Ramones - I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (1980)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Mr. Music ~ Jerry Osborne
I am continuing our new feature: Ask "Mr. Music." Now in its 23rd year of syndication (1986-2008), Jerry Osborne's weekly Q&A feature will be a regular post every Wednesday from now on. Be sure to stop by Jerry's site (www.jerryosborne.com) for more Mr. Music archives, record price guides, anything Elvis, buy & sell collectibles, record appraisals and much more. I thank Jerry for allowing the reprints.
FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 27, 2009
DEAR JERRY: During my pre-teen and teenage years in the late '70s and early '80s, I was a huge fan of ABBA. I loved ABBA and I still do, and think of myself as an ABBA expert who has forgotten more than most people knew, especially in the U.S.
On their “Voulez-Vous” LP, that I bought in the summer of 1979, I distinctly remember one of the tracks being “Summer Night City.”
Now I'm starting to wonder if I'm losing it because every source I've checked makes no mention of that track on “Voulez-Vous.”
Still, it does make sense since “Fernando” wasn't originally on the first (1976) “Greatest Hits” LP. It was added to later pressings after it became a big hit single.
Can you please clear this up for me? I'm going nuts here.
—William Simmons, Evansville, Ind.
DEAR WILLIAM: So I hear. It's not easy to keep this kind of thing secret.
I must side with the rest of the world, which says there are but 10 tracks on the original “Voulez-Vous” album:
(Side A): “As Good As New”; “Voulez-Vous”; “I Have a Dream”; “Angeleyes”; “The King Has Lost His Crown.”
(Side B): “Does Your Mother Know”; “If It Wasn't for the Nights”; “Chiquitita”; “Lovers (Live a Little Longer)”; “Kisses of Fire.”
I also examined “Voulez-Vous” albums from such diverse areas as Mexico, Germany, Russia, and Korea, all of which have the same 10 tracks. I even checked cassettes, 8-tracks, and reel-to-reel tapes. Same story.
Since the ABBA album after “Voulez-Vous” is “Greatest Hits, Vol. 2” (December 1979), and it includes “Summer Night City,” we must, however unlikely, consider the possibility your memory has transposed these two releases.
As you know, the 2001 Remastered Limited Edition “Voulez-Vous” compact disc adds three “bonus tracks not found on the original LP”: “Summer Night City”; “Lovelight”; and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).” I'd say they got it right.
DEAR JERRY: At a yard sale I noticed tiny record, about two inches in diameter, in an equally tiny picture sleeve. Appropriately, the manufacturer is named Mighty Tiny Records.
Though a gorgeous blonde is the only person pictured, the sleeve credits a group called the Harmonettes, and gives the title as “Honey Tones.”
Have you ever heard of such a thing? Are there others like this one? Did they ever make a mighty tiny record player?
—Drew Davidson, Detroit, Mich.
DEAR DREW: Yes, yes, and yes.
Created in Cincinnati by Ohio Art/Poynter Products, Inc., this short-lived example of failed technology came and went in 1967.
The records, all of which are by people you've never heard of, were sold in themed four-packs. The two sealed packs I have seen are “Rock'n Roll & Popular” (Harmonettes; Musical Squares; Amy Wilson and Her Guitar), and “Foreign Music” (German Folk Polka; Italiano Strings; Arab Desert Dance; and African Drums).
They made a few others, all labeled “Mighty Tiny Records for the World's Smallest Record Player,” which answers your last question.
In fact, they made two players: a Mighty Tiny hand-held portable, which looks like a Star Trek communicator, and a table-top console called a Stereoper. Buyers of either player also received a starter kit of three records.
The biggest complaints about the battery-powered Mighty Tiny system are its inability to maintain a consistent playing speed, and the dreadful — albeit varied — selection of music.
IZ ZAT SO? Widely known is ABBA's phenomenal success that began in the United States in the summer of '74 with the release of “Waterloo.”
Not nearly as well known is what happened in the two years before Björn Ulvaeus; Benny Andersson; Agnetha Fältskog; and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (a.k.a. Frida) became ABBA and met their “Waterloo.”
This foursome's first single, “People Need Love” (Polar 1156), was already a hit in Sweden, credited to Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid.
In July '72, Hugh Hefner's fledging Playboy label picked up “People Need Love” for distribution in the U.S.
Inexplicably, Playboy shortened the artist credit line to “Björn & Benny (with Svenska Flicka).”
Whether they erroneously thought “Agnetha & Anni-Frid” to be just one person we don't know, but the credit on this single (Playboy 10018) translates as “Björn & Benny (with Swedish Girl).”
Another possibility is they may have simply disregarded the Norwegian-born Frida, and not used the plural “Svenska Flickor” (Swedish Girls).
“People Need Love” made a bit of a blip on the national level so Playboy followed with a couple more Björn & Benny singles in late 1973 and early '74. These are two separate releases of “Another Town, Another Train” (Playboy 100023 and 10025), and neither clicked with stateside dee jays.
Then came the name change, “Waterloo,” and an endless series of trains and towns for ABBA.
Copyright 2009 Osbourne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission
FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 27, 2009
DEAR JERRY: During my pre-teen and teenage years in the late '70s and early '80s, I was a huge fan of ABBA. I loved ABBA and I still do, and think of myself as an ABBA expert who has forgotten more than most people knew, especially in the U.S.
On their “Voulez-Vous” LP, that I bought in the summer of 1979, I distinctly remember one of the tracks being “Summer Night City.”
Now I'm starting to wonder if I'm losing it because every source I've checked makes no mention of that track on “Voulez-Vous.”
Still, it does make sense since “Fernando” wasn't originally on the first (1976) “Greatest Hits” LP. It was added to later pressings after it became a big hit single.
Can you please clear this up for me? I'm going nuts here.
—William Simmons, Evansville, Ind.
DEAR WILLIAM: So I hear. It's not easy to keep this kind of thing secret.
I must side with the rest of the world, which says there are but 10 tracks on the original “Voulez-Vous” album:
(Side A): “As Good As New”; “Voulez-Vous”; “I Have a Dream”; “Angeleyes”; “The King Has Lost His Crown.”
(Side B): “Does Your Mother Know”; “If It Wasn't for the Nights”; “Chiquitita”; “Lovers (Live a Little Longer)”; “Kisses of Fire.”
I also examined “Voulez-Vous” albums from such diverse areas as Mexico, Germany, Russia, and Korea, all of which have the same 10 tracks. I even checked cassettes, 8-tracks, and reel-to-reel tapes. Same story.
Since the ABBA album after “Voulez-Vous” is “Greatest Hits, Vol. 2” (December 1979), and it includes “Summer Night City,” we must, however unlikely, consider the possibility your memory has transposed these two releases.
As you know, the 2001 Remastered Limited Edition “Voulez-Vous” compact disc adds three “bonus tracks not found on the original LP”: “Summer Night City”; “Lovelight”; and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).” I'd say they got it right.
DEAR JERRY: At a yard sale I noticed tiny record, about two inches in diameter, in an equally tiny picture sleeve. Appropriately, the manufacturer is named Mighty Tiny Records.
Though a gorgeous blonde is the only person pictured, the sleeve credits a group called the Harmonettes, and gives the title as “Honey Tones.”
Have you ever heard of such a thing? Are there others like this one? Did they ever make a mighty tiny record player?
—Drew Davidson, Detroit, Mich.
DEAR DREW: Yes, yes, and yes.
Created in Cincinnati by Ohio Art/Poynter Products, Inc., this short-lived example of failed technology came and went in 1967.
The records, all of which are by people you've never heard of, were sold in themed four-packs. The two sealed packs I have seen are “Rock'n Roll & Popular” (Harmonettes; Musical Squares; Amy Wilson and Her Guitar), and “Foreign Music” (German Folk Polka; Italiano Strings; Arab Desert Dance; and African Drums).
They made a few others, all labeled “Mighty Tiny Records for the World's Smallest Record Player,” which answers your last question.
In fact, they made two players: a Mighty Tiny hand-held portable, which looks like a Star Trek communicator, and a table-top console called a Stereoper. Buyers of either player also received a starter kit of three records.
The biggest complaints about the battery-powered Mighty Tiny system are its inability to maintain a consistent playing speed, and the dreadful — albeit varied — selection of music.
IZ ZAT SO? Widely known is ABBA's phenomenal success that began in the United States in the summer of '74 with the release of “Waterloo.”
Not nearly as well known is what happened in the two years before Björn Ulvaeus; Benny Andersson; Agnetha Fältskog; and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (a.k.a. Frida) became ABBA and met their “Waterloo.”
This foursome's first single, “People Need Love” (Polar 1156), was already a hit in Sweden, credited to Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid.
In July '72, Hugh Hefner's fledging Playboy label picked up “People Need Love” for distribution in the U.S.
Inexplicably, Playboy shortened the artist credit line to “Björn & Benny (with Svenska Flicka).”
Whether they erroneously thought “Agnetha & Anni-Frid” to be just one person we don't know, but the credit on this single (Playboy 10018) translates as “Björn & Benny (with Swedish Girl).”
Another possibility is they may have simply disregarded the Norwegian-born Frida, and not used the plural “Svenska Flickor” (Swedish Girls).
“People Need Love” made a bit of a blip on the national level so Playboy followed with a couple more Björn & Benny singles in late 1973 and early '74. These are two separate releases of “Another Town, Another Train” (Playboy 100023 and 10025), and neither clicked with stateside dee jays.
Then came the name change, “Waterloo,” and an endless series of trains and towns for ABBA.
Copyright 2009 Osbourne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission
This Date In Music History - July 29
Birthdays:
Randy Sparks - New Christy Minstrels (1933)
Neal Doughty - REO Speedwagon (1946)
Simon Kirk - Bad Company (1949)
Geddy Lee - Rush (1953)
Patti Sciafa - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (1953)
John Sykes - Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake (1959)
Martin McCarrick - Therapy (1962)
Miles Hunt - The Wonder Stuff (1966)
Simon Jones - The Verve (1972)
Wanya Morris - Boyz II Men (1973)
They Are Missed:
Mama Cass Elliot, a one-time member of the Mama's & Papa's, died in London in 1974. She was staying at Harry Nilson's London flat when she died. A postmortem the following day shows she died as a result of choking on a sandwich and from inhaling her own vomit. It's later revealed that she suffered a heart attack. She was 32.
American record producer and pedal steel guitar player Pete Drake died of lung disease in 1988. Worked with Elvis Presley, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Keyboard player Huby Heard died from heart problems in 2004. Member of Billy Preston's, The God Squad.
History:
The Isley Brothers recorded the classic "Shout" in 1959.
Dick Clark premiered his summer stage show, the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars, at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City in 1961.
After a four year hiatus, the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island reopened in 1963. Those getting thumbs-up from the crowd included Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary and Bob Dylan.
Peter, Paul and Mary's "Blowin' In The Wind" was released in 1963.
In 1965, the Beatles film "Help!" debuts at London's Pavillion Theatre. Another sell-out crowd attended while critics were bemused.
In 1966, Bob Dylan suffered a broken neck vertebra when he crashed his Triumph 55 motorbike near his home in Woodstock, New York.
Also in 1966, Datebook published Maureen Cleave’s interview with John Lennon in which he said ‘We’re bigger than Jesus now.” American Christian’s reacted with outrage, organizing ‘Beatle bonfires’ burning the group's records.
Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker made their live debut as Cream at The Twisted Wheel, Manchester, England in 1966.
The Doors started a three week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1967 with “Light My Fire.”
The first recording session of The Beatles seven-minute epic “Hey Jude” took place at Abbey Road studios London in 1968.
The Byrds left on their tour of South Africa in 1968 without member Gram Parsons. He refused to set foot in a country where apartheid was official policy.
The Rolling Stones' contract with Decca Records expired in 1970 and they talked about starting their own label. They did.
Gilbert O'Sullivan started a five week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1972 with “Alone Again, (Naturally).” The follow up “Clair” peaked at #2.
In 1973, while Led Zeppelin, were in the middle of a very successful U.S. tour, they were the victims of one of the largest cash thefts in New York City. $180,000 was taken from the band's deposit box at the Drake Hotel. The money was mostly cash receipts from the first of two nights at Madison Square Garden.
In 1978, Prince appeared on the US charts for the first time with “Soft and Wet.”
The film soundtrack to Grease featuring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John went to #1 on the US album chart in 1978.
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream introduced their "Cherry Garcia" flavor (named after the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia) in 1987.
In 2003, the chairman of the Professional Association of Teachers Jim O'Neill warned that children were being put under pressure to grow up too soon by pop stars who use a sexy image. "Kylie Minogue might be a great singer but in many of these things you can see more of her bottom than you hear of her voice," said Mr O'Neill. Dirty old man….
Randy Sparks - New Christy Minstrels (1933)
Neal Doughty - REO Speedwagon (1946)
Simon Kirk - Bad Company (1949)
Geddy Lee - Rush (1953)
Patti Sciafa - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (1953)
John Sykes - Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake (1959)
Martin McCarrick - Therapy (1962)
Miles Hunt - The Wonder Stuff (1966)
Simon Jones - The Verve (1972)
Wanya Morris - Boyz II Men (1973)
They Are Missed:
Mama Cass Elliot, a one-time member of the Mama's & Papa's, died in London in 1974. She was staying at Harry Nilson's London flat when she died. A postmortem the following day shows she died as a result of choking on a sandwich and from inhaling her own vomit. It's later revealed that she suffered a heart attack. She was 32.
American record producer and pedal steel guitar player Pete Drake died of lung disease in 1988. Worked with Elvis Presley, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Keyboard player Huby Heard died from heart problems in 2004. Member of Billy Preston's, The God Squad.
History:
The Isley Brothers recorded the classic "Shout" in 1959.
Dick Clark premiered his summer stage show, the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars, at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City in 1961.
After a four year hiatus, the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island reopened in 1963. Those getting thumbs-up from the crowd included Joan Baez, Peter, Paul & Mary and Bob Dylan.
Peter, Paul and Mary's "Blowin' In The Wind" was released in 1963.
In 1965, the Beatles film "Help!" debuts at London's Pavillion Theatre. Another sell-out crowd attended while critics were bemused.
In 1966, Bob Dylan suffered a broken neck vertebra when he crashed his Triumph 55 motorbike near his home in Woodstock, New York.
Also in 1966, Datebook published Maureen Cleave’s interview with John Lennon in which he said ‘We’re bigger than Jesus now.” American Christian’s reacted with outrage, organizing ‘Beatle bonfires’ burning the group's records.
Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker made their live debut as Cream at The Twisted Wheel, Manchester, England in 1966.
The Doors started a three week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1967 with “Light My Fire.”
The first recording session of The Beatles seven-minute epic “Hey Jude” took place at Abbey Road studios London in 1968.
The Byrds left on their tour of South Africa in 1968 without member Gram Parsons. He refused to set foot in a country where apartheid was official policy.
The Rolling Stones' contract with Decca Records expired in 1970 and they talked about starting their own label. They did.
Gilbert O'Sullivan started a five week run at #1 on the US singles chart in 1972 with “Alone Again, (Naturally).” The follow up “Clair” peaked at #2.
In 1973, while Led Zeppelin, were in the middle of a very successful U.S. tour, they were the victims of one of the largest cash thefts in New York City. $180,000 was taken from the band's deposit box at the Drake Hotel. The money was mostly cash receipts from the first of two nights at Madison Square Garden.
In 1978, Prince appeared on the US charts for the first time with “Soft and Wet.”
The film soundtrack to Grease featuring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John went to #1 on the US album chart in 1978.
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream introduced their "Cherry Garcia" flavor (named after the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia) in 1987.
In 2003, the chairman of the Professional Association of Teachers Jim O'Neill warned that children were being put under pressure to grow up too soon by pop stars who use a sexy image. "Kylie Minogue might be a great singer but in many of these things you can see more of her bottom than you hear of her voice," said Mr O'Neill. Dirty old man….
Founding member Jeff Hanna talks about the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
By FIELDING BUCK
The Press-Release
Here are excerpts from an interview with Jeff Hanna, founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
On the band's origins:
"'66 is when we started playing together and getting paid. We were a jug band, which is a really rootsy concoction, music that was mostly written in the '30s or before. A lot of blues and skiffle and country elements. Old-timey country music. Mountainy stuff. And then we went through a growing phase when some of the guys left and a couple of other guys joined in '69, and retooled as a country rock band. At that point there were three or four groups really playing that kind of music, the Burritos (Flying Burrito Brothers) and Poco. The Band, of course, was a huge influence on us. There's was a melding of Americana, which as a musical phrase didn't exist before ... and rock 'n' roll
"That kind of morphed into what later on became a career in country music, too, because the music we started playing in 1969 really fit country radio in 1984 ... It wasn't quite as pop music-oriented as country music is today."
Read the rest here:
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Music News & Notes
New Megadeth album cover art revealed
Megadeth have released the cover art for the upcoming album called "Endgame." This is their twelfth studio album in two-and-a-half decades and is scheduled to be released on September 15 through Roadrunner Records.
Frontman Dave Mustaine spoke about the lyrical content of the new album, stating:
"I've never been known to be a silent bystander in a world that needs our participation. As more is revealed about our former President's legacy, a little-known but staggeringly frightening document which was signed into law ... has been uncovered."
The document Mustaine refers to is Operation Endgame, a plan to detain and remove all illegal aliens from the United States by 2012. Aside from the thematic elements of Endgame, Mustaine declared the new album as his “proudest moment since … Rust in Peace.” He particularly praises new lead guitarist Chris Broderick as inspiring him to relish recording new music in the studio.
====================
Psycho Charger Reveal New 'Toxic' CD Art
Gore-soaked rockers Psycho Charger have joined forces with renowned horror artist Eric “Unkle” Pigors – best known for his “Toxic Toons” series as well as promo art for bands like Metallica, Wednesday 13, Genitorturers and Scum of the Earth – for the artwork to accompany their upcoming CD Mark of the Psycho.
Aside from contributing the cover art, Pigors will also reportedly step up to the mic, along with other rumored guest performers like actor Chuck Williams (Bubba Ho-Tep), Jeano Roid from The Creeping Cruds, and original Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra, who has been approached to record an introduction to the album.
More gory details – including the official release date – will be coming soon to the band's official “gravesite.”
====================
Kristofferson plans September CD release
Kris Kristofferson will release a new disc, "Closer To The Bone," his second release with New West Records, on Sept. 29. Don Was (Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt) produced the 11-song disc. Was also produced Kristofferson's last CD, the critically acclaimed "This Old Road."
The new release will be offered a standard CD, deluxe two-CD set and a limited edition 180-gram vinyl.
"I like the intimacy of the new album" he said. "It has a general mood of reflecting on where we all are at this end of life." Songs include From Here To Forever, a melancholy lullaby to his children, and Good Morning John, written for Kristofferson's friend and mentor, the late Johnny Cash, about the struggles with addiction early in Cash's life.
"Closer To The Bone" features Kristofferson on vocals, guitar and harmonica, Don Was on bass, Rami Jaffee on keyboards, Jim Keltner on drums and longtime friend, the late Stephen Bruton, to whom the album is dedicated, on guitar, mandolin and backing vocals. All songs were written solely by Kristofferson except From Here To Forever, written in collaboration with Bruton and Glen Clark.
====================
New No Age EP set for October release
Two-man but whole-lotta-noise pop combo No Age will release a new EP this October, their first new material since 2008's Nouns. It's called Losing Feeling and will be available to the record buying public from October 6 on Sub Pop. It'll be available on 12" vinyl and digitally, in some kind of mp3 format, but not as a CD.
====================
Jamey Johnson Album Vinylized
Next week is one year since Jamey Johnson’s album That Lonesome Song came out on Mercury Records, but he’s already gearing up for his next CD. This time around, the album will come out simultaneously on retro vinyl, an appropriate move since much of the music he loves was recorded at a time when the CD hadn’t even yet been released.
"That’s how I listen to music," Jamey says. "It’s my favorite, No. 1 preference at home, to go put a vinyl record on my great grandmother’s old record player."
A release date hasn’t yet been announced for the new album, though the first single, "My Way To You," has already been released to radio stations. Beginning Monday, it will be available as a free download at www.jameyjohnson.com. The song goes to digital music stores Aug. 11.
====================
Lips EP
The Flaming Lips digitally released a three song EP today called Songs From The Future Album Embryonic EP which, obviously, is a preview of their upcoming album Embryonic, which will be out this fall. The songs include "Convinced of the Hex," "The Impulse" and "Silver Trembling Hands."
====================
Jazz Legend Dies
Legendary jazz master George Russell has died at age 86 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, the AP reports. In 1953, Russell published The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, a theoretical text credited with influencing Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue.”
====================
Vinyl Collective Restocks
Virgil has some great restocks, stop by and get your fill at www.vinylcollective.com
GREY MACHINE îVultures Descendî LP
PELICAN “City Of Echoes” LP baby pink w/ black splatter 180 gram vinyl
PELICAN “City Of Echoes” LP black 180 gram vinyl
PELICAN “City Of Echoes” LP clear light blue 180 gram vinyl
PELICAN “City Of Echoes” LP clear w/ black splatter 180 gram vinyl
PELICAN “City Of Echoes” LP silver 180 gram vinyl
PELICAN/ THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES îPink Mammoth/Gold Diggersî split 10î clear w/ bl
PELICAN/ THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES îPink Mammoth/Gold Diggersî split 10î clear w/ pi
THE MELVINS î(a) Senile Animalî 4xLP
TORCHE “Healer/Across The Shields” LP + DVD emerald vinyl
TORCHE “Healer/Across The Shields” LP + DVD plain ol’ white vinyl
V/A “Champions Of Sound 2008″ dbl 7″ clear vinyl
XASTHUR “All Reflections Drained” dbl LP picture disc+backpatch
XASTHUR “All Reflections Drained” dbl LP red vinyl
NARROWS “New Distances” LP clear vinyl
REIGN SUPREME “Testing The Limits Of Infinite” LP light blue vinyl
JASON FALKNER “Can You Still Feel?” LP
GRIZZLY BEAR “Yellow House” LP
KINGS OF LEON “Aha Shake Heartbreak” dbl 10
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