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Showing posts from 2008

Another Original Rock Girl - Marianne Faithful - born 12-29-46

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Marianne Faithful began singing in London coffee houses, she attended a Rolling Stones record party in 1964 and met manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Her first hit was the Stones cover "As Tears Go By", she followed with "This Little Bird" "Summer Nights" and "Come and Stay With Me". She married artist John Dunbar with Peter Asher as the best man. After having a child she left her husband & ran off with Mick Jagger. She said 'My first move was to get a Rolling Stone as a boyfriend. I slept with three and decided the lead singer was the best bet". She was soon part of the Swinging London scene in a highly publicised relationship with Mick. They hung out with Brian Jones & his girlfriend (who soon jumped over to Kieth's bed) Anita Pallenberg & began using drugs and got addicted. During the famous drug bust at Kieth Richards home in Redlands, she was found naked wrapped in a rug. The publicity gave her the rep as a wild, outspoken

the Passing of Cat Woman Eartha Kitt

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Eartha Kitt was born to share croppers in South Carolina. She was sent to live with her aunt in Harlem, at age seven. Her career began in the late forties as a cabaret singer, & actress. She had a string of minor hits in the 1950's and a disco hit in 1984 called "Where is My Man". Her most famous song is the sultry Christmas classic "Santa Baby" . Kitt appeared in many films with the stars like Orson Welles & Sidney Poitier. In 1968 at a White House luncheon she spoke out against the Vietnam war and made Lady Bird Johnson cry. She was blacklisted in the entertainment industry in America. She went over seas and had a successful theater career around the world. She returned to Broadway in 1978 in the hit "Timbuktu!" She remained active through the eighties & nineties (like Eddie Murphy's movie Boomerang), & in the 2000s she still performed on Broadway & as a cabaret singer. She passed away on Christmas Day at age 81 from colon can

Anniversary of the story for the lyrics "He blew his mind out in a car".........

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Tara Browne was the son of a very well to do Irish family. His father was a long time member of the House of Lords & his mother was heiress to the Guinness fortune. Tara was a socialite during London's swinging sixties, and friends with many the days rock stars including Paul McCartney & Keith Richards. On December 18, 1966 he was with his girlfriend model Suki Porter, speeding through South Kessington in his Lotus. "He didn't noticed that the light had changed" blew through the red light in Kessington Square, crashed into a parked lorry and was killed instantly. Suki was not injured. It is unknown if he was under the influence at the time of the crash. The story of his death was imortalized in the classic Beatles song "A Day In The Life". On 17 January 1967 John Lennon was at his piano writing a song and reading the London news papers. He read a report on the coroner's verdict into Browne's death and came up with the verse for : He blew his

Ronnie Spectors Christmas Party - Concert Review

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It's now officially Christmas time. Last night Ronnie Spector "the original bad girl of Rock & Roll" rocked her annual Christmas show at BB Kings on 42nd St. in Manhattan. This was my third straight year to see her at BB Kings, and I had seen her way back a few times at the old Bottom Line in the Village. We got there early after shuffling around the jam packed streets of mid town, as Christmas is alive & well in NY. We had a few drinks in Lucille's the restaurant part of the club. I had a $17 hamburger that wasn't worth it, but the nachos were pretty good. This place isnt known for its food. Ronnie hit the stage and was her usual cheerful self, singing all her Ronettes hits, the Christmas songs she made into classics & some great covers from a few of her famous friends. Opening with Sleigh Ride & segueing into the Ronettes "Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love", she looked great with her hair all teased out in sixties rock & roll

The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus Turns 40

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On December 11, 1968 the Rolling Stones staged a show intended for British television called the Rock & Roll Circus. The Stones & their friends/ musical guests played live in a big top circus themed atmosphere. A select few were invited as the audience and they were told to wear bright colors & capes to add to the atmosphere. The show began at 2 PM but never finished until the next morning due to technical breakdowns. The film was produced by Michael Lindsey Hogg who had directed the Sixties music TV show Ready Steady Go!! and a couple of Stones promo video's in the mid sixties. (He would go on to direct the Beatles Let It Be movie the next year.) The film never was air ed by the BBC as the Stones pulled the plug at the last minute. They felt thier performance was poor due to the fact they didnt play until 5AM and were tired. It's clear Brian Jones was in bad health & may have weakend the performance as well.The movie was finally released in 1996 with a CD as we

Paul McCartney's latest project- The Fireman -"Electric Arguments"

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When I first heard of Paul McCartney's new project the Fireman, I thought is was just electronic techno music like the past. Then I was listening to the Sirius "Coffee House" channel and I heard Paul's voice but was unfamiliar with the song, how Can this be?? I was shocked to see "Two Magpies" by The Fireman. The Fireman is a duo that consists of Paul McCartney & producer Martin Glover known as "Youth". Glover is a founding member of the U.K. band Killing Joke. He is known for his electronic productions & psychedelic trance music. The two first teamed up in 1993 when McCartney asked Youth to mix some songs from his "Off the Ground" album for 12" singles. They began with samples of those songs and a couple of Wings songs from "Back to the Egg": "Reception" & "the Broadcast". Soon Paul was so involved in the project an album made. The result was an electronic, techno, dance music album titled

Anniversary of Shoeless Joe Jackson's Death

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Joe Jackson was born into poverty in 1889 at Pickens, South Carolina. He began working at age six alongside his father in a mill and had no formal education. He was the only one of four brothers not in military service so he could work & take care of the family including his mother & handicapped sister. He got his nickname in the minors,when his feet got so beat up & developed blisters as a result of new spikes. The next day the pain was so unbearable, he took off his shoes came to bat in only his sox & hit a triple. The name stuck forever. Joe called his favorite bat "Black Betsy" it was 36" long & weighed 48 ounces. It was the only bat he never got rid of. A very superstitious guy he believed bats only had a certain number of hits in them. When he slumped he dumped the bat. He collected hairpins he would find and keep them in his uniform pocket. When he slumped he dumped them too. He arrived in Philadelphia but was traded to Cleveland. He hit .387

40th Anniversary of the Beatles "White Album"

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In November 1968 the Beatles released the album simply titled "The Beatles ", which became known as the White album. It was recorded from May 30th to October 14th, 1968 at Abbey Road Studios,London, with a small amount done at Trident Studios, London. The Beatles were fresh off their meditation retreats in Rishikesh, India with the Maharishi. Over forty new songs had emerged from Rishikesh, most were made to rough demos at George Harrison’s home studio in Esher. With so many songs available, it became clear they would need more than a single album. For the first time in music history a double album of new material was released. Sure, harsh critics & even producer George Martin always said if the album had been edited down to a single LP, it may have been the best of all the Beatles albums. I think Paul McCartney summed it up best in the Anthology saying "it's the Beatles bloody White Album, it's great, shut up!". Ditto. The recording of the album came d

AC/DC "Black Ice Tour" ....Concert Review 11-19-08

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It's amazing how rock n roll can be sometimes be timeless. Last night AC/DC proved that again, as we were all Back In Black! The arena glistened with blinking red lights from the Light up Devil Horns that were being sold, mostly worn by the chicks & kids. Angus Young wore his during the encore. They shook the Meadowlands "all night long" as if it were twenty five years ago but still showing us that these too are our hey days. The highlights of the night could have been when the whole place was jumping to You Shook Me All Night Long, or maybe for Dirty Deeds or Back In Black. The sing along to the old classic The Jack with Angus's strip tease may have been another. They were loud & had great clear sound system. The backdrop of the stage was a huge locomotive car spewing smoke with an AC/DC logo on it's front. Two huge video screens hung on each side of the locomotive car, displaying the band, mostly focusing on everyones hero of the night Angus Young. Angu