the Rock Report

Well, according to the website of the UK band, Oasis, it’s official.

Noel Gallagher — who, along with brother Liam, created the group — has left the band.

In fact, his reasoning is simple: According to the singer, he can’t get along with his guitarist brother.
Of course, anyone who’s followed the band (probably best known for their hit, Wonderwall) knows that whatever happens within the band in never “set in stone”. They’ve been prone to angry outbursts, personnel difficulties and even on-stage problems for years now.

If Noel actually does make his departure permanent, will this be the end of the raucous band?? Only time will tell … but if I hear anything new, you’ll certainly be the first to know, okay??

SAYING GOOD-BYE TO TEDDY

Today, with the funeral and burial of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), we said goodbye to an oasis of a different kind …

When we look back at the turbulent late-Sixties, many of us see the Kennedy brothers as a respite against the hawkish ultra-conservatives whom we often blamed for our involvement in Vietnam as well as many social ills we were facing.

Over the years, and long after both John and Bobby left us, we began to see “Teddy” as one who, although part of that mighty Hyannisport dynasty, championed the cause of the common man.
Yes, he had his drinking problem (which was overcome with the help of his lovely second wife, Vicki).  Of course, we remember Chappaquiddick … but he honestly repented for that and had more than made up for it (besides, over the past forty years, we’ve seen infinite similar cases where severe emotional trauma causes immediately-irrational behaviour).
But, while his entire personal record wasn’t perfect (and he spent years expunging and cleaning it), his desire to serve and bring relief and justice for all people was undeniable.

At the end, Teddy was working with the President and others to formulate a new and improved health-care package for Americans who need it.  His last few days — at least those where he was awake and aware — were filled with song, laughter … and concern for those issues that were directly affecting the people of this country.

One TRR reader put it this way:  “In the Congress Ted Kennedy was the closest thing to a major rock star than any one could imagine.”  I’m inclined to agree …

The news hit me like a ton of bricks when I heard it yesterday:
The legend that started as “New York’s Demo Queen”, Ellie Greenwich, has died at the age of 68.  Undoubtedly, she was the greatest and most prolific female songwriter the rock world has ever known.

Along with her then-husband, Jeff Barry, she churned out hits that will forever be part of our musical heritage.  In fact, some of my musical mates have said that she was the female equivalent to Smokey Robinson, as she could pen more emotion into her songs than anyone!

Now, for you who aren’t familiar with the Barry/Greenwich team (and why Jeff was always listed first in the credits is beyond me!), see if you remember these hits:

• Chapel of Love 
• Doo Wah Diddy
• Leader of The Pack 
• Twist and Shout 
• Da-Doo-Ron-Ron 
• I Can Hear Music 
• Baby, I Love You 
• Be My Baby
• Shout
• River Deep, Mountain High
• Hanky Panky
• Look of Love

There are hundreds of other hits — too many to mention in this post (so click the link, okay?) — that she co-wrote with either her husband or others.  But as you can see by those few examples, and to put it mildly, her songwriting helped put stateside rock firmly on the map!

But Ellie (her last name, btw [and because I’ve heard it spoken wrong too many times], was pronounced “GREN’-ich”.  Yeah … like the Village …) did more than just write.

As a part of the famed Brill Building team of songwriters, she discovered a talented songwriter/singer named Neil Diamond, and co-produced his songs Cherry, Cherry and Kentucky Woman (also, along with Jeff, she sang background on some of Neil’s hits).

She also co-wrote songs for The Monkees … and even did the voice of tambourine-playing Betty Cooper as part of the cartoon singing-group The Archies.

In 1985, a musical about Ellie’s contributions to our genre, appropriately called Leader of The Pack, opened at the Ambassador Theatre in New York and was nominated for the prestigious Tony Award.  The show not only showcased her music (she would come onstage as her modern-day self in the finale) but also introduced future stars like Dinah Manoff (Empty Nest) and Jasmine Guy (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air).

Ellie died of a heart attack at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in NYC on Wednesday, just a few days after she was admitted for treatment of pneumonia.  This Eagle … and music fans from around the world … are mourning the loss of music’s first lady of songwriting.

Today, earthly music sounds a little sadder, a little forlorn.  But, as you read this, she’s among the greats like Buddy, Elvis, John, Jimi and others — writing and arranging new songs for the celestial band.  Soon, the skies will be brighter … and thatmusic will carry on each breeze we feel …

THIS JUST IN: Ellie Greenwich — singer and songwriter who composed such hits as Be My Baby, Da-Doo-Ron-Ron and River Deep, Mountain High with husband/collaborator Jeff Barry — has just died. More info as I get it, and I’ll report later this evening …

Ooooookayyyyyyy … so I got
word yesterday that The Who’s Pete Townshend’s gonna “floss”.
Ummm … good for him, I thought. Soooooooo??

Actually, the guitarist announced Monday that he’s writing a new musical (which is gonna premier in 2011) called “Floss.”

“As a 19-year-old, with ‘My Generation’, I wrote the most explicitly ageist song in rock. At 64, I now want to take on aging and mortality, using the powerfully angry context of rock’n'roll,” Townshend says.

The play’s gonna be about the marital difficulties of a middle-aged couple (geez … where’d he get that idea??). “Floss,” incidentally, is the wife’s name in the play.

Some of the songs may track on an upcoming Who album next year — which tells you that the band isn’t planning on giving up anytime soon.

JUST A FEW DAYS FROM NOW …

we’ll know the #1 Independent Artist of 2009 … and I’m bettin’ on The Fore! These fore lads from Kent and London (Spencer, Nathan, Si and Matt) serve up the best Mersey-dirty Hamburg rock this side of The Beatles (hey … that’s what their newest fans have told me!).
With a tremendous fan base, two top-selling indie albums, some great awards and honours from all over the rock spectrum, it’s time to put ‘em right where they belong: at NUMBER ONE!!
So do yerself, the lads — and all rock-n-roll — a favor:click the following link, dig some of their fab tracks, and vote by clicking “Become A Member!”.
And that link is http://www.jango.com/music/The+Fore?l=0.
On behalf of The Fore, thanks …

Geez … and just when ya thought Bob Dylan had run out of ideas:

Yesterday, while doing his BBC radio program in London, Bob Dylan admitted …

(now, wait! First, I wantcha to remember the way Dylan sounded during his musical heyday. Breathy voice, indecipherable lyrics, loads of slurred notes …)
Okay … ya ready?? Then let me go back and get a running start at that sentence again:

Yesterday, while doing his BBC radio program in London, Bob Dylan admitted he’d like to be the voice of a GPS navigation system!
Can you imagine it?
“Nawwww, THAT ain’t where it’s at!*” “Don’t you understand, it’s not my problem?*” or, as he says himself, “Left at the next street. No, right. You know what? Just go straight.”
Now, he says that two auto makers have approached him to do it, but Bob admitted, “I probably shouldn’t do it because whichever way I go, I always end up at one place — on Lonely Avenue.”
(* Both verses from Positively 4th Street, from the album Highway 61 Revisited and the “B” side of the single, Like A Rolling Stone)

BUT … GOING ‘ROUND IN CIRCLES??

Yep … that’s what a recent journal of Biology has said!
Apparently, without using the sun or some other static object as a “compass” when walking in unfamiliar territory (even in the woods), humans tend to go in circles!

And, sans any static “reference point,” it says the next best thing is a hand-held compass … or a GPS …

which brings us back to Dylan. Let’s say you’re out in the woods, completely lost. You’re a bit worried, night’s falling, you’ve gotta get back to the house by dinnertime. No static reference points, no sunlight … but you do have a GPS!
As you begin to feel relieved, ya reach into your pocket for the gadget and turn it on …
Just to hear Bob Dylan tell you “gotta ‘gosheayt yer RIIIIITE, ‘n nen ya turn wheh Mistuh JONEZZZZ hangz is HAAAATan’ den HE c’n teh ya … wurr itzAAAAAT”.

You sit down and cry … and wait for the inevitable copter search …

Here are other candidates for the GPS voice:  The Byrds (Turn! Turn! Turn!), John Wayne (Ah don’t … give uh damn witch way ya turn.  Jus’ turn this rig!), US Army Drill Sergeant Tapia, (Left, Right, Left, Right, Laaaay-UFT!), Woody Allen (I … I just … uh, I don’t know this place mySELFahhh … I was … I mean, I was … kinda hopin’ … like, YOU … would, uh, y’know)  or (especially after Woody was done) Country Joe and the Fish, (Whoop-eeee, we’re all gonna die!).

Or we could just use a friggin’ map like everybody else does ..

Chrissie Hynde certainly isn’t a pretender when it comes to animal rights — and, when taking on the Golden Arches of the megacorporation, McDonald’s, she definitely isn’t chicken.

As we already know, the songstress has been protesting the calorie capital’s slaughter of poultry in order to make its chicken sandwiches.
But, today, she really went on the attack:

Lunchgoers in downtown Salt Lake City’s McDonald’s saw her launch a pretty heavy campaign this afternoon (she’ll be playing SLC’s Red Butte Garden this Sunday).
The singer unveiled an “I’m Hatin’ It” ad parody (you’ll be seeing it on billboards across the U.S. soon) for the diners. But, in one sense, she went a bit overboard, IMHO:

She presented kids with PETA’s controversial “Unhappy Meals,” which includes (now, think about how a little child would feel about these) a mean-looking “Ronald McDonald” cutout, a mangled plastic chicken, and a “blood”-filled packet with a message for McDonald’s to “Ketchup With the Times.”

Hynde joined forces with PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. I’ll have more on them in another post. IMHO, they’re not what they’re truly cracked up to be!) to launch the campaign because, in America, “Mickey-D’s” refuses to adopt the less cruel slaughter standards that the company already uses in Europe.

Now, this is true, although extremely disturbing” McDonald’s suppliers in this country use a method that often

• causes birds to suffer broken wings and broken legs
• have their throats cut while they are still conscious, and
• be scalded to death in defeathering tanks.

PETA—along with McDonald’s own animal welfare advisory panel—has urged the company to use a cruel slaughter method called “controlled-atmosphere killing” (CAK), which eliminates the worst abuses that birds suffer.

I think it’s the same one we use in our wars, isn’t it?? Somehow, “slaughter”, “killing” and “abuse” don’t exactly sound tantalizing, delicious our mouth-watering.

Y’know, I just realized I’m writing this on Meat-Free Monday. How fitting.
Nonetheless, thumbs up to Chrissie for having the gumption to take a stand against this BS. It’s enough to make a vegan outta anyone …

In a way, it’s sort of hard to imagine music without the great studio musician, Larry Knechtel, now.

Larry died Thursday in a Yakima, Washington hospital, near where he lived. He was 69.

We know that it was he who did that tremendous bass run on “The Byrds”‘ hit, Mr. Tambourine Man. He was also one of the famed Wrecking Crew (L.A.’s dynamite wall of studio musicians).
But … well, remember the somber, beautiful piano that was the backdrop for Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water? Guess who played it?
Right. Larry Knechtel

The man showed up on just about every record album of the time, from Monkees to Mamas and The Papas. He also played bass for the Shindogs every week (they were the house band for the TV show, Shindig!).

But that’s not all:

This superstar also played bass on Elvis Presley’s “Comeback” TV special and backed four different acts at the Monterey Pop Festival.
Still, Larry was probably best known in the 1970s as a member of the supergroup Bread, where he played guitar on their 1972 hit The Guitar Man” and either guitar, bass, piano or harmonica on such hits as “Baby I’m A Want You” (1971), “Everything I Own”, “Diary” and “Sweet Surrender” (all three in 1972) .

He also co-produced Sammy John’s album and single “Chevy Van” and was inducted into the Musician’s Hall of Fame in 2007.

Now … we already know the heavens are filled with rockers from John Bonham to Warren Zevon … and I’m sure they’re making quite a bit of good-time noise up there.

But can you imagine what it sounds like, now that Knechtel has joined that extensive band?  That distant, rolling thunder you hear late at night just might be him rehearsing …

See ya later tonight …

Yep … it’s been a hot summer all right! And it seems that, whenever we have one of these egg-frying heat waves, we begin hearing more songs that reflect the season.

For example, Summer In The City by the Lovin’ Spoonful. Not only does the song have a great beat, but it directly addresses the season’s heat as well. It can make the back of your neck feel dirty and gritty by hearing the jackhammers in the first half of the song.

One of the best versions of Sly and the Family Stone’s Hot Fun In The Summertime — the iconic sun-time classic about a “county fair in the country sun” — is the one they recorded shortly after their performance at Woodstock in 1969. A mix of blues, pop and a little soul, matched to a tempo that epitomized “them summer days”, the song’s been a standard on classic and oldies stations during the mid-year heat.

Of course, Mungo Jerry’s big (and only) hit, In The Summertime not only could cool the summertime heat, but it also was recorded in a skiffle style.

While side “A” was their biggest hit, side “B” was just as cool (it’s called Mighty Man).

There are quite a few others, but nothing can really compare to The Beach Boys’ All Summer Long for lounging outside, grabbing some rays or just frolicking in the pool.

Of course, today, you’ve got the same title but a different song in the ASL that recently gave Kid Rock a gold nod.  A tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd (complete with parts of Sweet Home Alabama) and summer memories, it’s a great song to cool down with!

One more:  The Fore’s hit relaxer, Lazy Day (not to be confused with the Spanky and Our Gang classic), gives every listener a “feel-good” attitude about love and summertime!

More sizzling summer tunes coming up … but, for now, I’m gonna go inspect the insides of my eyelids for a few hours.  Soooooooo …

see ya on the flip side.

August 18, 1969; the most famous rock festival in music history had finally come to a close.

It’d been promoted as “three days of peace and music” and was scheduled to end on Sunday, August 17.  But it continued into Monday morning thanks to all the rain delays and technical glitches.

Still, people began clearing out when yet another thunderstorm delayed performances at around 5 PM on Sunday. But around 35,000 stuck around for the final performance, which began at 9:00 a.m. Monday.
The last acts of the festival took the stage nine hours before, and included Johnny Winter, Blood Sweat & Tears, CSNY, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sha-Na-Na and, to close the festival, Jimi Hendrix.

450,000 … or 700,000?

Though it’s now legend that Woodstock drew a crowd of 450,000,  a Bethel, NY historian (remember, it was actually held in Bethel) says the true number is closer to 700,000! Because ticket sales were so poorly planned , there was no recap of those actually sold, and most fans got into the Festival for free, we’ll never really know the totals for certain.

This we do know: the organizers of the festival went $1.3-million in debt due to the festival, with expenses more than 300% over budget!

Although more than 5,000 people had to get medical treatment during the festival, it’s to the fans’ credit that only 800 that were drug-related.  Also among the 5,000 were eight miscarriages and four births! 

Can you imagine telling your friends that you were “born on Max Yasgur’s farm, in a makeshift hospital at Woodstock?”  How popular do you wanna be??  WOW!

Okay … I’ll be back tomorrow about this time (got some Studio assignments to complete before deadline, so we’re movin’ the next post to Wednesday afternoon) … so, until then, I’ll see ya on the flip side!

To many Elvis fans, it seemed rather odd that hardly anyone honored, or even mentioned, the King of Rock’s death on its 32nd anniversary a couple of days ago.

Perhaps it was that, as one TRR reader put it as part of a remark about Elvis’ death-day remembrance: “… in view of Michael Jackson’s recent death (honoring) it just didn’t seem right.”

In a way, she’s right.  But, then again, does anyone remember how Presley died??
It was from an overdose of medication — prescribed by his doctor, George “Dr. Nick” Nichopoulos.
Now … how did Michael die?
It was (and, here, I must add the disclaimer “allegedly” until the autopsy reports are officially released) from an overdose of medication — and the investigation is focused on it possibly being prescribed by one of his doctors, Conrad Murray.

Now, to help study that issue, we can conjure up the ghost of Elvis past.  Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense to continue “honoring” Presley’s death at all …

Another reader named “Red” wrote:  “You didn’t write anything about the kings death.  I bet you woudn’t forget john lennons”.  Well, I didn’t, and I won’t.  You see, there are some big differences between Presley’s death and that of the “Working Class Hero” and former Beatle:

• While Elvis had become clinically obese, John was in trim and energetic form.
• Presley was already taking too many prescription drugs (just like Michael) while Lennon was actually clean of them.
• Elvis’ opulent lifestyle was in direct contrast to that of John and Yoko, who (although living in the pricey Dakota highrise in New York City) were actually more interested in the simpler life.  Many reports have suggested that Presley’s financial flamboyance made it easier for him to get the prescriptions that eventually killed him.
• John spent years — from the last of the Beatles’ until his death in 1980 — campaigning for peace and love.  These, as important as they were (and are), were also indirect contributors to his death.
• Plainly put, Elvis killed himself with those prescriptions.  John Lennon was brutally murdered by a “fan” — one for whom John had autographed an album just hours before he was gunned down.

So we get back to the question:  Whose “death day” should we honor??

The answer, IMHO??  None.  Not Elvis’, not John’s … not even Michael’s!

The reason’s simple:  If we actually loved or appreciated what these superstars stood for … if we still dig the music of early/later Elvis Presley, Beatle/solo John Lennon, or Jackson 5/solo artist Michael Jackson, then it’s their lives we should be honoring … not the cold harshness of their deaths!

Am I right??

See ya on the flip side …

Hey … remember the sparkling glove Michael Jackson was wearin’ the night he introduced his famous “moon-walk” to his fans on the Motown 25 special back in ‘83?
Well, it’ll be auctioned off for charity at the annual Music Icons event coming up in November at the Hard Rock Café in New York’s Times Square..

Jackson gave the one-of-a-kind, left-handed glove to one of the founding members of the Commodores (Walter Orange), and it’s considered one of the most important pieces of the King of Pop’s history.

Orange remembers, “Michael came up behind me and put his hand over my eyes and said, ‘Guess who?’ I knew who it was because I felt the one glove on his left hand and no glove on the other. When I once again asked him for his autograph, Michael gave me the glove he wore that night instead, still refusing to give me his autograph! He was always a real prankster, even as a little boy, so I asked him if he was serious about giving me the glove, and he assured me that he was.”

Other Jackson memorabilia being auctioned off include a stage-worn fedora hat worn by Michael in his performance at the 1995 MTV Music Awards with a letter from Lisa Marie Presley Jackson stating its authenticity; zombie costumes from the Thriller video, a costume Jackson wore during his final United States concert in April of 2002; his stage-worn “Bad” jacket (autographed by him), record awards and other items from his historic career.

Also going up for sale are early Madonna demo tapes, unreleased Jimi Hendrix lyrics and items from Bob Dylan, Elvis, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Kurt Cobain and Janis Joplin.

Proceeds from the sale of the glove will go to MusiCares, which provides help for music people in times of need. Its services and resources cover financial, medical and personal emergencies, and each case is treated with integrity and confidentiality. It also focuses resources and attention of the music industry on human service issues that directly affect the health and welfare of the music community.

To learn more about the auction, click here.

Speaking of MusiCares, I see where Neil Young has been named their Person of the Year by the charitable arm of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (the Grammys). He’ll be saluted for his humanitarian efforts (such as Farm Aid) before the Grammys Awards on January 29.

WAS IT GRIEVING FOR PAY?

While the rest of the world mourned the death of Michael Jackson, records from Gary, Indiana show that Marshall Thompson and the Chi-Lites as well as (ready??) Michael Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, were paid to attend the city’s memorial to the late singer last month! WBBM-AM radio in Chicago reports that the elder Jackson and the Chi-Lites apparently split $5,000 — while the city suffered a $3,000 loss on the event.
Coincidentally, Thompson and Jackson are not only best friends, but Thompson is Jackson’s partner in the “record company” that Joe was pushing, even before the memorial at the Staples Center shortly after his son’s death.

Well, that’s all the time we have for this edition, but stay tuned, ’cause there’s more to come. And, later this week, look for the Report to come to you each afternoon. But, until later today …
I’ll see ya on the flip side …