Tag: The Beatles

Good Morning From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/9/2020

Well, here we are again live from The Mermaid Lounge imparting our trivial musical knowledge to enrich your lives. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it?

Tom Petty & George Harrison, friends to the end.

Here’s today’s lesson from The College:

December 9, 1963: Meet The Supremes, their first album, was released by Motown Records. The LP contains the hit When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes.

December 9, 1967: Before a gig in New Haven, Connecticut, Jim Morrison got into an argument with a policeman. The policeman responded by macing Morrison. Later on stage, Morrison told the story of the incident, which prompted the police to turn on the house lights and arrest Morrison for ‘breach of peace’ and ‘resisting arrest.’

December 9, 1972: Three Dog Night’s Pieces of April enters the Billboard chart. The song, written by Dave Loggins, with reach the Top 20.

December 9, 1974: George Harrison released his first album on his Dark Horse record label. The name of the album was Dark Horse.

December 9, 1980: One day after John Lennon was shot and killed, Yoko Ono released this statement: “There is no funeral for John. John loved and prayed for the human race. Please do the same for him. Love, Yoko and Sean.”

December 9, 1992: George Harrison received the first Century Award, presented by friend Tom Petty at the third Billboard Music Awards in Universal City, California.

December 9, 1995: Even though they disbanded 25 years earlier, The Beatles have the #1 album when Anthology hits the top (it remains there for three weeks). It includes Beatles rarities in the form of demos, alternate versions, live versions and previously unreleased material. It will eventually sell 4 million copies.

Born On This Day

December 9, 1969: Singer-songwriter Jakob Dylan (solo; The Wallflowers) was born in New York City.

And that it for today’s lesson from The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge!

Goooood Morning From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/8/2020

We’re back at the salt mines today with the general buying public, so we’re off to an early start this morning. I don’t have to tell true Beatles fans what happened on this day all those years ago.

Everything that has to be said about this day of infamy has been said.

Here’s today’s lesson from The Mermaid Lounge:

December 8, 1961: The Supremes begin recording their third single, Your Heart Belongs To Me, written by Smokey Robinson.

December 8, 1967: The Beatles release the Magical Mystery Tour double EP in the UK.

Also on this day, Traffic released their debut album, Mr. Fantasy.

And, The Rolling Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request album was released in the UK, which carried the hit She’s a Rainbow.

December 8, 1968: Graham Nash leaves The Hollies and begins working with David Crosby (ex-Byrds) and Stephen Stills (ex-Buffalo Springfield). Crosby, Stills, and Nash would release their self-titled debut album during the summer of 1969.

December 8, 1969: The Beatles record the Ringo Starr composition, Octopus’s Garden.

Meanwhile, at his trial in the Toronto Supreme Court for possession of hash and heroin, Jimi Hendrix testified that he had “outgrown” drugs. He was found not guilty after eight hours of deliberation.

December 8, 1972: Carly Simon’s album No Secrets is certified gold.

December 8, 1980: A day that will live in infamy. Mark David Chapman pumps five bullets into John Lennon outside The Dakota Apartments in New York City, killing him. It is reported in some outlets that he tries to get into his apartment to see his son before he collapses and dies. Later, Chapman would say the lure of the fame this event would bring was something he couldn’t resist. Fucker. RIP, John Lennon. The world misses you.

We put John Lennon In The Spotlight this evening.

Born On This Day

December 8, 1939: Jerry Butler (lead singer of The Impressions) was born in Sunflower, Mississippi. He moved to Chicago where he sings in a choir with his future Impressions bandmate, the great Curtis Mayfield.

December 8, 1941: Bobby Elliot, drummer for The Hollies, was burn in Burnley, Lancashire, England.

December 8, 1943: Jim Morrison, leader of The Doors, was born James Douglas Morrison in Melbourne, Florida.

December 8, 1947: Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Much is made of Duane Allman, and he was the initial leader of the band before his death, and played that guitar like no other. But Gregg Allman was the guy who wrote the songs and had that great singing voice.

And that is today’s lesson from The College. We’ll be back with today’s line-up soon!

Good Morning From the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12-7-2020

Here we are again from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge with today’s lesson in musical facts! We never rest here in The Mermaid Lounge.

The Grateful Dead. The ultimate jam band. There is no ‘Dead’ as long as Jerry Garcia is dead.

Here’s today’s ‘no child left behind’ lesson:

December 7, 1963: The Beatles’ second album, With The Beatles, started a 21-week run at #1 on the UK album chart. It replaced their first album, Please Please Me, which had held the top spot since it’s release 30 weeks earlier.

December 7, 1967: Otis Redding went into the studio to record (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay. The song was his biggest hit ever, but he never even saw its release; he was killed in a plane crash three days after it was recorded.

December 7, 1968: The Beatles, also known as The White Album, started a seven-week run at #1 on the UK charts. It was the first double-album ever released by Apple Records.

Also on this day, Eric Burdon announced that The Animals would dissolve after a December 22 concert in Newcastle.

The Grateful Dead play the song Rosemary at Bellarmine College in Louisville, Kentucky. In spite of the fact that the song is a favorite of Deadheads, the band never plays it again on stage.

December 7, 1971: Paul McCartney’s new band, Wings, releases their first album, called Wild Life, in the UK. It would not be released in the US until 1980.

December 7, 1976: The Eagles released New Kid In Town, which became the group’s third US #1 hit. It was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and J.D. Souther.

December 7, 1987: Bruce Springsteen, Judy Collins and Paul Simon, among others, took the stage at Carnegie Hall to pay tribute to Harry Chapin, who would have been celebrating his 45th birthday.

Born On This Day

December 7, 1949: Singer-songwriter Tom Waits was born in Pomona, California.

It is a light day from The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge, and that’s a good thing because it’s Monday, and we all need to be eased into the week. We’ll be back with the line up soon!

More News From The College of Rock N’ Roll Knowledge: 12/6/2020

Good Morning, Students! We have a great musical day lined up for you, so let’s dispense with all this knowledge we have here.

Paul Simon, another brilliant singer-songwriter loved in The Mermaid Lounge.

Here’s today’s lesson from the College:

December 6, 1965: The Beatles released We Can Work It Out with Day Tripper on the flip side.

Also on this day in 1965, the Beatles released the magnificent album, Rubber Soul.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles released Going To A Go-Go.

And if all of this wasn’t enough for you on December 6, 1965, The Rolling Stones recorded 19th Nervous Breakdown and Mother’s Little Helper at RCA’s Hollywood Studios in LA.

December 6, 1968: James Taylor released his self-titled first album in the UK.

December 6, 1969: The Rolling Stones released Beggars Banquet (and we told you about the actual pre-release banquet itself yesterday).

Also on this day, Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love enters the Billboard Pop chart. It peaked at #4 and was the first of six Top 40 hits for Zep.

December 6, 1970: Gimme Shelter, a documentary about The Rolling Stones’ 1969 US tour, opened in theaters.

December 6, 1975: The album Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon hit #1 on the US Album chart. The album resulted in four Top 40 US hits, Gone At Last, My Little Town, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover (#1), and the title track.

December 6, 1977: Jackson Browne released Running On Empty, a live album of performances at various stops on his summer tour.

December 6, 1988: After spending the day with his sons and his mother, Rob Orbison has a fatal heart attack and dies at the age of 52. During his career, the Caruso of rock n’ roll had 23 Top 40 hits. He had recently regained a huge fan following as a member of The Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Jeff Lynne. Orbison’s new album, Mystery Girl, is completed posthumously and released in January 1989.

December 6, 1994: Tower Records released Live At The BBC, a 69-track compilation of Beatles songs recorded for shows like Top Gear, Easy Beat, the Saturday Club, and Pop Go The Beatles. The double-album set goes straight to #1 in the UK, selling 600,000 copies by the end of the year, and 2,000,000 in the US four weeks later.

Born On This Day

December 6, 1943: Mike Smith, lead singer of Paul Revere & The Raiders, is born in Edmonton, North London, England.

And that is it for this fine Sunday from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge.

The British Are Coming! Our Album of The Week’s Final Airing, and “Live Dead” Later, Saturday, December 5, 2020

Good Morning, Music Lovers! It’s once again time for a visit from the bands and singers who brought you The British Invasion, one of the absolute best times in all of music. We have it here today from The Mermaid Lounge.

The Rolling Stones.

Here’s today’s line-up!

11:00 a.m. The British Invasion: Various Artists

We’ve got more than five hours of some of the best music on the planet, uninterrupted save for a couple of station ID’s along the way. Hear The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Petula Clark, Lulu, Dusty Springfield, The Kinks, The Who, The Zombies, The Dave Clark Five, Gerry & The Pacemakers, and many more.

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Wreckless Abandon by The Dirty Knobs

We bid a fond farewell to Mike Campbell and his band as this is our final airing for this cycle. Don’t miss it. It is indeed like hearing old friends. Tomorrow, we’ll have a brand new Album of The Week.

10:00 p.m. Live Dead! The Grateful Dead Live at The Capitol Center, Landover, Maryland, September 25, 1976 (aka, Dick’s Picks Volume 20) NEW!

Yet another brand new outing from the world’s preeminent jam band, this one from The Capitol Center in Landover.

Tune us in, people. This is a solid day of programming guaranteed to please. No advertising. No political speeches. No news to speak of except for music news. No credit card or personal information required. Just click the damned link below, already.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

It’s Saturday Morning in the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/5/2020

Good Morning, Music Trivia Buffs! Here we are at the proverbial weekend. Today will be my final day of retail servitude for a couple of days and I’m very much looking forward to being a full-time DJ once again.

The late great singer-songwriter J.J. Cale, who gave us the Tulsa sound. You’ll be hearing him later this coming week.

Here’s today’s lesson:

December 5, 1964: The Zombies’ debut single, She’s Not There, tops the Cashbox Best Sellers Chart. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it peaked at #12 in the UK.

December 5, 1965: The Beatles played their final gig in their own hometown of Liverpool. On December 5, 1980, John Lennon called his Aunt Mimi saying he was homesick and was planning a trip back home. On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed.

December 5, 1968: An actual, real-life banquet was held for the launch of the Rolling Stones album Beggars Banquet. It ended abruptly at the (unplanned) pie-throwing fight.

December 5, 1969: Badfinger released Come And Get It, written by Paul McCartney. It is the first hit on Apple Records that is not from The Beatles.

Also on this day, the Rolling Stones release my absolute favorite Stones album, Let It Bleed, loaded with great songs including Gimme Shelter (this could be my favorite Stones song ever) and Midnight Rambler. The title might have been prophetic. The next day, a fan is killed during their performance at the Altamont Speedway.

December 5, 1975: Fleetwood Mac’s tenth album is certified Gold, and will eventually go Platinum. This is the first album of the post-Peter Green era (my preferred version of Fleetwood Mac). John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie are all there. The newcomers are Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham. The band’s singles cracks Billboard Top 40 for the first time. They are Rhiannon, Over My Head, and Say You Love Me.

December 5, 1976: Three days after surviving an assassination attempt, Bob Marley performs at the Smile Jamaica Festival, which he organized to promote peace in his country. It is estimated that 80,000 Jamaican’s attend the festival. Marley does a 90-minute set.

December 5, 1980: John Lennon gives his final interview to Jonathan Cott of Rolling Stone magazine. You know the rest, sadly.

Born On This Day

December 5, 1912: Legendary bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson was born Alex Miller in Tallahachie County, Mississippi.

December 5, 1932: Richard Wayne Penniman, later know to the world as Little Richard, was born in Macon, Georgia.

December 5, 1938: Singer-songwriter J.J. Cale, who brought us the Tulsa sound, was born John Weldon Cale in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

December 5, 1947: Jim Messina (Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and Loggins & Messina) was born in Maywood, California.

And that is it for today from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge here in The Mermaid Lounge.

It’s an Open Stream Friday All Day Until The Beatles and The Shadow Drop By, Friday, December 4, 2020

Good Morning, Musicologists! We have a planned server upgrade today, so we will be Open Streaming right up until this evening when The Beatles and The Shadow drop by.

Here’s today’s line-up:

All Day Open Stream Friday with Three-in-a-Row’s!

We have an all-day Open Stream. Whatever the Streaming Mermaid picks up is what will play. We’re circulating 26,000+ songs all day. No two days ever sound the same here in The Mermaid Lounge.

7:00 p.m. The Beatles: The Endgame

The endgame battles of the Fab Four are legendary, but they continued to make outstanding music right up until the end, and they resolved their personal issues over time. What they contributed to rock music far outweighs their personal issues. This is the third and final portion of our Beatles Retrospective series.

10:00 p.m. The Shadow: Aboard The Steamship Amazon

Our final airing of this week’s episode of The Shadow. We got off to a late start with the opening of the show this week, but next week, The Shadow airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Watch the schedule!

This is a good day to tune us in and get the flavor for what our music and programming is all about. Tomorrow, we kick off some new playlists, and new artists in our general rotation as we prepare for The Winter of Our Discontent.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

More Details From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/4/2020

Good Morning, Music Trivialists! We here at the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge draw from our own archive of totally useless information and pour over various electronic sources to bring this to you every day. As you may expect, some sites differ from others about locations of events, timing, etc. Needless to say, research, critical thinking and weed is required to complete this task.

The Million Dollar Quartet: Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Here’s today’s lesson!

December 4, 1956: Elvis Presley stopped by Sun Studios unexpectedly to find Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash watching Carl Perkins in the studio. The four would tape several songs together on that day, but it would be 25 years before that day would be immortalized on vinyl as The Million Dollar Quartet.

December 4, 1964: The Beatles release their fourth album, Beatles For Sale, which spends 11 weeks as the #1 album in the UK.

December 4, 1965: Turn, Turn, Turn would give The Byrds their second consecutive #1 hit, following up Mr. Tambourine Man.

December 4, 1969: President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and forty governors spend the day watching simulated acid trips and listening to rock music to help them understand the “generation gap.” We have been led by idiots for a very long fucking time.

December 4, 1971: Don MacLean’s eight-minute epic, American Pie, enters Billboard’s Hot 100. Before all is said and done, it will sell 3 million copies. To this day, it remains one of the most analyzed and debated songs in music history.

Also on this day, Sly & The Family Stone’s Family Affair begins a three-week run at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This will be their third and final #1 and their last song in the top 10 before the band implodes under the weight of personal issues, and falls apart. Too bad. They were a great band.

Led Zeppelin also began a two-week stint at the top of the UK Album chart with the Four Symbols album, which includes Stairway To Heaven. The album will eventually sell 11 million copies and remained on the US charts for nearly five years.

December 4, 1980: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones announce that Led Zeppelin will not continue on after the death of drummer John Bonham.

December 4, 1982: A retrospective album of John Lennon’s solo work called The John Lennon Collection, started a six-week run at #1 on he UK Album chart. The front and back covers were shot by Annie Liebovitz on December 8, 1980, just five hours before John Lennon’s murder.

December 4, 1987: Alison Krauss, just sixteen years old, releases her debut album, Too Late To Cry, with her backing band, Union Station.

December 4, 1988: Roy Orbison (aka, Lefty Wilbury) plays his final gig at The Front Row Theater in Akron, Ohio. Orbison dies of a heart attack two days later.

Born On This Day

December 4, 1942: Chris Hillman, of The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and the Desert Rose Band, was born in Los Angeles.

December 4, 1944: Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys was born in Inglewood, California.

And that, my friends, is as they say — all the news that’s fit to print because there are a lot of singers we simply don’t give a shit about here in The Mermaid Lounge.

More From The Beatles, Album of The Week, and Linda Ronstadt Live in My Town on Thursday, December 3, 2020

It’s another great day of music from The Mermaid Lounge: Just enough programming and plenty of Open Stream as we chug on toward a weekend of new music playlists!

Linda Ronstadt performs on stage in Boston with Valerie Carter (1995).

Here’s today’s line-up:

11:00 a.m. The Beatles: The Transformation

I guess I could have come up with a better title for this playlist, but it was hard for me to describe the giant leap The Beatles took from Rubber Soul onward. It was gigantic. This was undoubtedly their most creative and experimental time as a musical group in their writing and in the studio. George Martin was no small part of that endeavor.

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Wreckless Abandon by The Dirty Knobs

Time is winding down on this week’s Album of The Week. We’ve got one more chance for you to acquaint yourselves with The Dirty Knobs before we move on to a brand new selection on Sunday!

7:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt Live at The Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA, May 14, 1995

The photo above isn’t the best, but good photos of this show are very hard to come by. I was there, and this was undoubtedly one of the most amazing shows I’ve ever seen Linda Ronstadt perform. She was helped by friend Valerie Carter, who also opened for her. You don’t get the opportunity to see two great singers on stage together very often. I, luckily, did. (By the way, if you’re not familiar with Valerie Carter, you should make it a point to become familiar. We love her here in The Mermaid Lounge.)

Tune us in. Grease your wheels. This weekend we’ve got some brand new playlists coming up, along with some new live shows. We’ve been out there hunting, and all of this will carry over into the winter of our discontent. Hopefully, #BecomeUngovernable Radio can be an oasis in this vast wasteland.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

Another Early Morning Lesson From The Mermaid Lounge: 12/3/2020

Good Morning, Students! Here we are again with a lesson in rock n’ roll history from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge. We’re not as active as some days today, but we do pick and choose our subjects here. There are a lot of people we don’t give a flying fuck about, like Madonna. JayZ. Lady GaGa. Kanye West, the waste of musical space, and so on.

Tom Petty’s final shows. Ever.

And now, today’s lesson:

December 3, 1955: Elvis Presley’s first release on RCA Victor Records was announced. The first two were purchased from Sam Phillips at Sun Records, Mystery Train and I Forgot To Remember To Forget.

December 3, 1961: Brian Epstein makes his first pitch to become The Beatles’ manager. Although the meeting goes well, there is no decision on this day.

December 3, 1965: Keith Richards cuts it close. He steps on a microphone cable and is electrocuted and knocked unconscious during a Stones concert in Sacramento. After a short break, Richards is able to come back and play.

Also on this day, The Beatles release the album Rubber Soul and the single Nowhere Man in the UK.

December 3, 1966: Paul Revere & The Raiders had their sixth Billboard Top 40 hit enter the Top 100. Good Thing will climb the charts and eventually reach #4, It stays on the charts for ten weeks.

December 3, 1968: It’s a Banner Day for Gold Records: The Grass Roots song Midnight Confessions is certified Gold on this day; and the albums Aretha Now by Aretha Franklin and Fresh Cream by Cream are certified Gold as well.

The Montreux Casino caught fire and burned during a show by Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention. The event is immortalized in the song Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple. Deep Purple was supposed to begin working on their Machine Head album the following day.

December 3, 1976: Bob Marley narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. Seven gunmen sprayed bullets into his Kingston, Jamaica, home where he and the Wailers were rehearsing. Marley had become unpopular in some circles due to his influence over some local politicians. He moved to Florida a short time after the incident.

December 3, 2003: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) gave Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers a Diamond Award, markng the sale of 10 million copies of their Greatest Hits album in the U.S.

Born On This Day

There’s really only one person mentioned that we give a shit about here.

December 3, 1947: John Wilson, drummer for Them, was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.