2020

Good Morning, Students! Yes. It’s true I return to retail hell today. I must say I enjoyed the five solid days in the DJ chair. If this job paid, I’d take it.

***Antoine “Fats” Domino. Was anybody playing rock n’ roll before him?***

Here’s your lesson for today:

December 29, 1956: Fats Domino spends his 11th week at the top of the R & B chart with his song Blueberry Hill.

December 29, 1958: Lonely Teardrops by Jackie Wilson was #1 on the R & B chart.

December 29, 1962: Bob Dylan played the Troubadour folk club in London.

December 29, 1964: The Liverpool Youth Employment Services announced that some applicants were having difficulties getting jobs because their Beatle haircuts and clothing was unacceptable to employers. Oh, puhleeeze.

December 29, 1966: The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their TV debut on the UK show Top of the Pops where they performed Hey Joe.

Also on this day, The Beatles began recording Penny Lane.

December 29, 1967: Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave Mason leaves the popular and successful band Traffic for a solo career. Rumor had it that he did not enjoy sharing co-writing duties with Steve Winwood.

December 29, 1969: Sly & The Family Stone release the single Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again).

December 29, 1970: Norman Greenbaum (native of Malden, Massachusetts) released the great song Spirit in The Sky, a sixties anthem if there ever really was one.

December 29, 1971: America released it’s self-titled first album.

December 29, 1973: Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle tops the Hot 100, the second of three posthumous hits for the late singer/songwriter.

Also on this day, Elton John’s fine album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was #1 on the Album chart for a third week.

December 29, 1980: Singer-Songwriter Tim Hardin was found dead in his apartment of a heroin overdose at the age of 39. He is best known for If I Were A Carpenter (a hit for Bobby Darin in 1966; the Four Tops in 1968), as well as Reason To Believe (a hit for Rod Stewart in 1971).

Born On This Day

December 29, 1941: Ray Thomas, singer, composer and flautist for The Moody Blues was born on Stourport-on-Severn, England.

December 29, 1942: Rick Danko, co-lead singer and bassist for The Band was born in Green’s Corner, Ontario, Canada.

December 29, 1946: Marianne Faithful was born in Hamsted, London.

And that is your lesson from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge for today!

A Brand New All-Girl Revue, Simon & Garfunkel In The Spotlight, and a New Episode of The Shadow, Monday, December 28, 2020

Good Morning, Music Lovers around the globe! How are we on this fine Monday morning, as I wind down my vacation. We are bringing you new stuff as we crawl toward 2021, and it starts with the ladies today.

***The Ladies: Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Lucinda Williams, The Supremes, Joni Mitchell, Valerie Carter, Janis Joplin, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin and Irma Thomas.***

Here’s your line-up!

11:00 a.m. The All-Girl Revue, Volume 5: Various Artists NEW!

We’re kicking off the day with a brand new All-Girl Revue. This makes number five. The ladies in the photo above will join others in this playlist, like Phoebe Snow, Wendy Waldman, Ann Peebles, Tracy Chapman, Susan Tedeschi, Lulu, Petula Clark, Carly Simon, Jackie DeShannon, Carole King, Judy Collins, and others! It’s just over two hours of uninterrupted bliss.

By the way, the set list will be up under the Playlist tab. Just go and scroll until you find it.

3:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Simon & Garfunkel

They made their television singing debut at the age of sixteen. Paul Simon went on to become one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and together they have sold 105 million records over their career. Today, they’re in the spotlight.

7:00 p.m. The Shadow: 05. Hounds In The Hills NEW!

You’re going to love this one: “A demented old hag living with her hunchback son kidnaps four boys and holds them captive in their mansion.” This comes direct from their wikifan page. And guess what? The plot only thickens from there. I’m not revealing one more thing.

Listen, the programming is light. I am not, however, shirking my duties. Your post-Shadow evening will be littered with Three-in-a-Rows throughout. This costs you nothing. Remember, sharing is caring. Or so they say.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

It’s Another Merry Monday in The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/28/2020

It’s an odd day in the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge today. Aside from two entries, all of the events seem to have happened in 1968. It was, as Frank Sinatra said, a very good year musically. Devastating in others.

Here’s today’s lesson:

December 28, 1968: The Doors released Touch Me. Believe it or not, the song’s opening guitar riff was inspired by the opening of C’mon Marianne by The Four Seasons. I shit you not. (And I think that’s probably the only song I like by The Four Seasons, come to think of it.) Touch Me would peak at #3 in America.

These other musical events also happened on this day:

The Beatles’ ninth studio album, The Beatles (aka, The White Album), hits #1 in the US.

The Rolling Stones‘ Beggars Banquet debuts at #3 on the Album chart.

Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck and The Pretty Things appeared at the Flight to Lowlands Paradise II festival at the Margriethal-Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands.

Marvin Gaye remained at #1 on the R & B chart with I Heard It Through The Grapevine. I’ll say it again, he remade Gladys Knight’s version, which was released in 1967. Hers also went to #1. I love Marvin, but the record needs to be set straight.

In what could be viewed as a dry run for Woodstock, Joni Mitchell, Three Dog Night, The Turtles, Fleetwood Mac, Marvin Gaye, The Grass Roots, Chuck Berry, Steppenwolf, The Box Tops, Canned Heat, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, Procol Harum, The Grateful Dead, Jose Feliciano, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and others performed at the Miami Pop Festival at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida.

Whew.

December 28, 1970: John Lennon released the song Mother.

December 28, 1983: Depressed by mounting debt and his personal problems, Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys drowned while diving near his boat in Marina Del Rey, California. Brian Wilson, dealing with his own issues, did not attend the funeral.

Born On This Day

December 28, 1914: Roebuck “Pops” Staples, songwriter/guitarist/singer for The Staple Singers (I’ll Take You There, Respect Yourself) was born in Winona, Mississippi.

December 28, 1938: Charlie Neville (The Neville Brothers) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

December 28, 1946: Edgar Winter, multi-instrumentalist, leader of The Edgar Winter Group, and younger brother of Johnny, was born in Beaumont, Texas.

December 28, 1948: Joseph “Ziggy” Modeliste, drummer for The Meters, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

And that is today’s lesson from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge!