong with you?
Good Morning, Students! It’s Sunday here in the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge, and we’ve got a great day lined up. But first, your lesson.
Jethro Tull was formed on this day in 1967.
Here’s all the news that’s fit to print:
December 20, 1956: Elvis Presley was making musical chart history with ten songs on Billboard’s Top 100.
December 20, 1958: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison appear as The Quarrymen at the wedding reception of George’s older brother, Harry.
December 20, 1965: Wicked Wilson Pickett records the fucking great song, 634-5789, with Booker T & The MG’s. Booker was missing on that day, but his keyboards were handled nicely for him by none other than Isaac Hayes.
Also on this day in 1965, The Beach Boys released the single Barbara Ann.
December 20, 1966: The Big O, Otis Redding, played the Fillmore West in San Francisco.
December 20, 1967: Vocalist and master flute player Ian Anderson and bassist Glenn Cornick leave The John Evans Blues Band to form Jethro Tull, naming the band after an inventor of farm implements. John Evans would later join Tull himself as the keyboardist.
December 20, 1969: The Beatles’ masterpiece, Abbey Road, remained at the top of the charts for an eighth week on this day.
December 20, 1971: The album from George Harrison’s Concert For Bangladesh (the very first musical event of its kind in history) was released. It would win the Grammy Award for Best Album.
December 20, 1972: The O’Jays recorded the great song Love Train.
December 20, 1975: Joe Walsh officially replaced Bernie Leadon in The Eagles, moving them into a harder rock frame. He had previously been with The James Gang, a great band, by the way. However, on this day, my love affair with The Eagles ended, as much as I love Joe Walsh. I continued to listen, and their catalogue is in our rotation, but I prefer their earlier feel.
December 20, 1980: Twelve days after being shot dead by a fucking psychopath who just wanted his time in the spotlight, John Lennon had his first #1 solo hit with Just Like Starting Over.
Born On This Day
December 20, 1939: R & B singer Kim Weston was born in Detroit, Michigan.
December 20, 1944: Bobby Columby, drummer for Blood, Sweat & Tears, was born in New York.
December 20, 1947: Little Stevie Wright, lead singer of The Easybeats (Friday On My Mind) was born in Leeds, England. He would, however, be raised in Australia. During their six-year career, The Easybeats had 15 Top 10 hits in Australia, no slight feat regardless of where you were raised. The Easybeats are in our daily standard rotation.
December 20, 1948: Alan Parsons of The Alan Parson’s Project (Games People Play, I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You), was born in London. He began his musical career as an engineer at Abbey Road Studios, working on Abbey Road and Let It Be for The Beatles, Dark Side of The Moon for Pink Floyd, and Wild Life by Paul McCartney & Wings (their actual first album as a band). The Alan Parsons Project is in our daily standard rotation.
And that is it from The College for this morning. Our line-up will be posted soon!
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