I am really looking forward to writing about the '72-'74 Santa Clara period as well as the '75-'78 Santa Clara period. It is my primary catalyst to why I started this blog. The only problem I'm having is that I don't know how to approach doing it because of my overwhelming feelings about this time period and the people I knew and the music contained within. I may not even take a linear approach to it.
I'm still a very scared human being at this point in time. I don't know where I'm headed. If I could live in an ideal situation, Mom and I would be living back in Santa Clara.
Ever since I took a 5 month break and lived in Santa Clara for 5 months back in late '96-early '97, I've been visualizing my going back to watching University of Santa Clara basketball and baseball games. But what has been really surprising to me is that I have also begun having the urge to want to go to baseball and football games of Bellarmine too. In light of what I will eventually write about my two years of going there, this might come as a surprise to you.
Speaking of Bellarmine, I am putting out the call again. Could somebody please get a hold of Paul Comfort and tell him that I wish I could talk to him again? I miss him so much. I learned so much about music from him that I feel as if I could never repay him enough. Plus, he was a damn fine guitar player. I used to love listening to him play.
Those I don't have much time left for writing for this session today, I just wanted to get around to discussing my feelings about drugs. I promise to do so in more detail eventually. But I do want to say that one of the great ironies of my life is that I love music and musicians so much and yet I personally can't stand drugs. I have a lot of opinions about marijuana and the harder stuff. I've smoked pot and hash before, but I don't anymore. I think I smoked both combined less than 10 times and they just didn't do anything for me. Legalizing pot doesn't bother me so much as much as some of the arrogance I see in people who smoke it and have the attitude that they are getting away with something doing so. Arrogance is a trait of some people that I hate the most.
I have always forgiven musicians for their drug habits because of what they've given to me through their music (as contradictory as it sounds). But I don't forgive easily those people I have personally known who are not musicians. This whole paradox, as an issue, runs very deep with me.
Anyway, I should probably go for now. I have to do a couple of things before I have dinner at Mom's.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Eugene-KEED-1970-1972-The Big Names
I've been mentioning a lot of familiar names of people and songs in my posts about my Eugene experiences from 1970-1972. But it is time to now get to some of the very biggest names to finish things off.
John Lennon: At this point in time, I don't think I would have had any understanding of the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album that came out around the time I was still in California and then moved up to Eugene. It was going to take for me to be an adult to fully understand why this album may well be the single most soul-baring album that an artist has ever made. So, when I was listening to the radio, I very seriously doubt that I heard "God" or even a censored version of "Working Class Hero".
What I did get exposed to was "Power To The People", "Instant Karma" and "Imagine". If I were to point to any one person who instilled a sense of militancy of belief and urgency of conviction in me at a young age, John Lennon would very likely be the one I would say was responsible. John made it real. It wasn't just the whole hippie thing. As a kid, I can recall seeing John in short hair for the (I believe) video for "Instant Karma". I loved the music, but John also was scaring me a bit simply because of how he looked. The short hair had me fooled. John was instilling in me through my immature subconcious mind that the idea is more important than the visual appearance even though the irony is that John and Yoko were visual peformance artists along with musical at this point in time.
What can I say about "Imagine" and how it took hold of people back then? "Imagine" became the template of philosophy by which I could strive for even though I would inevitably (and continue to) fall short of. John would fall short too. This is what makes the song all that much more beautiful. We've got to keep aiming higher just so that we don't get to a point where we despise ourselves.
I never took the line "imagine there's no Heaven" as being that you should not believe there is one. I've always taken it as being that you should never buy into what someone says is Heaven because Heaven will be what is yours when your time comes. And besides, we are nowhere near to creating a Heaven here on Earth yet.
Rather than being anti-God as some people over the years have suggested, I've always thought that John Lennon life and his music/philosophy was a gift from God because he gave us another way of looking at things. John Lennon was the militant friend or brother you loved to death for having the balls to say what he did.
Ringo Starr: There were two songs of Ringo's from the '70-'72 period that were monumental as well. "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo". Both of the songs were influenced by Ringo's reacting to the period of living among the ruins of the post-Beatles breakup. George Harrison helped him to complete "It Don't Come Easy". Ringo came up with the line that I still echo to myself repeatedly as I get older. "I don't ask for much/I only want trust/and you know it don't come easy". People, you don't know how much that line means to me now and how it has shaped my feelings about issues that I have which directly affects my life.
Paul McCartney: And then there's Paul. Oh God! This period of time in Paul's solo career has been so sadly maligned by people over the years-but especially right then. I don't know how the hell Paul managed to maintain his sanity. Plus, Ringo, George and John were occasionally taking to taking shots at Paul in the press and in their music. "Back Off Boogaloo" was a shot by Ringo at Paul for instance.
During the time I lived on Fir Acres, I bought and owned the Ram album and the Wildlife album. I was exposed to "Give Ireland Back To The Irish" and "Just Another Day" on the radio. I only occasionally heard "Maybe I'm Amazed". By the time I moved up to Eugene in '70, "Maybe I'm Amazed" had fallen off the singles chart.
It was the Ram album which really drove home the idea to me that I thought the ideal couple was Paul and Linda. A hope began that I could meet a Linda as a result of listening to the Ram album. I can still see myself standing out in my driveway on Fir Acres one cold January or February day in 1972 and looking up at the sky as the clouds were playing games with the sun and the blue sky while I had "Too Many People" going on in my mind. Paul was in a completely different mindset than John was in. His whole thing was to just create a life away from chaos through domesticity and music. He had messages, but he wasn't militant. He was just Paul giving you an opinion that you could take or leave with ease because he wasn't backing you up against a wall. Did his anger come out sometimes? Yes. All you had to do was listen to "Smile Away". That was his answer to John as well as "Too Many People".
My Dad absolutely loved the "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" single. He loved to listen to it whenever we were driving around. I remember his listening to it on a number of occasions. It was back then that my Dad used to proliferate his own opinion that Paul was the most talented of The Beatles. I never bought into it because I loved all four of them equally. In this regard, I was protected from falling into that trap. I hope Dad knows this now.
John Lennon: At this point in time, I don't think I would have had any understanding of the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album that came out around the time I was still in California and then moved up to Eugene. It was going to take for me to be an adult to fully understand why this album may well be the single most soul-baring album that an artist has ever made. So, when I was listening to the radio, I very seriously doubt that I heard "God" or even a censored version of "Working Class Hero".
What I did get exposed to was "Power To The People", "Instant Karma" and "Imagine". If I were to point to any one person who instilled a sense of militancy of belief and urgency of conviction in me at a young age, John Lennon would very likely be the one I would say was responsible. John made it real. It wasn't just the whole hippie thing. As a kid, I can recall seeing John in short hair for the (I believe) video for "Instant Karma". I loved the music, but John also was scaring me a bit simply because of how he looked. The short hair had me fooled. John was instilling in me through my immature subconcious mind that the idea is more important than the visual appearance even though the irony is that John and Yoko were visual peformance artists along with musical at this point in time.
What can I say about "Imagine" and how it took hold of people back then? "Imagine" became the template of philosophy by which I could strive for even though I would inevitably (and continue to) fall short of. John would fall short too. This is what makes the song all that much more beautiful. We've got to keep aiming higher just so that we don't get to a point where we despise ourselves.
I never took the line "imagine there's no Heaven" as being that you should not believe there is one. I've always taken it as being that you should never buy into what someone says is Heaven because Heaven will be what is yours when your time comes. And besides, we are nowhere near to creating a Heaven here on Earth yet.
Rather than being anti-God as some people over the years have suggested, I've always thought that John Lennon life and his music/philosophy was a gift from God because he gave us another way of looking at things. John Lennon was the militant friend or brother you loved to death for having the balls to say what he did.
Ringo Starr: There were two songs of Ringo's from the '70-'72 period that were monumental as well. "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo". Both of the songs were influenced by Ringo's reacting to the period of living among the ruins of the post-Beatles breakup. George Harrison helped him to complete "It Don't Come Easy". Ringo came up with the line that I still echo to myself repeatedly as I get older. "I don't ask for much/I only want trust/and you know it don't come easy". People, you don't know how much that line means to me now and how it has shaped my feelings about issues that I have which directly affects my life.
Paul McCartney: And then there's Paul. Oh God! This period of time in Paul's solo career has been so sadly maligned by people over the years-but especially right then. I don't know how the hell Paul managed to maintain his sanity. Plus, Ringo, George and John were occasionally taking to taking shots at Paul in the press and in their music. "Back Off Boogaloo" was a shot by Ringo at Paul for instance.
During the time I lived on Fir Acres, I bought and owned the Ram album and the Wildlife album. I was exposed to "Give Ireland Back To The Irish" and "Just Another Day" on the radio. I only occasionally heard "Maybe I'm Amazed". By the time I moved up to Eugene in '70, "Maybe I'm Amazed" had fallen off the singles chart.
It was the Ram album which really drove home the idea to me that I thought the ideal couple was Paul and Linda. A hope began that I could meet a Linda as a result of listening to the Ram album. I can still see myself standing out in my driveway on Fir Acres one cold January or February day in 1972 and looking up at the sky as the clouds were playing games with the sun and the blue sky while I had "Too Many People" going on in my mind. Paul was in a completely different mindset than John was in. His whole thing was to just create a life away from chaos through domesticity and music. He had messages, but he wasn't militant. He was just Paul giving you an opinion that you could take or leave with ease because he wasn't backing you up against a wall. Did his anger come out sometimes? Yes. All you had to do was listen to "Smile Away". That was his answer to John as well as "Too Many People".
My Dad absolutely loved the "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" single. He loved to listen to it whenever we were driving around. I remember his listening to it on a number of occasions. It was back then that my Dad used to proliferate his own opinion that Paul was the most talented of The Beatles. I never bought into it because I loved all four of them equally. In this regard, I was protected from falling into that trap. I hope Dad knows this now.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Eugene Music-KEED-1970-1972
-Chairman of the Board-"Give Me Just A Little More Time": This is one I really dug. I just wish they had more than one really big hit because I never got tired of hearing this one. The lead singer has since passed away and I really miss him.
-Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose-"Treat Her Like A Lady", "It's Too Late To Turn Back Now": "Treat Her Like A Lady" has got a groove and one of the greater guitar drives on the rhythm that I've enjoyed over the years. The guitar provided the confidence and the lyrics provided the respect for women all of us guys should have when it comes to loving them. "It's Too Late To Turn Back Now" is just so lush and beautiful. How can a person not love a song like this? Plus, this was a big one which was playing on the radio when my Dad and I went on the trip to Santa Clara prior to my moving back down. I seem to recall that my Mom liked this song as well. But hey! She had to live with us guys having the radio on to what we wanted to have it on.
-The Eagles-"Take It Easy", Witchy Woman": Well, the big run of The Eagles becoming like a franchise instead of a band started while I was living up here. KEED played to death both of these songs. I enjoyed them. It was obvious, even to a kid like me, that this was the start of a band that was going to have some staying power. It really did strike me, in my want of having a girlfriend as far back as then, the line where it is mentioned "I've got seven women on my mind". Even back then, I sometimes wish in my case that it was only seven. For the life of me, I could swear that I only started hearing "Peaceful Easy Feeling" when I moved back to Santa Clara. I can't seem to recall for certain.
-Linda Ronstadt-"Rock Me On The Water"-I got exposed to Linda through this song first in a clear way that I was listening to Linda and knowing it was her. I could swear, however, that I did hear her with The Stone Ponys and "Different Drum" back when I was still living on Franklin Street. This was my double shot entry to being influenced by Jackson Browne as well as this is his song being covered by Linda. Little did I know that two people with whom I've already mentioned early in my story had a connection to Linda. They were both distantly related to her.
-Harry Nilsson-"Courtship Of Eddie's Father", "Without You", "Coconut": Well, what can one say about Harry that isn't going to be full of superlatives? He was superb in his voice range. He was deeply soulful as a singer (he took "Badfinger's "Without You" and made it his own and ended up winning a Grammy for it). He could be absolutely hilarious as in the case of "Coconut". He would go on to make one of my favorite records of all-time while I was still living up here and would not be released until I moved back to Santa Clara. God Bless Harry Nilsson! The music world has not been the same since he passed away.
-Three Dog Night-""Mama Told Me (Not To Come)", "Joy To The World", "Liar", "An Old Fashioned Love Song", "Never Been To Spain"-These guys used to blow me out of my socks. I recall watching a t.v. special of them of a live performance and I was just stunned. I loved how hard they worked. For some reason, I have always loved the drumming of this band. It was very driving, steady and hard. "Joy To The World" was the one that would become the big anthem. Whenever my Mom and I would sing this together in the car, I would always sing "joy to the fishes and the deep blue tree" instead of "deep blue sea". My Mom had to convince me a few times. Well, you know how stubborn hearing impaired kids can be sometimes. If I had to choose out of these singles I heard up here, then I'd choose "Never Been To Spain". This Hoyt Axton song had the drums, the guitar and the world weary lyrics that really appealed to me. Three Dog Night would continue to keep going as the early '70s progressed.
-Bread-"If", "Baby I'm A Want You", "Diary", "Everything I Own": The voice of David Gates was the voice that opened doors for a lot of guys trying to start awkward conversations with girls back then. Bread won you points with them. Sadly, guys could not talk about them amongst themselves because you were considered some kind of sissy if you liked them. This is really too bad because this was a marvelous band. I never had that problem of having to keep my mouth shut about my like for them as I was in a basically isolated pattern anyway. Plus, I always was a little different in that I kept my openmindedness at the forefront of my sense of discovery. It would take for me to be an adult to learn that one of my favorite Monkees tunes, "Saturday's Child" was co-written by David Gates. If all of you recall, it was a rocker and not a ballad. It would also take me years to learn about why the late James Griffith was such an important element to this group. He was such a gifted guitar player. Bread would go on to make a song when I moved back to Santa Clara that would be a driving force in my life at the time.
-The Grateful Dead-"KC Jones", "Truckin"/Jerry Garcia-"Sugaree", "The Wheel": My first exposure to the music of The Grateful Dead and specifically Jerry Garcia came from 4 big ones. When I was a kid, I wasn't exposed to the crap that writers would later put into my head about the Dead and cause me to go on a very long and convoluted journey with them which would have its share of deep prejuduice and put-downs. But back then, I accepted The Grateful Dead with open arms. It was during a time when people were into the Dead because they loved the music. It was many years before the band became a franchise of sorts and the hanger's on and bad people got associated with the fandom. All of the later years bullshit was to be a continuing hinderance in my appreciation of the band.
What I can tell you though is that I think I am being fairly accurate in saying that I did hear Jerry Garcia's "Sugaree" and "The Wheel" being played on KEED at different odd hours. To this day (and I have not bothered to check official listings online), I am not sure that either were issued as singles. There were one or two djs at KEED who were big Dead fans. As a result, I honestly think they snuck in "Sugaree" and "The Wheel" when the station PD (program director) wasn't listening. I have to be perfectly honest here. I loved the two big singles from The Grateful Dead, but it was these two songs from Jerry Garcia's Jerry Garcia album which launched a brief fascination with Jerry before fate, circumstances and plain ol' bullshit got in the way.
This stuff was so different. It had a whole different feel to it. The pedal steel on "The Wheel" just floored me. Mind you, as a kid, I couldn't make heads or tails of what Jerry was driving at in the song. It didn't matter. His practically fragile voice (in a sense) and the music combined in a swirl that told me he was aiming for something.
I have to tell you that I still have to be in the right mmood to listen to The Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia nowadays. When I listen to the Dead, I focus on Jerry and Phil Lesh. Though the conditions have to be right, I'm still glad that I have made my way through to listen to them when I do. I will write more about them as time goes on.
-The Chakachas-"Jungle Fever": O.k., this song made me blush. Even I could figure out that there was ex going on in this silly little ditty.
-Al Green-"Let's Stay Together: Oh brother! This is it, baby. This is truely one of the greatest Soul singles to ever be released and I was there to hear it when it first came out. It knocked me out cold. It did so repeatedly. Long live Al Green!
-Edison Lighthouse-"Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes"-Great pop. It's another one of those great early '70s singles that seemed to come out of nowhere, made its run, and then faded into obscurity. They used to do that back then.
-"Smile A Little Smile For Me, Rosemarie": I'm too lazy to go and see who did this wonderful little single, but I loved it.
-"Jaggerz-"The Rapper"-Another in a long line of singles that made their run and then faded out.
-Cher-"The Way of Love" "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves": I actually bought the album that these two singles came from. It's weird though. Everybody remembers the latter song, but nobody recalls that "The Way of Love" made a big run back then. It got really heavy airplay. I'm really surprised oldies stations don't play this one more often given the impact it had back then.
-"The Resurrection Shuffle"- I can't recall who first did this. It would later be covered many years down the line by Clarence Clemons on a solo album of his with JT Bowen.
-"I Love You More Today Than Yesterday"-I can't recall the band. This was another quick riser that I loved.
-Lobo-"Me and You and a Dog Named Boo"-This was a huge one back the day. You got to take roadtrip with Lobo as he described different parts of the U.S. as you experienced his adventures. Lobo would be big in the early part of my retunr to Santa Clara.
-Donovan-"Atlantis", "Sunshine Superman", "Hurdy Gurdy Man": "Atlantis" was a single which came out that was still charting when I moved up to Eugene. It really fascinated me. This whole idea of being down in the bottom of the sea was a new concept to me. But for pure hippiedom and my attempts at passing myself off as one, I got the greatest attitude from listening to the old '60's singles "Sunshine Superman" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" being played on KEED. Little did I know that the heaviness I was getting from "Hurdy Gurdy Man" was being supplied by none other than Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones and John Bonham. Yea. You know. Those guys from Led Zeppelin.
-Agrissi or Adrissi Brothers (I can't remember which-it's my hearing)-"We've Got To Get It On Again": I really loved this song. To me, it was very dramatic. I still love hearing it to this day.
-Looking Glass-"Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)"-This one was a huge hit. I will always identify this song with driving around with my Dad in his truck when we were down in Santa Clara before we moved back down there. They would eventually come out with another single that I liked even more when I moved back.
-Manfred Mann-"Living Without You"(I think that's what this was titled.) This is a song I always identify with my brother Mike for some strange reason. I remember hearing this song on the way up to the Mt. Angel basketball tournament to see him play when he was still at St. Paul.
-Smokey Robinson & The Miracles-"Tears of a Clown"-It was this song which made me a fan of Smokey. He's the man who was given a voice which need not have to pass any inspection. He's the envy of many great singers of different stripes because he's got the falsetto pipes. You can take that to the bank.
-Janis Joplin-"Me and Bobby McGee"-Her last single was my first exposure to her. She would grow on me as the '70s progressed. I am just so sad that she's gone. I wish more people would have been around to help her fight her addictions. We could still use her combination of vulnerability and feistiness today.
-The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band-"Mr. Bojangles", "House At Pooh Corner": These were two huge singles back then. I had the "House At Pooh Corner" single and my brother John had the album from which both songs sprang. It was beautiful stuff. I also didn't know at the time that there was yet another Jackson Browne coinnection being made by way of "House At Pooh Corner".
-"Fruit of the Universe" (was that the title?): Who did this really weird song that used to kind of freak me out?
-Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flak-"Where Is The Love": This is a great duet and a song about having an affair. Well, I didn't know that being as I didn't understand about things like that yet. But I did identify with the feeling of emotion expressed though. Why don't people make songs like this anymore? They all seem so flaky nowadays- the ones where you have these superstar parings and they end up falling flat on their faces.
-Eric Burden & War-"Spill The Wine": This was a cool song that made me wish I could be among all of the women Burdon was singing about.
-War-"Slippin' Into Darkness": This is one of the best songs to come out from this '70-'72 period. My God! It had feeling. It had a musicality that killed me. Was was to continue to knock me out as time went on. This song had so many elements being put together in it. It made for an undeniable power. That's what you get when you make a combination of Soul, Funk and Latin rhythm and get that stew going.
-Olivia Newton-John-"If Not For You"-I could swear that her cover of the Bob Dylan song came out when I lived in Eugene the first time around. Back then, I didn't know she was covering Dylan. I thought she was covering George Harrsion because of my being exposed to the All Things Must Pass album so much back then.
-Neil Diamond-"Cracklin' Rosie", "I Am I Said", "Song Sung Blue": This is the period where Neil Diamond had another big emergence. Because of moving for my first time, "I Am I Said" struck me in a way that I didn't realize it was going to. "Song Sun Blue" just got so much airplay. I remember my Mom singing to it occasionally when we were driving around.
-Tommy James-"Draggin' The Line"-This was one of those special songs that set my attitude at the time in place. Like I said before for other songs, this was one of those which justified my feeling that I was a hippie-a very young one. Whenever I hear it now, I'm never embarrassed. It tells me that there's still one way deep inside me even though I've gotten a bit weathered.
-
-Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose-"Treat Her Like A Lady", "It's Too Late To Turn Back Now": "Treat Her Like A Lady" has got a groove and one of the greater guitar drives on the rhythm that I've enjoyed over the years. The guitar provided the confidence and the lyrics provided the respect for women all of us guys should have when it comes to loving them. "It's Too Late To Turn Back Now" is just so lush and beautiful. How can a person not love a song like this? Plus, this was a big one which was playing on the radio when my Dad and I went on the trip to Santa Clara prior to my moving back down. I seem to recall that my Mom liked this song as well. But hey! She had to live with us guys having the radio on to what we wanted to have it on.
-The Eagles-"Take It Easy", Witchy Woman": Well, the big run of The Eagles becoming like a franchise instead of a band started while I was living up here. KEED played to death both of these songs. I enjoyed them. It was obvious, even to a kid like me, that this was the start of a band that was going to have some staying power. It really did strike me, in my want of having a girlfriend as far back as then, the line where it is mentioned "I've got seven women on my mind". Even back then, I sometimes wish in my case that it was only seven. For the life of me, I could swear that I only started hearing "Peaceful Easy Feeling" when I moved back to Santa Clara. I can't seem to recall for certain.
-Linda Ronstadt-"Rock Me On The Water"-I got exposed to Linda through this song first in a clear way that I was listening to Linda and knowing it was her. I could swear, however, that I did hear her with The Stone Ponys and "Different Drum" back when I was still living on Franklin Street. This was my double shot entry to being influenced by Jackson Browne as well as this is his song being covered by Linda. Little did I know that two people with whom I've already mentioned early in my story had a connection to Linda. They were both distantly related to her.
-Harry Nilsson-"Courtship Of Eddie's Father", "Without You", "Coconut": Well, what can one say about Harry that isn't going to be full of superlatives? He was superb in his voice range. He was deeply soulful as a singer (he took "Badfinger's "Without You" and made it his own and ended up winning a Grammy for it). He could be absolutely hilarious as in the case of "Coconut". He would go on to make one of my favorite records of all-time while I was still living up here and would not be released until I moved back to Santa Clara. God Bless Harry Nilsson! The music world has not been the same since he passed away.
-Three Dog Night-""Mama Told Me (Not To Come)", "Joy To The World", "Liar", "An Old Fashioned Love Song", "Never Been To Spain"-These guys used to blow me out of my socks. I recall watching a t.v. special of them of a live performance and I was just stunned. I loved how hard they worked. For some reason, I have always loved the drumming of this band. It was very driving, steady and hard. "Joy To The World" was the one that would become the big anthem. Whenever my Mom and I would sing this together in the car, I would always sing "joy to the fishes and the deep blue tree" instead of "deep blue sea". My Mom had to convince me a few times. Well, you know how stubborn hearing impaired kids can be sometimes. If I had to choose out of these singles I heard up here, then I'd choose "Never Been To Spain". This Hoyt Axton song had the drums, the guitar and the world weary lyrics that really appealed to me. Three Dog Night would continue to keep going as the early '70s progressed.
-Bread-"If", "Baby I'm A Want You", "Diary", "Everything I Own": The voice of David Gates was the voice that opened doors for a lot of guys trying to start awkward conversations with girls back then. Bread won you points with them. Sadly, guys could not talk about them amongst themselves because you were considered some kind of sissy if you liked them. This is really too bad because this was a marvelous band. I never had that problem of having to keep my mouth shut about my like for them as I was in a basically isolated pattern anyway. Plus, I always was a little different in that I kept my openmindedness at the forefront of my sense of discovery. It would take for me to be an adult to learn that one of my favorite Monkees tunes, "Saturday's Child" was co-written by David Gates. If all of you recall, it was a rocker and not a ballad. It would also take me years to learn about why the late James Griffith was such an important element to this group. He was such a gifted guitar player. Bread would go on to make a song when I moved back to Santa Clara that would be a driving force in my life at the time.
-The Grateful Dead-"KC Jones", "Truckin"/Jerry Garcia-"Sugaree", "The Wheel": My first exposure to the music of The Grateful Dead and specifically Jerry Garcia came from 4 big ones. When I was a kid, I wasn't exposed to the crap that writers would later put into my head about the Dead and cause me to go on a very long and convoluted journey with them which would have its share of deep prejuduice and put-downs. But back then, I accepted The Grateful Dead with open arms. It was during a time when people were into the Dead because they loved the music. It was many years before the band became a franchise of sorts and the hanger's on and bad people got associated with the fandom. All of the later years bullshit was to be a continuing hinderance in my appreciation of the band.
What I can tell you though is that I think I am being fairly accurate in saying that I did hear Jerry Garcia's "Sugaree" and "The Wheel" being played on KEED at different odd hours. To this day (and I have not bothered to check official listings online), I am not sure that either were issued as singles. There were one or two djs at KEED who were big Dead fans. As a result, I honestly think they snuck in "Sugaree" and "The Wheel" when the station PD (program director) wasn't listening. I have to be perfectly honest here. I loved the two big singles from The Grateful Dead, but it was these two songs from Jerry Garcia's Jerry Garcia album which launched a brief fascination with Jerry before fate, circumstances and plain ol' bullshit got in the way.
This stuff was so different. It had a whole different feel to it. The pedal steel on "The Wheel" just floored me. Mind you, as a kid, I couldn't make heads or tails of what Jerry was driving at in the song. It didn't matter. His practically fragile voice (in a sense) and the music combined in a swirl that told me he was aiming for something.
I have to tell you that I still have to be in the right mmood to listen to The Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia nowadays. When I listen to the Dead, I focus on Jerry and Phil Lesh. Though the conditions have to be right, I'm still glad that I have made my way through to listen to them when I do. I will write more about them as time goes on.
-The Chakachas-"Jungle Fever": O.k., this song made me blush. Even I could figure out that there was ex going on in this silly little ditty.
-Al Green-"Let's Stay Together: Oh brother! This is it, baby. This is truely one of the greatest Soul singles to ever be released and I was there to hear it when it first came out. It knocked me out cold. It did so repeatedly. Long live Al Green!
-Edison Lighthouse-"Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes"-Great pop. It's another one of those great early '70s singles that seemed to come out of nowhere, made its run, and then faded into obscurity. They used to do that back then.
-"Smile A Little Smile For Me, Rosemarie": I'm too lazy to go and see who did this wonderful little single, but I loved it.
-"Jaggerz-"The Rapper"-Another in a long line of singles that made their run and then faded out.
-Cher-"The Way of Love" "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves": I actually bought the album that these two singles came from. It's weird though. Everybody remembers the latter song, but nobody recalls that "The Way of Love" made a big run back then. It got really heavy airplay. I'm really surprised oldies stations don't play this one more often given the impact it had back then.
-"The Resurrection Shuffle"- I can't recall who first did this. It would later be covered many years down the line by Clarence Clemons on a solo album of his with JT Bowen.
-"I Love You More Today Than Yesterday"-I can't recall the band. This was another quick riser that I loved.
-Lobo-"Me and You and a Dog Named Boo"-This was a huge one back the day. You got to take roadtrip with Lobo as he described different parts of the U.S. as you experienced his adventures. Lobo would be big in the early part of my retunr to Santa Clara.
-Donovan-"Atlantis", "Sunshine Superman", "Hurdy Gurdy Man": "Atlantis" was a single which came out that was still charting when I moved up to Eugene. It really fascinated me. This whole idea of being down in the bottom of the sea was a new concept to me. But for pure hippiedom and my attempts at passing myself off as one, I got the greatest attitude from listening to the old '60's singles "Sunshine Superman" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" being played on KEED. Little did I know that the heaviness I was getting from "Hurdy Gurdy Man" was being supplied by none other than Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones and John Bonham. Yea. You know. Those guys from Led Zeppelin.
-Agrissi or Adrissi Brothers (I can't remember which-it's my hearing)-"We've Got To Get It On Again": I really loved this song. To me, it was very dramatic. I still love hearing it to this day.
-Looking Glass-"Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)"-This one was a huge hit. I will always identify this song with driving around with my Dad in his truck when we were down in Santa Clara before we moved back down there. They would eventually come out with another single that I liked even more when I moved back.
-Manfred Mann-"Living Without You"(I think that's what this was titled.) This is a song I always identify with my brother Mike for some strange reason. I remember hearing this song on the way up to the Mt. Angel basketball tournament to see him play when he was still at St. Paul.
-Smokey Robinson & The Miracles-"Tears of a Clown"-It was this song which made me a fan of Smokey. He's the man who was given a voice which need not have to pass any inspection. He's the envy of many great singers of different stripes because he's got the falsetto pipes. You can take that to the bank.
-Janis Joplin-"Me and Bobby McGee"-Her last single was my first exposure to her. She would grow on me as the '70s progressed. I am just so sad that she's gone. I wish more people would have been around to help her fight her addictions. We could still use her combination of vulnerability and feistiness today.
-The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band-"Mr. Bojangles", "House At Pooh Corner": These were two huge singles back then. I had the "House At Pooh Corner" single and my brother John had the album from which both songs sprang. It was beautiful stuff. I also didn't know at the time that there was yet another Jackson Browne coinnection being made by way of "House At Pooh Corner".
-"Fruit of the Universe" (was that the title?): Who did this really weird song that used to kind of freak me out?
-Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flak-"Where Is The Love": This is a great duet and a song about having an affair. Well, I didn't know that being as I didn't understand about things like that yet. But I did identify with the feeling of emotion expressed though. Why don't people make songs like this anymore? They all seem so flaky nowadays- the ones where you have these superstar parings and they end up falling flat on their faces.
-Eric Burden & War-"Spill The Wine": This was a cool song that made me wish I could be among all of the women Burdon was singing about.
-War-"Slippin' Into Darkness": This is one of the best songs to come out from this '70-'72 period. My God! It had feeling. It had a musicality that killed me. Was was to continue to knock me out as time went on. This song had so many elements being put together in it. It made for an undeniable power. That's what you get when you make a combination of Soul, Funk and Latin rhythm and get that stew going.
-Olivia Newton-John-"If Not For You"-I could swear that her cover of the Bob Dylan song came out when I lived in Eugene the first time around. Back then, I didn't know she was covering Dylan. I thought she was covering George Harrsion because of my being exposed to the All Things Must Pass album so much back then.
-Neil Diamond-"Cracklin' Rosie", "I Am I Said", "Song Sung Blue": This is the period where Neil Diamond had another big emergence. Because of moving for my first time, "I Am I Said" struck me in a way that I didn't realize it was going to. "Song Sun Blue" just got so much airplay. I remember my Mom singing to it occasionally when we were driving around.
-Tommy James-"Draggin' The Line"-This was one of those special songs that set my attitude at the time in place. Like I said before for other songs, this was one of those which justified my feeling that I was a hippie-a very young one. Whenever I hear it now, I'm never embarrassed. It tells me that there's still one way deep inside me even though I've gotten a bit weathered.
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Eugene Music-KEED 1970-1972
I'm guessing that it's going to take me at least 3 or 4 more posts to finish my list from this time period. I'm getting to a section of this particular period that I want to open up on.
-Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean On Me": I have mentioned Bill Withers in my last entry about the trip I made to Santa Clara before I moved back there in the Fall of '72. I will never underestimate the impact that this man has made on me. His voice and his delivery spoke to me directly. This is his great gift. "Ain't No Sunshine" just blew me away continually when I used to listen to it. "Lean On Me" is a song which should never be forgotten. I wish I could hear people singing this to each other in the times we are living in right now. Listening to it back then was like listening to the Gospel Truth.
-Malo-"Sauvecito"-There was somebody beyond Santana making Latin music for me to be exposed to (even though I think a brother of his was a member of this band).
-The Rascals-"People Got To Be Free": This single form the late '60s ('68 I believe) got a lot of airplay on KEED. It was almost as if it was a current hit. I loved the message and I carried it with me.
-Zaeger & Evans-"In The Year 2525": Here's yet another '60s hit that got heavy airplay by KEED again. Depending on my mood and where my imagination was taking me whenever I happened to listen to this thing, I would sometimes get a little scared thinking of my own mortality.
-The Temptations-"Just My Imagination "Running Away With Me"-This was a killer for me. This was the song which made me an Eddie Kendricks fan for life. He would come back in late 1973 for me in a big way. Production values? This one should be required listening at any school for future producers.
-Gladys Knight & The Pips-"If I Were Your Woman": This song was the start, for me, of a now lifelong love affair with Gladys Kinight & The Pips. This song has delivery to burn by Gladys. If you don't believe what she's singing, then you have icewater in your veins.
-Chicago-"Colour My World", "25 or 6 To 4", "Beginnings", "Does Anybody Know What Time It Is? "Saturday In The Park. I thought Chicago was a great band. I still do. I can't over that some critics have roasted these guys alive. All of these great late '60s and early '70s singles from the Terry Kath Era of the band were marvelous. By the way, who didn't want to be as hot a guitar player as Kath? The guy was a scorcher. Chicago was another band that you learned about arrangements from. They would keep up the great work when I moved back down to Santa Clara.
-Rod Stewart-"Maggie May" and "You Wear It Well": Here's where I got introduced to Ronnie Wood. This was when he was at his best and not with The Rolling Stones. Rod and the Faces material was to grow in importance to me as the '70s wore on.
-Jethro Tull-"Aqualung": This was my first exposure to Jethro Tull. The person who was to really drive home Tull's music was my brother Mike. He got hooked on them up here. Then, I would eventually get hooked on essentially the first four albums.
-Jackson Five-"I'll Be There", "ABC", "I Want You Back", "The Love You Save". For me, "I'll Be There" was the one that I felt the most. They were a great singles band. Strangely enough, over time, I feel like the Jacksons were overhyped in their importance in some regards. In later years, I would hear The Five Stairsteps and their song "Ooh Child" as part of a CD package that I have of their best material and I think they were far superior to the Jackson Five in the musical department. They were essentially the same age, but they were coming up with more sophisticated arrangements than the Jackson Five and the Motown people.
-The Free Movement-"I've Found Someone of My Own": This is a great little single about breaking up and moving on with your life. This was really mature stuff for a kid like me to be listening to.
-Chi Coltrane-"Thunder and Lightning": The thing I always remember about this song is her unbridled forward delivery.
-Betty Wright-"Clean Up Woman"-Simply put. This song is the real deal. There's no b.s. in this song whatsoever.
-Free-"All Right Now"-This was the start of my association with Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke. They would later form Bad Company. It would take for me to be an adult to fully appreciate this band the way they should be. My God! The late Paul Kossoff was one hell of a guitar player. People, do yourself a favor and pick up the import U.K. Deluxe Edition of Fire and Water on the Universal label. The album is pure Blues influenced Heaven to me.
-Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean On Me": I have mentioned Bill Withers in my last entry about the trip I made to Santa Clara before I moved back there in the Fall of '72. I will never underestimate the impact that this man has made on me. His voice and his delivery spoke to me directly. This is his great gift. "Ain't No Sunshine" just blew me away continually when I used to listen to it. "Lean On Me" is a song which should never be forgotten. I wish I could hear people singing this to each other in the times we are living in right now. Listening to it back then was like listening to the Gospel Truth.
-Malo-"Sauvecito"-There was somebody beyond Santana making Latin music for me to be exposed to (even though I think a brother of his was a member of this band).
-The Rascals-"People Got To Be Free": This single form the late '60s ('68 I believe) got a lot of airplay on KEED. It was almost as if it was a current hit. I loved the message and I carried it with me.
-Zaeger & Evans-"In The Year 2525": Here's yet another '60s hit that got heavy airplay by KEED again. Depending on my mood and where my imagination was taking me whenever I happened to listen to this thing, I would sometimes get a little scared thinking of my own mortality.
-The Temptations-"Just My Imagination "Running Away With Me"-This was a killer for me. This was the song which made me an Eddie Kendricks fan for life. He would come back in late 1973 for me in a big way. Production values? This one should be required listening at any school for future producers.
-Gladys Knight & The Pips-"If I Were Your Woman": This song was the start, for me, of a now lifelong love affair with Gladys Kinight & The Pips. This song has delivery to burn by Gladys. If you don't believe what she's singing, then you have icewater in your veins.
-Chicago-"Colour My World", "25 or 6 To 4", "Beginnings", "Does Anybody Know What Time It Is? "Saturday In The Park. I thought Chicago was a great band. I still do. I can't over that some critics have roasted these guys alive. All of these great late '60s and early '70s singles from the Terry Kath Era of the band were marvelous. By the way, who didn't want to be as hot a guitar player as Kath? The guy was a scorcher. Chicago was another band that you learned about arrangements from. They would keep up the great work when I moved back down to Santa Clara.
-Rod Stewart-"Maggie May" and "You Wear It Well": Here's where I got introduced to Ronnie Wood. This was when he was at his best and not with The Rolling Stones. Rod and the Faces material was to grow in importance to me as the '70s wore on.
-Jethro Tull-"Aqualung": This was my first exposure to Jethro Tull. The person who was to really drive home Tull's music was my brother Mike. He got hooked on them up here. Then, I would eventually get hooked on essentially the first four albums.
-Jackson Five-"I'll Be There", "ABC", "I Want You Back", "The Love You Save". For me, "I'll Be There" was the one that I felt the most. They were a great singles band. Strangely enough, over time, I feel like the Jacksons were overhyped in their importance in some regards. In later years, I would hear The Five Stairsteps and their song "Ooh Child" as part of a CD package that I have of their best material and I think they were far superior to the Jackson Five in the musical department. They were essentially the same age, but they were coming up with more sophisticated arrangements than the Jackson Five and the Motown people.
-The Free Movement-"I've Found Someone of My Own": This is a great little single about breaking up and moving on with your life. This was really mature stuff for a kid like me to be listening to.
-Chi Coltrane-"Thunder and Lightning": The thing I always remember about this song is her unbridled forward delivery.
-Betty Wright-"Clean Up Woman"-Simply put. This song is the real deal. There's no b.s. in this song whatsoever.
-Free-"All Right Now"-This was the start of my association with Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke. They would later form Bad Company. It would take for me to be an adult to fully appreciate this band the way they should be. My God! The late Paul Kossoff was one hell of a guitar player. People, do yourself a favor and pick up the import U.K. Deluxe Edition of Fire and Water on the Universal label. The album is pure Blues influenced Heaven to me.
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