Tag: The Beach Boys

We’re Getting Ahead of The Game Here at The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/15/2020

Yeah, we are. We’re back in the mines tomorrow, and we need to get a jump on our week here in The Mermaid Lounge. This is a pretty brutal day here in rock history. I got writer’s cramp just putting this thing together.

Dusty gets deported from South Africa after a concert near Cape Town. Apparently she crossed the line and sang to a multiracial audience. Bad Dusty.

Here’s today’s lesson in useless information:

December 15, 1956: Fats Domino had one of the biggest R & B songs of all time with Blueberry Hill. On this day it remained at #1 for a ninth week. There is no denying that this guy was a rock n’ roll pioneer.

December 15, 1958: A new soul artist named James Brown made his debut on the R & B charts with a song called Try Me.

And in the meantime, Jackie Wilson’s Lonely Teardrops took over the #1 spot on the R & B charts this day.

December 15, 1962: The Beatles played two shows at the Majestic Ballroom in Brkenhead, Merseyside, England. At midnight, the first ever Mersey Beat poll awards show took place. As the winners of the poll, The Beatles then closed the festivities at 4:00 a.m.

December 15, 1964: The Beatles release the album Beatles ’65.

Also on this day, Dusty Springfield is deported from South Africa after performing in front of a multiracial audience at a show near Cape Town.

December 15, 1966: The trumpets and cellos are recorded for the song Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles at Abbey Road Studios in London.

December 15, 1967: The Beach Boys met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Paris where they were taught Transcendental Meditation.

Also on this day, just a few days after its release, The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour album went Gold. It will hold the top spot on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart for eight weeks and will receive a Grammy Award nomination for Best Album.

The Who released the album, The Who Sell Out.

December 15, 1969: John Lennon gave his last live performance in England at a UNICEF Benefit in London. Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Delaney & Bonnie, Billy Preston, and Who drummer Keith Moon also took part.

December 15, 1970: Creedence Clearwater Revival released another winning album in Pendulum.

December 15, 1975: Paul Simon released the single, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.

The Eagles remained on a roll, releasing the single Take It To The Limit on this day in 1975.

December 15, 1979: The Long Run by The Eagles held on to the #1 position on the Album charts for the seventh week.

Born On This Day

December 15, 1919: Max Yasgur, owner of the farm in New York where Woodstock was held in 1969, was born in New York City.

December 15, 1939: Cindy Birdsong, a member of the Supremes beginning in 1967, was born in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

December 15, 1942: Dave Clark, drummer for The Dave Clark Five, was born in Tottenham, England.

December 15, 1946: Carmine Appice, drummer with the Vanilla Fudge and Jeff Beck, was born in Staten Island, New York.

And thankfully, we are at the end of today’s lesson! Back with the line-up later.

Today in Music History From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/10/2020

Well, children, here we are again in The Mermaid Lounge, home of The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge where we work hard to impart our special brand of education.

Antoine “Fats” Domino, a musical monster. There is no denying his contribution to rock n’ roll.

Here is your curriculum for today:

December 10, 1927: The Grand Ole Opry made its first radio broadcast ever from Nashville, Tennessee.

December 10, 1949: Fats Domino recorded eight tracks during his first recording session at Cosimo Matassa’s J & M Studios, including his first single, Detroit City Blues backed by The Fat Man. The B-side became the hit, and it was one of many for Fats Domino.

December 10, 1965: The Grateful Dead played their first concert, and only their second overall, at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco.

December 10, 1966: The Rolling Stones released the album Got Live If You Want It in the US.

And also on this day, Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys hits #1.

December 10, 1967: Otis Redding, just 26 years old, is killed when the plane he is touring in crashes into a Wisconsin lake. His touring band, The Bar-Kays, also perish except for trumpet player Ben Cauley, the sole survivor. One month later, (Sittin’ On) The Dock of The Bay is released, becoming the first #1 song released after the artist’s death.

Also on this day, The Steve Miller Blues Band signs its first contract with Capitol Records for $759,000. The band immediately dropped “Blues” from their name.

December 10, 1976: The album Wings Over America was released on this day.

Also on December 10, Queen released A Day At The Races in the UK (it is released in the US on December 18). LIke their previous album, A Night at The Opera, the title is taken from a Marx Brothers movie. The Queen single Somebody To Love is also released on this day.

December 10, 2016: Bob Dylan accepts The Nobel Prize for Literature.

Born On This Day

December 10, 1941: Chad Stuart of Chad & Jeremy, was born David Stewart Chadwick in Windermere, Cumbria, England.

December 10, 1946: Ace Kefford, bass guitarist for The Move, was born in Moseley, Birmingham, England. The lead singer of the Move? That was Jeff Lynne, before ELO and The Traveling Wilburys.

December 10, 1948: Jessica Cleaves, lead singer for Friends of Distinction (great, little-known band), was born in Los Angeles.

There you have today’s lesson, my friends! Use your knowledge wisely!

Happy Monday From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 11/30/2020

It’s another Monday morning in the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge, and it’s going to be pretty nasty here. Why not tune us in while you’re at it?

Paul McCartney & Wings in their heyday.

Here’s today’s lesson!

November 30, 1960: The Shirelles re-released Dedicated To The One I Love, originally released in 1959. It was re-released after Will You Love Me Tomorrow became a hit.

Also on this day, The Beatles finished up their 56-night run at the Kaiserkeller Club in Hamburg, Germany.

November 30, 1963: The Beach Boys song In My Room cracks Billboard’s Top 40. Although it peaks at #23, it becomes one of the band’s most popular songs.

Meanwhile, back in Beatle Land, She Loves You returns to #1 on the UK charts, while the album With The Beatles sits at #1 on the Album charts.

November 30, 1965: Petula Clark, one of the most influential singers of the British Invasion, releases her hit Downtown.

November 30, 1966: Legendary but quirky guitarist Jeff Beck quits The Yardbirds after a year and a half. He later forms The Jeff Beck Group.

November 30, 1968: Sly & The Family Stone released the single Everyday People.

Also on this day, The Supremes topped the Billboard Top 100 with their eleventh hit, Love Child. The song was introduced on The Ed Sullivan Show.

And Cheap Thrills by Big Brother & The Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin) takes over the #1 slot on the Album charts.

November 30, 1969: The Rolling Stones wrap up a tour with an appearance at the International Raceway Festival in West Palm Beach, Florida. Also appearing at the event are King Crimson, Iron Butterfly, Ten Years After, The Band, Janis Joplin, Steppenwolf, and The Moody Blues.

November 30, 1970: All Things Must Pass is already released in the US. On this day, George Harrison released it in the UK.

November 30. 1971: Al Green, one of the most pleasantly soulful singers on the damned planet, released Let’s Stay Together.

November 30, 1972: Paul McCartney & Wings released the song Hi, Hi, Hi, which is promptly banned by the BBC because of its “unsuitable lyrics.” In site of that it goes to #5 in the UK. It will peak at #10 in the US.

November 30, 1974: The Eagles Best of My Love is released. It will become one of The Eagles’ five US #1 singles.

November 30, 1977: The Atlanta Rhythm Section released the single, So Into You.

November 30, 1980: Pink Floyd releases their double-album masterpiece, The Wall.

November 30, 2001: In Liverpool, flags are flown at half staff in memory of George Harrison. In London, the Coldstream Guards play a Beatles medley during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in his honor.

Born On This Day

November 30, 1944: Rob Grill, singer, songwriter and bassist for the seventies hit machine known as The Grass Roots, was born in Los Angeles.

November 30, 1945: Roger Glover, songwriter, producer and bassist for Deep Purple, was born in Brecon, Wales.

That’s today’s lesson. We’ll be back with the line up as soon as I make some coffee and become human again.

Wake Up! It’s Time for The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge!

Good Morning, Students! Here’s today’s lesson from The Mermaid Lounge. Some days we have more than others. Take notes. There’ll be a quiz later.

Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Don Felder of The Eagles perform on stage at Ahoy on May 11th 1977 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)

Here’s your lesson for today!

November 17, 1938: Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot is born in Orilla, Ontario.

November 17, 1944: Gene Clark, singer-songwriter for The New Christy Minstrels and The Byrds, is born in Tipton, Missouri.

November 17, 1966: The Beach Boys had the #1 spot on the UK singles charts with Good Vibrations.

November 17, 1967: A 16-date UK package tour featuring Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Move (Jeff Lynne’s first band before ELO and The Traveling Wilburys), The Nice, and Amen Corner played at the City Hall, Sheffield, UK.

November 17, 1971: Rod Stewart & Faces release A Nod Is As Good As A Wink…To a Blind Horse. This is their third LP together.

November 17, 1980: John Lennon releases Double Fantasy. Three weeks later he is shot and killed outside The Dakota.

November 17, 1994: Bob Dylan tapes his episode of MTV Unplugged in New York City.

November 17, 2003: Let It Be…Naked is released, removing the strings and other big sound artifacts added by Phil Spector in the original production.

November 17, 2007: The Eagles have the #1 album with Long Road Out of Eden, their first studio album since 1979.

That’s it from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge! We’ll be back in a while with today’s programming.

We Celebrate Lennon’s Birthday, Take a Trip to Surf City, and Party With Petty on Friday, October 9, 2020

Good Day, Music Lovers! Today we have wonderful run of musical programming planned around all that open stream stuff. Don’t miss it.

Here’s the musical landscape today:

9:00 a.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: The Last DJ NEW!

Yeah, we squeezed this one in after realizing that The Last DJ was released 18 years ago on October 8, 2002. This is a great album. If anybody is looking for just a great collection of great rock n’ roll that talks about days gone by and how music on the airwaves used to be, this is it.

11:00 a.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of John Lennon

Mr. Lennon would be 80 years old today had he not had the misfortune to meet Mark David Chapman. We celebrate his birthday today In The Spotlight, both with and without his mates.

3:00 p.m. Going to Surf City: Various Artists

As the temperature drops here in New England, we take a trip back to summer when we premiered the addition of surf music to our standard rotation. With Jan & Dean, The Beach Boys, The Blue Stingrays, The Ventures, and more!

7:00 p.m. Petty Theft: The Covers

We gave you the first playlist of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers covers back at the beginning of Petty Month. This is our second playlist of covers selected right here by our DJ in The Mermaid Lounge.

What in the bloody hell are you waiting for, people? You’d think we were asking you for your name, rank, and credit card number. We don’t. Ever. All you need to do is pull up a tab.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

Our Album of the Week Kicks Off Our ‘Summer of Love’ Experience, I Hear Those Echoes Again, and The Beach Boys Make Us Smile, Sunday, August 9, 2020

Good Morning, Ungovernables! It’s a very special new Album of the Week that starts today! It begins our Summer of Love experience here in The Mermaid Lounge!

From now until the end of the  month, we’ll be celebrating the most important cultural aspect of the Summer of Love, the music. It begins today with our Album of the Week!

george-harrison-posse

George Harrison leads an improptu band of hippies through Golden Gate Park during the summer of 1967.

Here’s your Summer of Love line-up!

11:00 a.m.   Album of the Week: Are You Experienced? by the Jimi Hendrix Experience   NEW!

The U.S. release of this groundbreaking Hendrix album came on August 23, 1967, right in the thick of the Summer of Love, and it met with both critical and commercial success from the start. To this date, it is considered one of the most powerful debuts in rock music history, and signaled a new direction in psychedelic music. 

3:00 p.m.     Echoes From The Canyon: Various Artists

Another amazing musical experience that began in the sixties and continued on: The Laurel Canyon experience with The Byrds, The Mamas & The Papas, The Beach Boys, and The Buffalo Springfield, for starters. You will hear them and many others if you tune in at 3:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.     The Beach Boys: The Smile Sessions

Although this was released by the Beach Boys in 2011, it chronicles the original plans for the Smile album, the Beach Boys planned successor to the Pet Sounds album. Though the original album was abandoned and remains unfinished, the first 19 tracks of The Smile Sessions approximate what it might have sounded like.

Tune in. Turn on. Drop out. With us.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

 

 

It’s a Busy Saturday: We’re Going to Surf City, Becoming Musically Ungovernable, Checking Out ‘Live Dead’ & Farewell to Our Album of the Week, June 6, 2020

Good Morning, Ungovernables! We have a very busy Saturday on tap here, but I promise you that you will love it. Shortly after the final airing of Learning To Crawl, we’re Going to Surf City! It gets even better from there!

dick Dale

Here’s your Saturday line-up:

9:00 a.m.    Album of the Week: Learning To Crawl, The Pretenders

Farewell to one of my favorites. Tomorrow when you wake up and run to the blog for your daily dose, you’ll see a brand new album!

12:00 p.m.  Going to Surf City: Various Artists   NEW!

A mix of singing and instrumental surf songs: The Beach Boys, Dick Dale & His Deltones (photo), The Surfaris, Jan and Dean, The Trashmen, The Challengers, and others. This is your introduction to the king of surf guitar, Dick Dale. It won’t be the last time you hear from him!

5:00 p.m.    #BecomeUngovernable House Playlist: Various Artists

In light of the present civil unrest sweeping the globe, let’s pay homage to those who chronicle the tales and seek to inspire. Hear The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Band, and more!

10:00 p.m.  Live Dead: Europe ’72, Live at the Beat Club, Bremen, West Germany, April 21, 1972   NEW!

We are back on Europe ’72 for a bit. This gig at The Beat Club is famous for being the shortest show on the tour. That’s because it was recorded for television airing.

This would be the perfect day to join us, don’t you think!

www.tinyurl.com/becomeungovernableradio

The (Young) Rascals Debut, The Sounds of Laurel Canyon & The Pretenders Own Our New Album of the Week, Sunday, May 31, 2020

Good Morning, Ungovernables! We are closing out the month of May with a bang with a playlist from the fabled Laurel Canyon, the debut of The (Young) Rascals, and our new Album of the Week!

The Mamas & The Papas

Here’s your Sunday Funday line-up:

12:00 p.m.  In the Spotlight: The Sounds of the (Young) Rascals   NEW!

The Rascals (formerly called The Young Rascals) were formed in Garfield, New Jersey in 1965. One of the most underrated bands in history, The Rascals reached the Top 20 of The Billboard Hot 100 with nine singles between 1966 and 1968. This includes the #1 hits Good Lovin’ (1966), Groovin’ (1967), and People Got To Be Free (1968). Rolling Stone magazine called The Rascals the blackest white group of all. 

The Rascals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Hit Parad Hall of Fame in 2010. The reunited for a series of concerts in 2012. 

4:00 p.m.    Album of the Week: Learning To Crawl, The Pretenders   NEW!

Learning To Crawl is the third studio album by The Pretenders. It was released on January 11, 1984 after a hiatus that saw both James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon die of drug overdoses.

Chrissie Hynde is sometimes overlooked as a pioneer in the male-dominated alternative rock music world. All of the songs except for one were written by her, and she’s a pretty incredible guitarist. The album resulted in five singles, including Back On The Chain Gang and Middle Of The Road. 

7:00 p.m.   Echoes From The Canyon: Various Artists

This playlist celebrates the popular music that came out of L.A.’s Laurel Canyon neighborhood in the mid-60s as folk went electric and The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas & The Papas cemented the California Sound. From 1965 to 1967, bands came to L.A. to emulate The Beatles. Laurel Canyon emerged as a hotbed of creativity and collaboration for a new generation of musicians who would soon put an indelible stamp on the history of American popular music.

Tune us in, people. It’s Sunday, a day of rest, no matter what they tell you.

www.tinyurl.com/becomeungovernableradio 

 

 

 

Janis at Winterland, The Beach Boys’ Smile Sessions, & Sargeant Pepper Are All On the Docket for Thursday, April 30, 2020

Good Morning, Ungovernables! Welcome to day whatever-the-fuck-it-is of our discontent. While we’re all waiting for you to rise up, we’ll try to make life a bit more bearable.

325773

Here’s your line-up for Thursday:

12:00 p.m.   Janis Joplin Live at Winterland 1968

This may seem like a morbid discussion, but a number of musicians have died in their 27th year. Kurt Cobain. Robert Johnson. Amy Winehouse. But three of the most famous? Janis Joplin. Jimi Hendrix. Jim Morrison. All dead at 27. All members of the ’27 Club.’

4:00 p.m.    Album of the Week: Sargeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles

This is arguably the greatest album of all time. Not only was the music brilliant, but so was the album packaging. It was the first album to open like a book, and the first to feature the lyrics printed on the cover. The front cover photograph remains a conversation piece to this day.

7:00 p.m.    The Beach Boys: The Smile Sessions   NEW!

It is said that Brian Wilson was the creative force behind The Beach Boys. Artists from Linda Ronstadt to Paul McCartney consider him a musical genius, but all of the members conributed to the whole. These sessions prove that The Beach Boys weren’t just another ‘surf music’ band (although they were pretty damned good at that too).

We’re here. We’re free. We ask no information. We just deliver the goods.

www.tinyurl.com/becomeungovernableradio

The Beatles, J.J. Cale & Leon Russell, The Beach Boys in the Spotlight, and the Great House Playlist, Thursday, November 7, 2019

Good Morning, Ungovernables! We have another great line-up today on #BecomeUngovernable Radio!

the Beach Boys

Here’s today’s planned programming:

11:00 a.m.    The Beatles Complete Apple Rooftop Concert

It was on a whim, as they say. And it drove the British Bobbies out of their minds trying to figure out where the music was coming from.

2:00 p.m.      J.J. Cale & Leon Russell at The Paradise Studios in LA (1979)

5:00 p.m.      In the Spotlight: The Music of The Beach Boys

9:00 p.m.      The #BecomeUngovernable House Playlist

We’ve added a lot of music to the standard rotation over the past couple of weeks. including Lucinda Williams, Rosanne Cash, Buddy Holly, Ry Cooder, Traffic, Lavern Baker and Delbert McClinton.

So sit back, relax and tune in to www.tinyurl.com/becomeungovernableradio