At Midweek It’s ‘Music From Laurel Canyon’, Buddy Holly, and McCartney Live, Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Good morning, music lovers! At midweek we continue our celebration of Sir Paul’s birthday. We’ve also got music from Laurel Canyon and a Buddy Holly Spotlight feature.

Here’s your midweek musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Music From Laurel Canyon: Various Artists

An amazing breeding ground for some of the best music of the sixties and seventies with The Byrds, The Mamas & The Papas, Buffalo Springfield, The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, The Monkees, CSNY, Manassas, John Mayall, The Eagles, J.D. Souther, Harry Nilsson, Canned Heat, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, James Taylor, Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix, Judy Collins and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Buddy Holly

One of the pioneers and a founding father of of rock n’ roll visits us this afternoon.

8:00 p.m. Paul McCartney Live at The Cavern Club, Liverpool, UK, December 14, 1999

McCartney visited his Beatles roots when he played the famous Cavern Club back in 1999. It was yet another great performance by a guy who never fails to deliver a great performance.

We’re at midweek. It’s all downhill from here as we head to the weekend. Come and get it. The button’s below.

Music From Laurel Canyon!

Welcome to Sunday in The Lounge! Today It Boils Down to Joni Mitchell and Sir Paul McCartney’s Birthday Bash, June 18, 2023

Good morning, revelers! We’ve moved our EP to Monday so we can celebrate on Macca’s official birth date. We’ve got some great stuff lined up starting with Joni Mitchell’s AOW!

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

10:00 a.m. Album of The Week: The Hissing of Summer Lawns by Joni Mitchell NEW!

Although Court and Spark remains my favorite in this Mitchell jazz-influenced genre, The Hissing of Summer Lawns continues that trend with a more experimental approach. Her seventh studio album includes jazz-rock contributors The L.A. Express and The Jazz Crusaders, along with appearances by James Taylor, Graham Nash and David Crosby.

4:00 p.m. Paul McCartney Live at The Cavern Club, Liverpool, UK, December 14, 1999 NEW!

We start McCartney’s festival with a live recording of his 1999 show at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, where it all started with The Beatles. The show was in support of his album Run Devil Run, so you’ll hear a lot of great fifties and early sixties covers from those who influenced both his and The Beatles’ music here.

8:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Paul McCartney

This particular set includes not only Macca’s work with Wings and his solo efforts, but many of his Beatle hits also, and will close out today’s programming.

As always, there’s a lot of wide Open Stream today. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there and we hope you’ll tune us in at least for a little while in between the cookouts and festivities. We’re on 24/7. The music never stops. And there’s absolutely, positively no commercial interruption.

Happy Birthdy, Sir Paul!

It’s Monday Again in The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/25/2021

Welcome to another Monday here in The Mermaid Lounge, where the trivia pursuit never stops, and the Mermaid almost never sleeps.

***The Cilla Black statue outside the legendary Cavern Club. The Beatles loved Cilla Black. She was part of the British Invasion, and we recently added her music to our standard rotation.***

It’s a light day today, so here’s your lesson:

January 25, 1958: Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock (on of my favorite songs of all time) becomes the first song ever to enter the UK charts at #1.

January 25, 1963: Cilla Black made her stage debut at the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool. It was Cilla Black who put the great song You’re My World on the map, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. We recently added her catalogue to our standard rotation, so be listening for it.

Also on this day, The Rolling Stones play at the Ricky Tick Club at the Star & Garter Hotel, Windsor, Berkshire, UK. This was the first time the Stones played this venue.

And EMI awards the US record label Vee Jay the rights to distribute Beatles records in the United States.

January 25, 1964: The Beatles scored their first #1 hit in the US when I Want To Hold Your Hand reached the top of the Cash Box magazine music chart. The Beatles would eventually rack up 25 number one hits in the US.

January 25, 1967: The Beatles did a last-minute remix of Penny Lane before the pressing of their Double A sided hit (backed with Strawberry Fields Forever). Both were originally intended for Sargeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but did not make the cut. (Is that even possible?)

January 25, 1969: Pink Floyd appeared at the Sixty-Nine Club, Royal York Hotel, Ryde, Isle of Wight.

January 25, 1986: Albert Grossman dies of a heart attack while flying on the Concorde from New York to London. Grossman managed Bob Dylan (from 1962-1970), Peter, Paul & Mary, The Band, Janis Joplin, and Todd Rundgren. He also built the Bearsville Recording Studio near Woodstock in 1969, then founded Bearsville Records in 1970.

January 25, 1999: The Rolling Stones begin their No Security Tour in Oakland, California.

Born On This Day

January 25, 1938: Blues singer Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, California.

And that’s it for today, folks. Enjoy your Monday, and we’ll be back with the line-up shortly.

It’s The Weekend at The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 1/16/2021

Gooooood Morning, Musicologists! Here we are at the beginning of the weekend, which is meaningless to we here in The Mermaid Lounge. Duty calls.

***The Cavern Club opened its doors on this day in 1957. A band called The Beatles played there 292 times.***

Here’s today’s not-too-taxing lesson:

January 16, 1957: The famed Cavern Club in Liverpool opened its doors on this day. It is where The Beatles launched their historic career. They played The Cavern Club a total of 292 times.

Also on this day, a man the Beatles considered an inspiration, Little Richard, recorded Lucille.

January 16, 1961: Shop Around by The Miracles (eventually Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) hit #1 on the R & B charts.

January 16, 1964: The Beatles played two shows at the Olympia Theatre, Paris, France, the first of an 18-night stint.

Also on this day, The Dave Clark Five hit #1 on the UK charts with Glad All Over. Mike Smith was their lead singer, one of the great rock n’ roll voices on the planet (John Lennon was another).

January 16, 1965: The Guess Who released their debut album, Shakin’ All Over.

On this day, The Supremes had their third consecutive #1 song with Come See About Me.

January 16, 1967: The Rolling Stones released their single, Ruby Tuesday.

January 16, 1992: Eric Clapton recorded his MTV Unplugged show, including the song Tears In Heaven and an acoustic version of Layla. It would win six Grammys, including Record of the Year.

January 16, 1988: George Harrison hits #1 with Got My Mind Set On You, his first #1 in 24 years.

January 16, 1996: Jamaican Police mistake Jimmy Buffett’s seaplane (The Hemisphere Dancer) as a drug-smuggler’s seaplane and begin firing on it when it lands in the water. U2’s Bono and his family are also on board. Nobody is injured, and the event inspires Buffett’s new song, Jamaica Mistaica. It was a close call for the Parrotheads of the world.

January 16, 2016: Bruce Springsteen kicks off The River Tour in Pittsburgh. His 1980 album, The River, is the centerpiece of the tour and is played from start to finish in many locations. The tour is the most successful of the year, grossing more than $268 million.

Born On This Day

Nobody we give a shit about here in The Mermaid Lounge.

Hope you all have a great day. We will be back with the line-up soon.

Good Morning From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/13/2020

Yes, it’s another Sunday here in the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge where we never really sleep. We just rest our eyes for a spell. We welcome you back!

***Paul and George at The Cavern Club.***

Here’s today’s lesson!

December 13, 1961: The Beatles signed Brian Epstein to manage them.

On the same day, Mike Smith of Decca Records arrived at the Cavern Club to see The Beatles perform. He determined after that the band had “no future in music.” Boy, did he fuck that one up, right?

December 13, 1962: Elvis Presley’s Return to Sender became his 13th #1 song in the US.

December 13, 1966: Jimi Hendrix recorded Foxy Lady. (It was misspelled on the US version of the album as Foxey Lady.) He also made his television debut on Ready Steady Go! on ITV in the UK.

December 13, 1967: The Grateful Dead perform the song Dark Star for the first time ever in concert at The Shrine Exhbition Hall in Los Angeles. It becomes a Deadhead favorite and is the conduit for some of their most fabled jams. The studio version, oddly enough, ran only 2:44.

December 13, 1969: Someday We’ll Be Together by the Supremes took over the #1 spot on the R & B chart.

Also on this day, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head by B.J. Thomas shot up to #1 on the Adult chart, and moved into the Top 10 overall.

And speaking of the guys with no future in music, The Beatles’ Abbey Road made it seven weeks at #1 on the Album chart.

December 13, 1970: Dave Edmunds went to #1 on the UK chart with I Hear You Knocking.

December 13, 1986: Bruce Hornsby & The Range top the charts with The Way It Is, an excellent debut song from this band about the U.S. Civil Rights movement. Did you know that Bruce Hornsby was the keyboardist for The Grateful Dead for several years running?

Born On This Day

December 13, 1933: Lou Adler was born in Chicago. Adler has an amazing musical history. He was the founder of Dunhill Records, where he produced The Mamas & The Papas, Johnny Rivers, The Grass Roots, Carole King and Barry McGuire (Eve of Destruction). He was also the architect of 1967’s Monterey Pop Festival, and managed Jan & Dean. Whew.

December 13, 1948: Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, veteran of two great bands — Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers — was born in Washington, D.C.

School’s out for today, children! Have a wonderful day, and stick around for our line-up!