30 Years Ago Today - A Tribute To John Lennon

It was thirty years ago today and it seems just like yesterday. I was working the evening shift at WEMM in Huntington, WV and my girlfriend at the time who was studying in the break room came running into the control room to tell me that the bells on the UPI teletype were dinging like crazy.

Knowing that the ten bells meant news of great importance, I rushed back and pulled the wire copy. It read “Former Beatle John Lennon was shot outside of The Dakota and that he had been rushed to a nearby hospital.”

It was a little before 11 PM and the top of the hour news covered the story but had no additional details. About 20 minutes later, the teletype sounded ten bells again accompanied by the sad news that John Lennon had died.

I have every teletype story about his death from that evening as well as UPI Audio’s 30 minute tribute to Lennon that they issued at about 2 AM the next morning; unfortunately, these are now in storage in preparation for moving into new quarters. I have them, but I can’t get to them easily to share online.

Much like there was a run on Elvis records when he died three years earlier, I headed to the National Record Mart in Huntington the next morning and picked up two albums by Lennon and two by The Beatles that I didn’t already have. That’s all I could afford on such short notice, but I wanted to get them while I could.

In memory of the most outspoken of the Fab Four, I have picked several of John’s more poignant compositions: “In My Life,” “Imagine,” “Julia,” and “Because.”

In My Life

Although I featured this song from “Rubber Soul” back in February, I would be remiss not to include it here. It’s my from favorite Beatles' album – both the US and UK configurations (which are different) are excellent collections of songs by the world’s most popular band.

Imagine

No doubt considered John’s most famous song and the only single release in this mix of songs. In 1971, It was a number one record in the UK, Canada, and Australia. In the US, it peaked at #3. It was re-released in 1975 in the UK with his “Shaved Fish” compilation (by the way, I have one in green vinyl from the UK). The second release charted at #6. It is a song that has transcended its own popularity as an icon in the religion of music.

Julia

A solo performance by John from the “White Album” that was written about his mother, Julia Lennon, who was killed by a drunk driver when John was 17. The song features John on acoustic guitar and double tracked vocals. Donovan is credited with teaching John to finger pick his guitar. It’s believable; because according to Donovan, Mr. Leitch created electric folk, psychedelia, the hippie movement, and even the color purple.

Because

John wrote this song that appeared on the Beatles “Abbey Road” LP after hearing Yoko Ono play Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” He was lying on the sofa and asked her if she could play the chord progression in reverse. She did and he wrote “Because” to this backwards progression. George Harrison is playing a Moog synthesizer – much better than he did on his solo album “Electronic Sound.” The harmonies are John, Paul, and George that were triple tracked to give the appearance of nine men singing.

Rest in Peace John – the world misses your creativity.

Odetta: Tomorrow Is A Long Time

The other night I was watching the season finale of “The Walking Dead” and as the survivors were exiting Atlanta, they played Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow is a Long Time.” It was fitting song for the last scene of the season's closing episode.

While Bob’s official release of the song did not occur until 1971’s release of “Greatest Hits Volume II,” it was a tune that was well known in the folk community. This was largely because of a demo recording the Dylan recorded for his publisher M. Witmark and Sons and a subsequent bootleg release of the song.

Nearly every major folk act of the day performed or recorded “Tomorrow is a Long Time.” The list of cover artist includes Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Ian and Sylvia, The Silkie, and The Kingston Trio. The song also was recorded by Elvis, Sandy Denny, Nickel Creek, Nick Drake, and others. The one recording that stands out in my mind is the 1965 version by Odetta from her LP “Odetta Sings Dylan.”

The recording of an album of all Dylan material was cyclic in nature as Odetta Holmes was an early influence on Dylan. In a 1978 interview, Dylan reminisced about hearing her LP “Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues”: “The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta. I heard a record of hers in a record store, back when you could listen to records right there in the store. Right then and there, I went out and traded my electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustical guitar, a flat-top Gibson.”

Odetta, who had been classically trained as opera singer, began singing folk music in 1950. This was a decade before the folk music craze of the early 60s, so there were plenty opportunities for her to influence scores of folk musicians in addition to Dylan. Even Elvis' version of this song is more akin to Odetta's rendition than to the other recordings of the period.

Echo & The Bunnymen: People Are Strange

The other day I mentioned Echo and the Bunnymen and my wife thought it was a strange name for a band. This post-punk, pre-alternative band from England had limited success in the US; however, they had a sizable following in their native UK. Their interpretation of the Doors’ classic “People are Strange” is from the soundtrack to “The Lost Boys.” Not a bad version if I do say so myself and very close to the original.

The Doors’ Original

The follow-up to The Doors’ first and most popular single “Light My Fire,” “People are Strange “ was released in the fall of 1967 and peaked the American singles charts at #12. The song was the first of two singles from The Doors’ second LP “Strange Days.”

Charlie Haden's Family And Friends: Spiritual

I actually heard about this recording from a coworker this week and was unaware of this side of jazz bassist Charlie Haden and his family. The song written and sung by Charlie’s son Josh was originally recorded by Josh’s band Spain. It originally appeared on the 1995 album "The Blue Moods of Spain." Probably the most notable cover of the tune was by the late Johnny Cash.

Joining Charlie and Josh on stage are two other members of the Haden family. Petra Haden on violin and Tanya Haden on ‘cello. Tanya, by the way, is married to Jack Black. The only musical family member missing from this ensemble that performed on the Letterman show was bassist/keyboardist Rachel Haden. Rachel, Tanya, and Petra are triplet daughters of Charlie Haden; Josh is their older brother.

As for the other musicians, I am not sure of their identities at this point. While I like this song, it really needs someone with a more powerful delivery to convey the message. Not that Josh Haden does a bad job, as he technically performs well; however, his voice just isn’t strong enough for my tastes for this type of ballad performance.

Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny Instrumental

From the album "Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories)," Charlie Haden teams up with guitarist Pat Metheny on an instrumental version of Josh's song "Spiritual."

The Byrds: You Showed Me

Let me apologize for the late post on this today. Our ISP was down when I tried to post this in the morning. In addition, there will not be a post for tomorrow - I am taking a vacation from the blogosphere.

Written by Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark in 1964, “You Showed Me” was a 1969 hit for The Turtles. The song was originally performed by McGuinn and Clark as a duo when they performed at the Troubadour. It was later recorded by their band The Byrds during their sessions at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles in 1964.

While the song demo was not originally carried over to their first Columbia release, it did appear on the 1969 LP named “Preflyte.” The original was a much faster interpretation of the song.

The Turtles’ Hit Version

The interpretation of “You Showed Me” appeared on the The Turtles’ “Battle of the Bands” album that was released in late 1968. It has a slower tempo than The Byrds’ original. Producer Chip Douglas who played bass in the Gene Clark Group introduced the song to The Turtles.

When Douglas played the song for The Turtles he did on a pump organ with a set of broken bellows and thereby was performed slower than normal. The band liked the slower version and it ended up being The Turtles final Top 40 hit charting at #6.

The major/minor chord progression with the strings and the interplay of the synthesizer throughout the tune really makes this recording spectacular. U2 later sampled The Turtles version for their song “The Playboy Mansion.”

Ben Harper: Suzie Blue

I caught today’s song on the tube about a month ago advertising for Cadillac’s 2011 SRX. Today’s TV Thursday features Ben Harper from his 1999 LP “Burn to Shine” and the song “Suzie Blue.” Harper’s musical portfolio, in a word, is eclectic. This song's style is reminiscent of Dixieland features the rhythm and instrumentation of the genre including the fine clarinet work by Jim Bogen and trombone by James Leigh.

The Caddy Commercial

Sammy Hagar: I Can't Drive 55

For those in the know, the number 55 holds special significance to me and so I’ve planned to play Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55” for this Anything Goes Wednesday feature. It is not because I can’t drive 55 (although that has been an occurrence from time to time), it is for other reasons that I won’t go into today.

While the song only charted at 26, it has a legacy that has gone beyond a mid charting top 40 hit – part of that legacy is due to album oriented radio and MTV playing the song to death. It was on his album “Voice of America” which was released in 1984 prior to his involvement in the group HSAS and his selection as David Lee Roth’s replacement in Van Halen.

The song was inspired by Sammy’s trip from Albany, New York to Lake Placid where he was clocked as going 62 (not 125) in a 55 zone. The cop told him that around there they gave tickets for going over 60 and Sammy responded, “I can’t drive 55.” At that moment he knew he had a song to write and when he got to his cabin at Lake Placid he finished the song. “I Can’t Drive 55” is listed in Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Rock Songs at the final position – 100.

Me with Sammy Hagar in early 1985

I had a chance to meet Sammy twice: once in 1985 when he was on his VOA Tour and also in 1986 when he appeared with Van Halen. Both shows were in Charleston, WV.  By the way, I found him to be one of the more friendly rock and rollers I have had the privilege to meet. 

 Alex Van Halen, Kevin Cordle, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and me.