Great Moments in Cover History: “Blueberry Hill”

7 Jan

Mmmm...Blueberries...Homer Simpson guttural noises

“Blueberry Hill” has a history. It’s roots are in early 40’s music. This could come as a surprise to fans of the classic, most famously made a standard by Fats Domino 15 years after it was first released to the public. I’m sure when most of you read the title of the post the thought of a more recent cover came to mind. Yeah, probably someone covering Fats’ song. But, no, on the contrary, today’s great moment in cover history belongs to none other than Fats Domino himself.

So, where did “Blueberry Hill” come from? Slow the song down and you have the work of Mr. Vincent Rose, an Italian musician and band leader, who also wrote the music to Al Jolson‘s 1921 hit “Avalon.” Rose’s music was paired with the well-known lyric by Al Lewis and Larry Stock and the song was immediately recorded…in 1940. It was originally recorded by several orchestras. Glenn Miller and his orchestra laid down a version and so did Sammy Kaye, Russ Morgan, and Kay Kyser. But, perhaps the most famous recording was done by Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy for the aptly titled movie “The Singing Hill.”

Sounds slightly different than Fats’ hit, right. It has a country charm to it, obviously. The old-time guitar twang that comes off like a moan. It makes you feel like you are actually back in the 40s. Yes, the song is that dated. It also makes you yearn for the most innocent musical time ever. Seriously, this song was recorded when World War II was only a year old. It is 70 years old. Listen to that. The original song is 70 years old. Look what’s on the charts today. From Gene Autry to Kady Perry. Wow. That’s all I can say.

After Louis Armstrong did a version in 1949, Fats picked up the song in 1956 and put down the “Blueberry Hill” we all know and love.

Fats’ version hit at the right time. It is also clearly the best version of the song. The song works better up-tempo. It shot up to #2 in the Top 40 and was #1 on the R&B charts for 11 weeks. It sold five million copies in its first year. It also set the stage for several other musicians to cover the song. Keep this in mind. After Fats’ cover, 14 other musicians – including musicians like Duane Eddy, Cliff Richard and The Everly Brothers – all covered the song within the span of 14 years. It was that influential. Now, if we took this as Fats’ classic, which it mostly is, I can pose the question of what is the best cover of Fats Domino’s version.

One of my personal favorites is this version recorded by Nat King Cole and 11-year-old Billy Preston on the Nat King Cole show. The version was recorded in November of 1957. I cannot embed it into the post, but do check it out. Billy Preston is incredibly talented, even at 11.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1loV9_xLF8Q

But, let us not skip over one of the most awesome covers of the song performed by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He did a good job performing the song in English and it was at a children’s charity event. It is slightly odd, but, heck, the man likes to sing and play the piano so good for him.

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Zappa Plays Zappa – Baker Street Closes – Pink Floyd Ends a Legal Dispute?

6 Jan

Dweezil Zappa Talks About His Father


Growing up in the Zappa household must have been a wacky atmosphere teeming with psychedelic drugs, right? On the contrary, Dweezil Zappa, 41, remembers his house as clean and sober.

“We grew up having a lot of respect with our parents and none of us ever got in trouble,” Zappa told Spinner in an interview. “I’ve never taken a drug in my life, I’ve never gotten drunk and I’ve never smoked. Frank never did drugs or got drunk either. People assumed he did because of his music, but Frank used the power of the mind.”

This is one of the wide misconceptions about the older Zappa who died of prostate cancer in 1993.

Yet, do not think for a second that the Zappa house was conventional in other ways.

“To rebel in our house, I always said I’d have to become an accountant or a lawyer,” said Zappa

Zappa is currently playing Frank’s 1974 album Apostrophe in it’s entirety on tour. He admits it is tough playing his dad’s material which is infused with several different musical elements that he studied for two years before assembling his band.

Link: http://www.spinner.com/2011/01/03/dweezil-frank-zappa-apostrophe-tour/

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Gerry Rafferty Passes

Gerry Rafferty, the Scottish singer/songwriter who brought the world “Baker Street,” “Stuck in the Middle,” and “Right Down the Line,” died on Tuesday of liver disease. He was 63 years old.

Rafferty’s musical career is marked by the success of these three songs.

“Stuck in the Middle” was written by Rafferty and Joe Egan, both members of the band Stealer’s Wheel. The song hit immediate success, peaking in 1973 at #6 and the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It now remains a staple for classic rock stations.

And, for the soft rock stations, “Baker Street,” an entirely different soft rock classic, may very well go down at Rafferty’s most successful piece. The infectious saxophone solo, performed by Raphael Ravenscroft, is one of the most noticeable sax riffs ever. The song reached #3 in the UK and #2 in the U.S.

Rafferty spent years fighting alcoholism and depression and eventually the alcohol consumption did catch up to him. His music still does live on.

Here is “Baker Street”:

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Floyd Ends Dispute

The dispute you are all thinking of ended a while ago. Now, simply, Gilmour does not want to work with Waters anymore because, well, Waters is arrogant and domineering. He is incredibly talented, but, you catch my drift.

Pink Floyd did settle a legal dispute with their long time record label EMI. The two sides agreed to a new five-year deal, officially ending the legal battle over whether or not the label could rightfully take apart their albums and sell individual tracks online.

The news is not at all exciting, but, let’s face it, most news is not. EMI should be happy to have Pink Floyd back, though. While no new material will ever be created, the band still generates a ton of revenue from their expansive discography.

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The Underrated Album: More by Pink Floyd

4 Jan

Ask a casual classic rock fan to name some of his/her favorite bands from the era of rock n’ roll. There are a few popular choices. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Doors can certainly fall in this category. Pink Floyd is almost always one of the first three mentioned. Perhaps the best reason for this is the multitude of hits Floyd has shared with the world. Dark Side of the Moon is the best albums of all time and Wish You Were Here is certainly in the top 50. Plus, “Comfortably Numb” is completely overplayed on most classic rock stations. This is all great. Pink Floyd is my favorite band and their music has most certainly withstood the test of time. Heck, it has flourished. But, most Pink Floyd fans do not know of the albums that predated Dark Side of the Moon. Yes, the Dark Side predecessors do exist and portray a band in search of their sound.

When I talk of Pink Floyd, I am not speaking of the original line-up. While I do very much enjoy Syd Barrett‘s work, I will focus today on an album that features the line-up of Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. It is actually the first album without Syd.

Soundtrack From the Film More was the first full-length soundtrack album for Pink Floyd. Created in 1969 for use in the Barbet Schroeder psychedelic film of the same name, this album features the young members of Pink Floyd four years prior to the release of Dark Side of the Moon. And, while the album has some obvious weak points, it does provide some intriguing gems that many Floyd fans have never heard before. It is a lost Pink Floyd album and is rarely listened to. I am here to tell you tonight that the album is significantly better than most people give it credit for being.

The album provides Pink Floyd’s most diverse palette of musical tastes and genres. While you will not find the crisp, epic transitions that you will find in Dark Side of the Moon, you will hear Floyd sampling sounds to create an atmosphere for their music. While there is no song that blows you away, there are pieces that may shock you. Consider “The Nile Song,” track 2 of the album.

What the hell is that? My friends, do consider heavy-rock Pink Floyd. More is the only album where you will be treated to such a rare delicacy. It features a loud guitar riff that leads into a David Gilmour distorted guitar solo consistent with what hard rock guitarists (like Steppenwolf) began doing during the years of 1968/1969. Less bluesy and soulful than Hendrix’s distorted guitar, but still well done. Yes, Gilmour can play more than just the melancholic and spine-tingling guitar solos he made famous. Pink Floyd was clearly experimenting with their sound and obviously working under the parameters of the film. This particular product was quite well done.

“Cirrus Minor” is an interesting piece that is completely opposite of the hard rock experimentation. The song is quite bucolic partly because of it’s usage of bird noises, but the minor key (and short verse-linking riff) gives the song the trademark funeral-like Pink Floyd feel that they absolutely master later in their careers.

Seriously, small elements of Dark Side of the Moon can be heard in this piece. Obviously, Dark Side of the Moon’s heavenly harmonies that are almost creepily esoteric in their nature, do not come until Dark Side of the Moon. But, move over to 3:40 in the song and listen to their sampling of different sounds. While the background music (excellently done by Wright) features more 60’s psychedelia, I do believe that their sampling of different sounds is an indication of music that came later. “Cirrus Minor” itself is a highly overlooked piece that is eery, mystical and excellently done.

The album also features “Green is the Colour,” a calm piece that features Roger Waters’ lyrical prowess.

“Heavy hung the canopy of blue
shade my eyes and I can see you
white is the light that shines trough the dress that you wore

She lay in the shadow of a wave
hazy were the visions overplayed
sunlight in her eyes, but moonshine made her cry every time

Green is the colour of her kind
quickness of the eye deceives the mind
envy is the bond between the hopeful and the damned”

The lyric is descriptive and colorful. It is a step up from his past work and foreshadows his later lyrical work. Dark Side of the Moon features amazing lyrics. This is where Waters got some practice.

Is this Pink Floyd’s best album? No, not by a long shot. The album does reveal a band eagerly searching for its musical niche. We hear elements of hard rock, psychedelic rock and even some hints at progressive rock. It provides evidence of the budding talent of these fine musicians who go on to record and release the greatest rock record. It, itself, should receive more credit. More is impressive and is an exciting glimpse at Pink Floyd before most people knew about them

The Judgement of Social Media – More Beatles’ Auctions – Abbey Road

3 Jan

Justin Bieber is Loved by the Internet

Link: http://www.nme.com/news/justin-bieber/54412

According to the social media calculator Klout.com, Justin Bieber rules the web with an iron fist (more like a scrawny fist). Klout measures internet popularity by combining tweets, Google mentions, Facebook likes, and other web indicators. After analyzing the details you are given a score out of 100. 100 marks popularity. Bieber has a perfect score (most likely the only thing he has ever scored 100 on). That is more than President Barack Obama who scores 88 on the service. I have a score of 21! Yeah! I’m moving up in the world.

So, does this matter at all. No, of course not. It is simply a way to judge your internet popularity and if people searching or mentioning you matters for your psyche, then I guess this is important. (Mention me! I want better Klout!) But, in all honesty, most internet users have the attention span of a goldfish and clicking the mouse is the portal to the grand diversity of internet addiction. Seriously, you can probably get from this post to a rousing video of animals jumping on trampolines. That probably would have an awesome Klout score.

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Beatles’ Auction…Again

Link: http://www.billboard.com/#/news/lennon-s-abbey-road-suit-sells-for-46k-in-1004137651.story

Wow. Another item of Beatles’ history was up for auction. Beatles’ items are being auctioned off faster than beanie babies used to sell. It seems that everyday I see another thing being sold. At Braswell Galleries’ annual New Year’s Day auction, John Lennon’s famous white suit which he wore on the Abbey Road, was sold to an anonymous bidder for $46,000. That is one expensive, ugly suit. Soon enough they will be selling grass from Lennon’s grave. Anything auctioneers can take from Lennon they will. Heck, they may even auction off Yoko.

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McCartney talks Abbey Road

Here is a great video of Paul McCartney talking about his experiences recording music at Abbey Road during his Chaos and Creation at Studio 2. Here is some talking and a beautiful performance of “Friends to Go”

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An Educated Gilmour Guess

1 Jan

Happy New Year! If we can base music predictions off of 2010, I believe 2011 will be another great year for experimental genres and folk-blend rock. Harmonies are in! That is good news folks.

There are some confirmed tours for 2011, but we will have to wait a little while for most of the Spring/Summer concert schedule. I can tell you that Roger Waters is still doing his The Wall tour. It picks up again in March (Lisbon, Portugal).

Now, remember, David Gilmour will join Roger Waters for one show to perform “Comfortably Numb.” This was confirmed last summer. After it was confirmed, I predicted where Gilmour would join Waters. This is what I said:

“My guess is that Gilmour joins Waters at the 02 Arena in London on Tuesday, May 17, 2011. Yes, the tour reaches far into the new year. The 02 Arena is in a convenient location – it is near Gilmour’s residence – and the date is the last in the straight series of five shows played in London, only a mere hour away from the original Pink Floyd stomping grounds, Cambridge. It just all seems to perfect. But, like most things, we must wait and see.” July 19  https://musiccourt.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/relax-ill-need-some-information-first-just-the-basic-facts-where-is-gilmour-going/

UPDATE

I took this straight from Roger Waters’ website (www.tour.rogerwaters.com)

“Roger Waters will be filming and recording all 6 shows at The O2 Arena in London in May.”

I smell clue. Roger Waters likes money and attention. Many would argue that these are his two most favorite things. Music is in there as well, of course. Filming implies a concert DVD. And, what better way to draw buyers than feature the Waters/Gilmour reunion on DVD. I am not saying that this is set in stone, but I do think that the filming may be evident of the “Comfortably Numb” reunion taking place during one of these dates. So, you have a 1/6 chance to pick the date. My guess was May 17. I stated that it was the last date for Waters at the O2 arena and at the time it was. But, another concert was added for Wednesday. I change my guess now to May 18. I guess we will see if I am right.

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