Good Morning, Music Lovers! We are on the run this morning, so you’ll have to wait for your rock n’ roll college lesson until later when I return from retail hell. But, in the meantime, here’s your musical line-up.
The Rolling Stones.
Here’s your line-up:
All Day (Mostly) Open Stream, Kids
By now, you know the drill. We are circulating continually all day, all night, 27,000 songs. Our Music Mermaid can even pick up a couple of programs if she so desires. It’s all on her on Wednesdays.
5:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of The Rolling Stones
The original bad boys of rock n’ roll (forget Aerosmith, it was these guys) are here later in the day for your listening pleasure. And I seriously mean that.
9:00 p.m. The Shadow: 08 Murder by The Dead
Vengeance from the grave. Until, of course, The Shadow figures this shit out. And he always does. By the way, this was one of the most popular radio shows of all time.
So, have at it. Enjoy your open stream day today, and we will be back later with some programming and, of course, your lesson from The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge.
Good Morning, Musicologists. This is one of my favorite days here in The Mermaid Lounge because the Sixties are back once again with all the great music that goes with it.
Bob Dylan never ceases to amaze.
11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Rough and Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan NEW!
Bob Dylan released his 39th album a bit earlier this year at the age of 79. The man never ceases to amaze. He has been at this for nearly 60 years, and he remains as in touch with the world around him now as he was when he was young. I include this review because it says it all perfectly, and prevents me from writing a tome here.
3:00 p.m. The Sixties, Volume Two: Various Artists
This is, without a doubt, my favorite playlist (along with Volume One, which we aired last time around. You can sing along with The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane, The Zombies, Buffalo Springfield, The Doors, Otis Redding, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and all the rest of the artists that inspired the creation of #BecomeUngovernable Radio.
Tune in. Turn on. Drop out. Good advice for a Sunday. Do it.
Happy Sunday, Musicologists! We are here in The Mermaid Lounge where we never sleep and the music never stops. It has been running 24/7 since February of 2017.
Joni Mitchell released the amazing album, Court & Spark, on this day in music history.
Here’s Sunday’s musical lesson:
January 17, 1963: The Beatles played their usual lunchtime gig at The Cavern Club, and then at the Majestic Ballroom in Birkenhead in the evening. The Majestic tickets all sold in advance. With literally hundreds of fans turned away, it was definitely time to look for a bigger venue.
January 17, 1964: The Rolling Stones released their first EP, which included You Better Move On, Poison Ivy, Bye Bye Johnny, and Money.
January 17, 1966: The Turtles released the song You Baby on this day. By the way, The Turtles were a great little band.
January 17, 1967:The Daily Mail ran a story about a local council survey finding 4,000 holes in the road in Lanashire, inspiring John Lennon’s contribution to the Beatles’ amazing A Day In The Life.
Also on this day, the Jimi Hendrix Experience recored a session for Radio Luxembourg’s Ready Steady Radio. The band ran up a $6.21 bar bill which they could not afford to pay. That would change soon.
January 17, 1970: The Doors performed the first of several concerts at the Felt Forum in New York City.
Also on this day, Led Zeppelin II would take over the #1 Album spot from Abbey Road after an 11-week run.
January 17, 1972: Neil Young released the great single Heart of Gold, with friends Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor singing background vocals.
Meanwhile, Paul Simon released his hit Mother and Child Reunion.
And a section of Highway 51 in South Memphis, Tennessee, was renamed Elvis Presley Boulevard. It was intended to be the entire road, but a church objected to their section being named after Elvis the Pelvis. No sense of humor.
January 17, 1974: Joni Mitchell’s amazing album, Court and Spark, was released on this day.
Bob Dylan also released Planet Waves on this day.
January 17, 1975: Bob Dylan released another great album on this day a year later called Blood On The Tracks.
Born On This Day
January 17, 1927: The amazing Eartha Kitt was born on this day in North, South Carolina.
January 17, 1949: Mick Taylor, guitarist for both John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and the Rolling Stones, was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England.
January 17, 1955: Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Steve Earle was born in Fort Monroe, Virginia. Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Gretchen Peters, and Shawn Colvin have covered his tunes.
And that is it for today’s lesson. Back with the line-up soon.
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 Mermaid Lounge! It is Friday here, and we’ve got some great music coming your way! But first, our lesson.
The Original Supremes, formerly known as The Primettes. That’s Barbara Martin on the left, the only one that was legally ‘of age’ to sign the Motown contract in 1961. Find out more below.
Here’s your lesson!
January 15, 1958: Elvis Presley records Hard Headed Woman, Trouble, New Orleans, King Creole, and Crawfish. All in a day’s work for The King.
January 15, 1961: The Supremes sign on with Motown Records. At this time there are four Supremes (once called The Primettes): Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard, and Barbara Martin. All but Martin are under 18 and require parental permission before signing. Diana Ross was just sixteen. Martin sings on their first album, but leaves the group after a year and is not replaced.
January 15, 1964: The Beatles play live at Cinema Cyrano in Versailles, France, in front of an audience of 2,000 people. It’s a warm up for a three-week engagement at the Olympia Theatre that would begin the following night.
Meanwhile, back in Chicago, a legal shitshow is taking place between Capitol Records and Vee Jay Records. Capitol filed an injunction that prohibited Vee Jay from manufacturing or distributing any more Beatles records. Vee Jay, in turn, files suit against both Capitol and Swan Records, which owned the rights to She Loves You. Most of the contracts in the early days of rock n’ roll revolved around individual releases. You can read all the details here in The Beatles Bible, which is my personal bible for Beatles information.
January 15, 1965: Bob Dylan recorded Maggie’s Farm at Columbia Recording Studios in New York.
Also on this day, The Who’s first single, I Can’t Explain, is released in the UK. Jimmy Page helps The Who out on guitar on this one.
January 15, 1966: The Supremes song My World Is Empty Without You enters the charts.
January 15, 1967: Before The Rolling Stones appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, Mick Jagger agrees to change the line “let’s spent the night together” to “let’s spend some time together.” He is obviously visibly annoyed when he is sings the altered lyrics.
January 15, 1971: George Harrison released My Sweet Lord in the UK.
January 15, 1972: Don McLean’s epic American Pie hits #1 in the US. It runs 8:36 seconds long, and you have to flip the 45 record over to hear the whole thing. (I remember that.)
January 15, 1977:Hotel California by The Eagles goes to #1 on the Album charts.
Born On This Day
January 15, 1941: Don Van Vliet, also known as Captain Beefheart, was born in Glendale, California.
January 15, 1948: Ronnie Van Zant, vocalist with Lynyrd Skynyrd, was born in Jacksonville, Florida.
January 15, 1952: Melvin Gayle, cellist with Electric Light Orchestra, was born in London.
And that is today’s lesson from the college. We’ll be back shortly with the line-up.
Here we are again in The Mermaid Lounge, and we have successfully made it past mid-week in the Land of Oz. We have your lesson all ready for you.
Little Richard made his debut on the charts on this day in 1956.
Here’s your lesson!
January 14, 1955: Alan Freed’s New York Rock n’ Roll Ball kicked off at St. Nicholas Arena in Harlem. It featured Fats Domino, The Drifters, Big Joe Turner and The Moonglows.
January 14, 1956: A new talent debuted on the charts on this date with his first single, Tutti Frutti. Little Richard’s place in music history was born.
January 14, 1963: Charlie Watts made his Rolling Stones debut at the Flamingo Jazz Club in Soho, London.
January 14, 1967: The Human Be-in (A Gathering of Tribes), a forerunner to major outdoor rock concerts, took place at Golden State Park in San Francisco with 25,000 people in attendance. The event featured Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Big Brother & The Holding Company.
January 14, 1969: The movie, Monterey Pop, a documentary about another outdoor festival, The Monterey Pop Festival of 1967, made its debut in theaters across the country.
January 14, 1970: Diana Ross performed for the final time with The Supremes at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, where she introduced Jean Terrell as her replacement. Terrell would lead the Supremes to another seven chart hits before they disbanded.
January 14, 1971: The Temptations released their great hit Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).
January 14, 1972: Paul Simon released his second solo album (self-titled). It results in two great hits, Mother and Child Reunion and Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard.
Born On This Day
January 14, 1936: Clarence Carter, who had the hits Patches and Slip Away (a great song) was born in Montgomery, Alabama.
January 14, 1938: Allen Toussaint was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he makes his mark as a piano player, songwriter and producer. Over his long career, he worked with Paul Simon, The Neville Brothers, and Lee Dorsey, among many others.
January 14, 1948: Robert Burnett (aka, T-Bone Burnett) was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He worked in Bob Dylan’s band, and produced Elton John, John Mellencamp, and Counting Crows.
January 14, 1969: Dave Grohl, singer and drummer with Nirvana, and the great frontman for Foo Fighters, was born in Warren, Ohio. He’ll be In The Spotlight this evening.
That’s all, folks, as they say in the cartoons. We’ll be back with the line-up.
Goo d Morning, Music Trivia Lovers! Here’s all the information that’s fit to print from The Mermaid Lounge!
Jimi Hendrix performed at the Bag O’Nails Club in London on this day with Paul McCartney and Ringo in the audience.
Here’s today’s lesson:
January 13, 1962: Bob Dylan performed at the San Remo Coffee House in Schenectady, New York.
January 13, 1965: The first day of recording sessions for Dylan’s album Bringing It All Back Home began on thiis day. He recorded Subterranean Homesick Blues and It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.
Also on this day, The Who release their first single, I Can’t Explain.
January 13, 1966: The Rolling Stones receive their third Gold record for the album December’s Children, which contains Get Off My Cloud, As Tears Go By, and I’m Free.
Also on this day, The Beach Boys enter the Billboard Top 100 for the 23rd time with the song Barbara Ann. it was recorded “live” at a party staged in a recording studio, and actually features Dean Torrance of Jan & Dean on lead vocals.
January 13, 1967: Jimi Hendrix performed at the Bag O’Nails Club in London. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr attended the show.
January 13, 1968: The Beatles remained at #1 for a third week with Hello Goodbye. In just four years, The Beatles had spent 40 weeks at #1 with fifteen #1 songs.
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles went to #1 on the R & B chart with I Second That Emotion on this day.
January 13, 1969: Elvis Presley returned to American Sound Studios in Memphis to record Suspicious Minds.
January 13, 1972: Aretha Franklin performs the first of two concerts at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. It is recorded for her live album, Amazing Grace, which sells over two million copies when released in June.
January 13, 1973: Carly Simon’s album, No Secrets, with her hit song You’re So Vain, goes to #1 in America.
Yes, the sun is out for a change here. Let’s see how long it lasts. But in the meantime, we have all the news that’s fit for a trivia buff.
Sam Cooke. His voice was made for soul.
Here’s today’s lesson:
January 9, 1962: Sam Cooke releases Twistin’ The Night Away, a great fucking song.
January 9, 1963: Charlie Watts joins the Rolling Stones on drums, replacing Tony Chapman.
January 9, 1965: The Beatles begin nine weeks at #1 on the US Album chart with Beatles ’65, their fourth #1 album.
January 9, 1967: The Buffalo Springfield release one of the greatest songs in history, For What It’s Worth.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, The Beatles supervised the recording of the flutes, trumpets, piccolos and flugelhorn for Penny Lane.
January 9, 1969: The Beatles owned #1 on the UK Album chart with The Beatles (also known affectionately as, The White Album).
January 9, 1970: During their UK tour, Led Zeppelin played Royal Albert Hall on Jimmy Page’s 26th birthday. John Lennon, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton were in attendance.
January 9, 1976: Queen was at #1 on the UK singles chart with Bohemian Rhapsody.
Born On This Day
January 9, 1941: American singer, songwriter, musician and activist Joan Baez was born in Staten Island, New York. She recorded and released her debut album in 1960 at the age of nineteen. She is the first singer to record songs written by Bob Dylan.
January 9, 1944: James Patrick “Jimmy” Page was born in Heston, Middlesex, England. he was a session musician before forming The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. One of the greatest guitarists on the planet.
And that is it. It’s Saturday. Your lesson should be light and it is. Have a great day and we’ll be back with the line-up.
Here we are again hanging out in The Mermaid Lounge cramming in my musical duties before an opening shift. I hope you are soaking all this knowledge in like a sponge.
Tom Petty (& The Heartbreakers) with his Gibson Flying V.
Here’s your lesson for Wednesday:
January 6, 1957: Elvis Presley makes his third and final appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, where he sings seven songs, including Hound Dog, Don’t Be Cruel, and Heartbreak Hotel. Of course, they only show Elvis the Pelvis from the waist up.
January 6, 1958:Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis hits #2 where it will remain for four weeks before dropping down. What’s keeping it from #1? At The Hop by Danny & The Juniors. (Are you fucking kidding me?)
January 6, 1964: The Rolling Stones headlined their first UK tour, with The Ronettes as the opening act.
January 6, 1966: The Beatles’ We Can Work It Out is awarded a Gold record, two days before it begins a three-week stay at #1.
January 6, 1968: Gibson patents its signature Flying V Electric Guitar.
January 6, 1973: Carly Simon hits #1 with You’re So Vain, and people continue to obsess to this day trying to figure out for whom the song is written. Carly’s conflicting answers shed no light on this mystery.
January 6, 1975: Pink Floyd begins recording their album Wish You Were Here, after abandoning their original idea of recording an album making music using ordinary household items. Thankfully.
January 6, 1993: Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman leaves the group after 30 years because he didn’t see anything new coming on the horizon.
January 6, 2007: “Sneaky Pete” Kleinow, one of the finest pedal steel guitarists ever who played with The Flying Burrito Brothers, died in Petaluma, California, of complications from Alzheimers.
Born On This Day
January 6, 1937: R & B singer-songwriter Doris Troy was born Doris Elaine Higginsen in The Bronx, New York.
January 6, 1946: Syd Barrett, vocalist and guitarist for Pink Floyd, was born in Cambridge, England.
January 6, 1947: Sandy Denny was born in London. She would become the lead singer of Fairport Convention, and the only guest singer on a Led Zeppelin song, The Battle of Evermore.
January 6, 1951: Blues singer Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds was born in Detroit, Michigan.
And that, my friends, is it from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge.
Good Morning, Students! It appears that it was a very quiet day in rock n’ roll history. Of course, there’s more than this but, frankly, we dont’ give a shit about them.
The Whiskey a Go Go. The first real discotheque that ever lived.
Here’s your lesson. It’s an easy day:
January 2, 1964: The Rolling Stones perform I Wanna’ Be Your Man, written for them by Lennon & McCartney, on Britain’s Top Of The Pops.
January 2, 1965: The Beatles made it two weeks at #1 with I Feel Fine.
January 2, 1969: The Beatles began filming for the Let It Be documentary at Twickenham Studios in London.
Also on this day, Led Zeppelin and opening act, Alice Cooper, performed at the Whiskey a Go Go in Los Angeles, the first of four nights they would perform there.
January 2, 1971: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (a fine band indeed) released a cover of Jerry Jeff Walker’s Mr. Bojangles, and it entered the Billboard Top 40 on this day, where it would peak at #9. The song remained on the charts for an amazing 36 weeks.
January 2, 1978: Jackson Browne released the song Running On Empty.
That is your very easy day from the College. We’ll be back soon with today’s musical line-up!
#BecomeUngovernable Radio 