the Rock Report

Its the most absurd thing Ive ever heard.  How can that have happened since we started it?

And that, yardbirds, is the third sentence of an email I received just this morning!  It was from a guy in Nawth Cackalacky (North Carolina, to you purists) who could not beee-lieve that a bunch of English people came over here and changed our music!

Ummmm … NEWS FLASH:  Once before, as I recall, a bunch of English people came over here and changed things.  It was called … the settlement of America (like around, say, 1620 or so??  Got it … pilgrim??).

But I digress (??? I have … never … used that word before in a sentence!  Sumbuddy look it up quick!!).  Yes, the British Invasion took ahold of America (as it did every other country whose name started with a vowel or consonant!). 

Y’see, the Invasion bands hit with something that our rockers were lacking for the most part:  stage presence.  And they weren’t concerned about being formulaic — everything they did emitted spontaniety … excitement … LIFE!

Now, these same qualities … coupled with the strong backbeat, solid rhythm, great harmonies and song structures that made the Invasion famous … are being carried on in the new UK band, The Fore.  You’ve heard me talk about ‘em time and again, and many of you have become solid fans of Matt, Spencer, Si, and …

Nathan.  Now, I’ve talked a bit about the others (Spencer, the most tremendous tailor of tempo and tunes [bass player, vocalist, soon to have a lovely Mrs. by his side], Matt, a man who’s destined to give Clapton a run for his money [lead guitar, vocals; also destined to be a daddy again soon!] and Si, whose drumming would make Ringo jealous [and possibly Dave Clark.  If Dave played drums …]).
But Nathan (their rhythm guitarist/vocalist) adds a versatility, humour and creativity that makes this band the one to watch for in 2010!!  He’s multi-fingered as well as talented, has a voice that some have compared to Elvis, Gene Vincent and Liza Manelli

 NOW to see if he’s really reading this … lol …

(JUST KIDDING, of course!  I’ve also heard from mates in the UK that the pipes are somewhat like The Pirates’ Johnny Kidd).

Already with a great following and reputation (can that be done at the same time??), he and Spencer have also branched out into a new ELO-style venture called The 286 with Nathan “Roy Wood” Persad on the drums (he also plays bass, guitar, bass guitar, cello and stereos when the salesmen aren’t looking).  I’ll have more on them soon. 
No, make that on “The 286“.  I understand Van Morrison doesn’t want his old group promoted anymore …

But, next … the story of the legend of BritBlues … ALEXIS KORNER!  (Now, if ya dig the blues, you’re not gonna want to miss this!!)

So, stay tuned, and I’ll see ya on the flip side!

He was one of the truest legends from the British blues scene of the Sixties — yet very few Americans have actually heard of him.
Long John Baldry (6′ 7″ — hence, the “Long” in his name), a strong-voiced blues singer from Northamptonshire, England. was born in 1941 and, by the early Sixties, had already established a name for himself by playing blues gigs in clubs like the Station Hotel in Richmond — one of the earliest venues of The Rolling Stones.

Then came a shot with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated (I’ll have a post on Korner next week).
In fact, with them, he  recorded the first British blues album in 1962, R&B at the Marquee.  As part of the band, he found himself occasionally amongst future superstars Charlie Watts and Mick Jagger (Stones) and Jack Bruce (Cream).  At times, Keith Richards and Brian Jones would appear with Blues, Inc. as well … and, as the fame of the Stones spread, so did John’s:  He appeared with them in support at their first concert at the Marquee Club, and was the announcer on their only live album, 1966’s Got Live If You Want It! He also became friends with Paul McCartney after a show at the Cavern, and was invited to play on one of The Beatles’ 1964 TV specials.

Baldry also had his hand in the careers of other superstars by way of the bands he either joined or created:  First, there was the Cyril Davies R&B All-Stars, which boasted a young Jimmy Page on guitar.

Then, at Cyril’s death, he took over and renamed the band Long John Baldry and the Hoochie-Coochie Men.  Jimmy left the band (Geoff Bradford took his place) and John found a new singer in a busker named Rod Stewart (Rod already had a taste of success with Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions, and occasionally busks, even today*.)
(*=for our stateside readers: busking was simply “street corner music”, usually with just a guitar, harmonica and a hat or box in front for donations. See the beginning of The Fore’s video, Love For Sale, as an example …)

By 1965, there was another name change for John’s band — it became Steampacket and included himself, Rod, Brian Auger (later of Trinity) and Julie Driscoll.  A year later, though, the band broke up and John formed a new ensemble called Bluesology. This included Elton Dean on vocals, John Baldry on vocals and guitar, and a young keyboardist named Reg Dwight … who, eventually, changed his name to reflect both Dean and Baldry and became … Elton John!

(Pt. II will be posted on Monday, so stay tuned …)  For more on Long John Baldry, just click the following link:

Lemme quote the email verbatim:
Dear Traiter
re youre blog
who do u thnk u r braging about being part them? if u so proud of it go on back over 2 them we dnt need ur likes here.

Hmph … now why do I get the impression this guy’s not a brain surgeon in his off-web life??

Man, I love the UK, and am honoured to have their blood running through my veins.  But I am American, and very proud of it!!

CONTRARY TO COUNTRY??

WAIT!  The story gets better!
Y’see, bein’ from the Appalachian foothills, where country music runs through the backwoods thicker than gravy over a plate of mashed potatoes, the people who know me as a music journalist expect coverage of their favorite twangin’ stars instead of this (quote) “bonga-banging s**t that kids are playing today” (man, I’ve gotta get better filters on my inbox!).

But, if ya listen to today’s “country” (no longer “and Western” since, according to Nashville, it doesn’t reflect the “Western” acoustic style — and because, they say, it almost “stereotypes the West”), you’ll find it’s based on … electric guitars, harmony, drums — and, often, a 4/4 beat.  Listen to some hits from Rascal Flatts, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban and others … and tell me it’s not basically the same as classic rock!  Just a different singing style, a couple/three extra instruments (fiddle/steel guitar or banjo/steel/fiddle) … but the tempo, rhythm, attack and even song structure is almost identical in many cases.

Now, when ya listen to The Fore do That’s A Lie, you can almost hear The Everly Brothers.  The Beatles covered Act Naturally — the Buck Owens classic — on the flip side of Yesterday.  McCartney put a very country-flavoured tune called Sally G on the back side of Junior’s Farm — in fact, there were some who thought it was a cut from some live country radio show (and, speakin’ of country:  Is it just me, or does anybody else see a resemblance between Macca and an early Bill Anderson?)!

And let’s not forget that one of the biggest hits of the Invasion era — the DC5’s Bits and Pieces (written by my friend [IMHO, along with Lennon/McCartney, one of the greatest songwriters in the UK] Ron Ryan) was a country song at first!

So, what I’m sayin’ to the lady who wrote is: Don’t Knock The Rock!!  If not for the classic rock and roll, you wouldn’t have country as you like it today!

Now, I’m workin’ on a piece on one of the most legendary blues/rock forces in history — a chap named Long John Baldry — and hope to have it on here soon.  If any of you have personal notes, acquaintances, memories or whatever of or with him, just send ‘em in to therockrelic@yahoo.com.

Okay … that’s it for now. But stay tuned, ’cause, along with info on LJB, I’m gonna be unveiling a brand new act that’s … well, lemme keep it a secret for now (don’tcha just hate it when someone does that?? But, trust me, it’ll be fab!).

I’ll see ya on the flip side …

Yep. He’s finally made it to intergalactic stardom …

Former Beatle and working-class hero, the late John Lennon now has a crater on the Moon named after him.

It’s called The John Lennon Peace Crater, and it’s on the earth side (not the Dark Side. That belongs to Pink Floyd …) of the Moon. Six kilometres wide and 990 metres deep, it’s located in the Lake Of Dreams.

Personally, I believe the man deserves the honor! After all, our orbiting orb has long been associated with love and peace. So who better to name part of it after than John??

THE FACES (minus Rod) TO REUNITE

‘Tis true!! The rest of the surviving members, minus Rod Stewart (who has “prior obligations”), will be playing a one-off gig on October 25 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. It’ll be part of a Music Members Benevolent Fund benefit.

Though Rod won’t be making it, Classic Rock magazine reports that “a host of special guests will help out on vocals.”

Still, you’ll have guitarist Ronnie Wood (who started touring with Rolling Stones even before Faces broke up in 1975); Kenney Jones (who replaced Keith Moon as drummer for The Who in 1979); and keyboardist Ian McLagan (who went on to solo and session work.).
Of course, their amazing bassist, Ronnie “Plonk” Lane, died awhile back of cancer, so Bill Wyman (ex-Rolling Stones) will fill his spot.

Dickie Peterson, lead singer and bassist with Blue Cheer, died yesterday (12 Oct.) after a long battle with cancer. Jim Morrison called the band “The single most powerful band I’ve ever seen.” They were best known for their re-make of Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues” (this was the second of three major remakes of that song; the other two were done by The Who and country star Alan Jackson).  Peterson was 61.

Okay … that’s it for now.  i’ll see ya later this evening …

Eight years ago, on a dark and stormy night in A-Town, I’d just finished the first edition of a hand-held (hmph … sounds more timely.  Usedta be “hard-copy”) newspaper called The Window and didn’t wanna just twiddle thumbs (well, if they’d been mine, maybe …).  Realizing that newspapers have the mystical power of stimulating cats’ bladders, I wanted to build one that would be impervious to the incontinent. 
 
TA-DAAAAA!!!  Enter the Great Internet Newspaper,  a sort-of-literary speed-bump on the info superhighway!! It lasted for all of 312 weeks!  And it apparently caught on pretty well, because, by the time all was said and done, the ’spaper netted around 35,000 faithful followers each month (I assume they were faithful.  Dunno if Letterman or Gosselin were readin’ it or not …).

Due to endeavour-overload (sounds like a NASA phrase, for some reason …), I hadta close shop in 2006 with the promise to readers that it’d be back just as soon as the smoke cleared a bit.

Suddenly, all the cheering stopped … Anyway,

It’s back online as promised (awright … just cussed me out??) with news from both sides of the Atlantic and other articles that no cat can pee on.  And, since I just put it back online, there’ll be a lot more added to it as time goes on!
In this issue (and, btw, each one will be archived [andnoitsnotablog]) you’ll find The Fore, Ron Ryan, Look To The Stars, Marge Simpson naked, strange news (other than the preceding), quotes, links and more!

So here’s yer invite to join in the fun!  But, ABOVE all, keep yer dial set Right HERE … because this is where the rock’s gonna thrive, beyond nine-to-five,  stayin’ alive and in overdrive!
Now … enough jive … I fergot to give ya the link to the site: Just click greatinternetnewspaper.com … and yer there (no ads, pop-ups or coffee served …)

Okay … that’s it for my little off-subject thang. So, until tomorrow, when we get back to the bidness of Rocque and Rolle …
see ya on the flip side.

First up: We’ve just gotta give some industrial-strength kudos to Peter Criss, who just dropped some 411 into the mix by admitting he was diagnosed with breast cancer last year … but, thanx to early detection … has beaten the monster!

Natch, we’re thankful … but, infinitely more importantly, Pete has sounded a “wake-up call” throughout this breast cancer awareness mega-cause!

Yes, men can get it!! When they do, they gotta drop the macho BS and get treatment – otherwise, it can spread out and kill them as any other cancer could!

Dudes (yeah, I’m talkin’ to you!!), lemme ask ya: If you’ve been diagnosed as either at-risk or actually havin’ this disease, which is better: Bein’ so damned concerned with your “manly, robust, macho” image that you don’t get any treatment, or wantin’ to live badly enough to swallow yer friggin’ pride and “gettin’ ‘er done”??

Pete, you deserve mega props for bringin’ that out into the open and reminding us male people of this human species that, yeah … it can happen to us!
Great to know yer in remission, mate … hope ya have a lonnnng, healthy and rockin’ life!

Speakin’ of the big “C”, Shelby Singleton, aged 77, who bought Sun Records from Sam Phillips, died this past Wednesday from brain cancer.

After buying the label, e added greats like Roger Miller and Ray Stevens to his roster and songs like Bruce Channel’s “Hey! Baby” (the song — known for its harmonica backing — was the one that influenced John Lennon to add the instrument to Love Me Do).
Shel also produced hits on his own, like Jeannie C. Riley’s “Harper Valley P.T.A.”

While we cheer Pete Criss on during his remission, we also send condolences to Shel’s family and cohorts. The man was truly a legend and, without his influence, the country-music airwaves would’ve ended up sounding a mite different.

Okay … that’s all for this early go-round, but I’ll be back shortly with more, so stay tuned …

In the meantime, whether you’re a guy or gal, take a page from Peter Criss’ adventure and get that all-important check-up! Ya wanna keep yerself alive and well and on planet Earth for as long as ya can! After all … THE PARTY’S JUST STARTING!!

For years, we’ve heard the rumours that John Lennon wrote Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds as an ode to LSD (after all, the acronym spells LSD, right?).
And he said it was inspired by his son, Julian’s, pic of a girl in his class.

A real-life girl, later revealed as Lucy Vodden …

who died, tragically (and, in my opinion, senselessly), of lupus yesterday.

Now, I said “senselessly” because I worked with the National Lupus Foundation (Charlotte, NC branch) back in the early ’90s and (a year after my divorce) briefly dated a lady with the disease.*
And I know that Lucy could have been treated for this early-on, and had a full and favoured life.
Y’see, lupus is a disease whereby an overactive immune system attacks healthy organs of the body via the connective tissues, thus breaking them down.  It normally goes for the kidneys first, then liver, and finally the heart. 
There are three kinds of lupus:  SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus), discoid (which attacks the skin — the body’s largest organ.  This is what Seal has) and DIL (drug induced lupus — the only lupus that can be cured by stopping the effecting drug).  The treatment-of-choice is prednisone, a steroid.  Of course, there are dietary rules and regs to follow that will definitely help.  Ahhh, but back in the ’90s, most American hospitals gave their nurses no more than about thirty minutes of training in the disease!  Even today, many sufferers are left in the dark about it.

It’s a shame that this took a lovely young lady’s life.  With proper treatment, support and diet, it wouldn’t have done that.
Our condolences to her family and friends (including Julian) upon her loss.  Today, I figure Lucy’s in the sky … with Diamonds!!  RIP, Ms. Vodden …
(* My separation with Joyce had nothing to do with the disease. She was highly controlling and verbally abusive, and I don’t play that game …)

SIR PAUL’S ESSAY

An essay that was written by Paul McCartney when he was ten years old has been found in Liverpool’s Central Library where it lay, undiscovered, for over 50 years!

In fact, he beat hundreds of other school kids for his 1953 essay, which honoured the Queen’s coronation. In neat handwriting, he wrote of “the lovely young Queen Elizabeth”.

Thought to be one of the earliest surviving written works by Sir Paul, the essay gave him an early taste of appearing in public.
McCartney’s neat writing had the same curly ends on capital letters which he used later on the “B” of “Beatles” on Ringo’s drum skin.

In the essay, Macca compared the happy scenes that were expected outside Buckingham Palace with the coronation of William the Conqueror nine centuries earlier, when a massacre of Saxons took place. If you want to know more (and see part of the original script), just click here for the video.

FOLLOWING UP ON YESTERDAY At about 11 PM EST, I cut this rig off to get some needed rest. Tonight (as you can tell), I’ve hadta get back to the late-night gig once more, but it’s to do some rewrites that came in at the last minute. After this PM/AM run, expect earlier reports …
Gotta admit, though: One perk is this extra cuppa Earl Grey. I found ya don’t drink it … ya gotta savour it … and sip lightly.
Oh … and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich?? Their music has always pumped me up! And Hold Tight! does it best for the bird.

Allllllll that bein’ said (and all rewrites done and submitted), I’m gonna cut ‘er off and head for the great unknown (ie, dreamland …). So I’ll see u earlier tomorrow … on the flip side …

With heightened interest in The Beatles (due, in large part, to the new Rock Band game bearing their name and, in part, the digital remastering of their music library), UK TV/radio presenter Sir Terry Wogan has put himself in a recording studio along with Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and the Rolling Stones’ former bassist Bill Wyman to record covers of The Beatles’ classics.

These will be released on an album called Bandaged Together and will benefit the Children in Need program.

The idea was brought together by a group of Terry Wogan fans known as The TOGs (and ya gotta love the name: Terry’s Old Geezers and Gals).

“Last year, thanks to the TOGs, we raised about £3 million for Children In Need,” Sir Terry says. “We had Bandaged One which sold an awful lot and made hundreds of thousands of pounds for the charity. The idea this year is Bandaged Two and we are hoping to raise even more money.”

The album will include Sir Terry’s version of the Beatle anthem All You Need Is Love and is set to be released next month.

THE ART OF ELYSIUM

Awhile back, I mentioned a non-profit group called Art of Elysium, which Hugh Laurie (pictured) and his Band from TV supports.
Since then, I’ve had a few emails asking the musical question: What is Art of Elysium?

Okay … here’s the official blurb:

“The Art of Elysium is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 which encourages actors, artists and musicians to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling serious medical conditions.
They provide artistic workshops in the following disciplines: acting, art, comedy, fashion, music, radio, songwriting and creative writing.
They work with numerous hospitals and hospices throughout Los Angeles and have just opened in New York City.
For more information on The Art of Elysium please visit www.theartofelysium.org.”

I knowww … “Well … what does “elysium” mean??”
Actually, it comes from the Greek word, Ēlysion, which means paradise!
And what better feeling to give a child, huh??

See ya on the flip side …

I’ll talk later about my momentary “disappearance”. But, for now, let’s take a serious moment to remember some special people, okay?

First: the folk music world — in fact, anybody who loved the simple-but-soultouching sounds of that genre — is grieving tonight upon hearing that Mary Travers, the blonde beauty who belted out some of the most powerful protest songs of the Sixties with her partners, Paul Stookey and Peter Yarrow, died Wednesday evening of leukemia at age 72.

The Louisville, Kentucky native was considered both the soul and verve of Peter, Paul and Mary, whose songs like Puff, The Magic Dragon, If I Had A Hammer, Blowin’ In The Wind and Leaving On A Jet Plane, became legend. Their take-off of rock music, I Dig Rock and Roll Music (in which they mimic Donovan, Mamas and Papas and even The Beatles) was hilarious, and scored a “direct hit” against censorship.

Though they broke up and reunited many times before, their last performance was just four months ago in Brunswick, New Jersey. In hearing of her death, Peter Yarrow said, “…I do know there will always be a hole in my heart, a place where she will always exist that will never be filled by any other person. However painful her passing is, I am forever grateful for Mary and her place in my life.”
However, Paul Stookey (who was very close to Travers) said, “I am deadened and heartsick beyond words to consider a life without Mary Travers and honored beyond my wildest dreams to have shared her spirit and her career.”

We’re all honored, Paul … and she’ll be missed. But, now, her spirit is blowin’ in the wind …

And one of the most prolific and professional session drummers on planet Earth passed away of stomach cancer on Monday. Now, many statesiders haven’t heard of Bobby Graham, but, as anyone in the UK can tell you, he provided the backbeat of many songs that came out of the British Invasion.

In fact, it’s said that, all told, he played on 15,000 songs, including Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want To Be With You,” Petula Clark’s “Downtown” and Them’s original “Gloria.” He was 69.

He also provided the solid beat on the Kink’s “You Really Got Me” and “All Day And All Of The Night” (who can forget that dynamic drum bridge?) as well as on some of Herman’s Hermits’ hits.
But he was also drummer on the recordings of the Dave Clark Five (though Dave did play the drums during their live gigs). While, as you’ve read in earlier post, Ron Ryan was responsible for the DC5’s “Tottenham sound”, Graham provided the backbeat to it!
Legend has it that he was also asked to replace Pete Best in the Beatles before Ringo Starr but turned them down.

A dynamic personality as well as drummer, Bobby is going to be seriously missed by his mates and fans around the world … including this balding bird!

VERY SHORT TAKES:

Yes, as with everyone else who ever watched his movies or followed this lanky Texan, I’m very saddened by the death of Patrick Swayze. His devotion to his family, his lovely wife Lisa, his fans and his profession were traits that aren’t often seen these days.

Kanye?? The Prez?? Well, on the one hand, West has gotta start a heavy diet of humble pie. Look … he isn’t as great as he thinks he is (how many others are just as good and top stars as well??), he’ll undoubtedly “fade out” as most hip-hop stars do (check the stats: they’re the quickest to lose their fame, and the field’s wayyy too crowded) and he’s a flesh-and-blood mortal who, with his egoic attitude and choice of genres, has put himself in a very dangerous position!

The President?? Well, lemme ask ya: Does President Obama have the same rights as the rest of us? Though he’s leader of the country, doesn’t he have the right to an opinion? Besides, he was right when he called Kanye a “jackass”. The guys who broke this remark (which was supposed to be off-the-record) on (of all things!) Twitter rather than telling their bosses first should be terminated from their jobs (hey … they broke business etiquette as well as a number of in-house rules at ABC).

I’VE BEEN LATE BECAUSE business has really begun to pick up over here at Rock Central, both with The Fore promos, extra articles up the yingyang, business reviews, the sites … and, of course, regular things like research, cleaning, errands, etc. But stay tuned: I’ve found a way to expedite these things and get more time to keep up yer fave rock blog!
So I’ll be back in less than 24 with more! Until then, I’ll …
see ya on the flip side …

First: I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention the passing of a modern-day cinematic legend.
Patrick Swayze lost his tremendous battle against pancreatic cancer yesterday. While millions of fans are paying their respects on Twitter, Facebook, in emails and call-ins, others are watching their copies of Dirty Dancing and Red Dawn, remembering the man who some had called our generation’s James Dean.
Patrick was an art form in every way, whether in dance, acting or even in his home life. No question that, although we all expected the end to come, we all miss him and are thankful for all that he gave to us through his acting.
RIP, Patrick! You fought a helluva battle and tought all of us how to face life with joy and death with dignity.

THE BEATLES and an amazing Russian Revolution

According to Dr. Yury Pelyushonok, a Canadian-based Doctor of Soviet Studies in Medicine who grew up in the former USSR in the 1960s, the Fab Four were responsible, in part, for bringing an end to the Communists regime!

“The Beatles had this tremendous impact on Soviet kids. The Soviet authorities thought of The Beatles as a secret Cold War weapon,” he said.

“The kids lost their interest in all Soviet unshakable dogmas and ideals, and stopped thinking of an English speaking person as the enemy.”

I’m not surprised — and neither is any other true student of the Fab Four.  After all, they epitomized and put a human face on what Shakespeare said years ago; that “music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.”  These guys inspired a total generation … whether it was in England, the states, France, Germany and around the world!  So their effect on kids in the former USSR doesn’t seem far fetched at all.

ONE MORE THING

Sunday night’s MTV Video Awards were disrupted by the rapper Kenye West, when he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech upon winning the top award.
Now, I don’t know much about this guy’s music, but I do know he’s gotta watch himself …

Okay … taking a break here, but I’ll be back in about 12 or slightly more.  Until then, I’ll see ya on the flip side!