RIP Lou Reed

Iconic rock singer and poet Lou Reed died this morning after complications from a liver transplant. He was 71.

Reed's career spanned over 50 years and gave us some of the most innovative and influential music in rock. And all of it from his own unique perspective. A perspective that made him highly respected amongst fellow musicians from Bruce Springsteen to David Bowie to Metallica.

We know him best from his hits. But there's some hidden chestnuts in his early career worth exploring.

His career began in 1958 when he recorded a single with his doo-wop band The Jades "Leave Her For Me" (with Reed on lead vocals)

He went to Syracuse University, studying journalism, film directing, and creative writing and hosted a show on the campus radio station. After graduating in 1964, he went to work as a songwriter and studio musician for budget record label Pickwick Records. By day he would be playing cover versions of then contemporary pop hits for his employer's record labels.

Here he is on this hilarious barbershop quartet rendition of "Little Deuce Coupe"

He also appears on lead vocals on the song "Cycle Annie", credited to The Beachnuts.

By night he would record his own material.

 

   "The Ostrich/Sneaky Pete" The Primitives (1964)

"The Ostrich" actually became a minor hit in the New York City area. The Primitives included John Cale, who would join Reed in his new band, The Velvet Underground.

They met Andy Warhol and Reed quickly found his muse in him. The band was signed to Verve Records and paired with a German singer named Nico and released The Velvet Underground and Nico, which in spite of it's low initial sales, quickly became one of the most influential rock albums of all time.

  

The band released a few more albums before disbanding. 

 In 1972 he teamed up with David Bowie and Mick Ronson and released Transformer. It's single "Walk On The Wild Side" with it's sly lyrics and and catchy bass riff became Reed's signature hit. 

Throughout his career, Lou Reed never embodied the glamour of life in rock n' roll. But the side you rarely saw. The only side he knew. And he wasn't afraid to share the ugly details. But it was in those details that you saw the beauty of his work. And why we loved him.

He always said he wanted to make The Great American Novel, but on a record. I don't know if he ever realized it. But every one of his solo albums was that elusive novel.

Rest well Lou......

"An Angel Is Missing" Ronnie (James) Dio (1958)

(Somehow, the logo typeface, the label and it's typeface scream a custom pressing by Capitol for Seneca....just an educated record collector observation. If not, then it's one of the best damn imitations I've ever seen.)

You aren't a TRUE Dio fan if you don't know this one. And yes, it's from 1958.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRSMAx_X8Xg

And yes it's this Dio.

"Delia's Gone" Johnny Cash (1962/1994)

 Gotta have a little Johnny Cash. This is the original version of his classic "Delia's Gone" from 1962. The younger crowd are probably more familiar with his 1994 remake of this classic

Halloween Hits: "The Haunted House Blues" Bessie Smith (1924)

If there is one person who can rightfully claim to be the TRUE pioneer of rock n' roll, it's Bessie Smith.

She had attitude, she had an opinion and she had one hell of a voice. Her blues recordings are not only legendary, they've set the standard for all great blues singers to come. And her influence has spread far beyond the blues. Janis Joplin idolized her. So have contemporary stars like Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt and Susan Tedeschi. And for good reason - she opened the door for all strong, independent people in blues, pop, country R&B and rock music to come. And her influence reverberates to this day

But tragically, Bessie Smith never got the appreciation she really deserved in her life. In fact, in 1937 when she was in a horrific auto accident that claimed her life, her right arm was nearly severed and needed to be amputated. She died from blood loss. Bessie Smith's Wikipedia entry claims she did not die as a result of not being able to find a "coloured" hospital in time. I have a hard time believing that personally, as time was of the essence in such a life threatening injury. A closer "white" hospital could have saved her (and contrary to the "separate but equal" rule of Jim Crow, black hospitals were also grossly underfunded, under equipped and understaffed compared to the white hospitals - especially in the South.)

And to add to this injustice, she was buried in an unmarked grave and forgotten for decades until Janis Joplin personally bought a proper headstone.

The Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Religion can make people do funny things. Like join them.

And in the '80s, the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was one dubious character.

For me, It wasn't so much the fact he was this strange little Indian guru who came out of nowhere. I was open to new things even back then.

It was the fact he was simply just every bit of a flaming nutjob as Pat Robertson. And the scary fact there are people attracted to people like these is one I've never been able to live comfortably with.   

The Bhagwan came to America in 1981 and shortly located to a remote area in Northeast Oregon. He bought a big 64 acre ranch and decided to convert it into a mini-village for his thousand-strong faithful called Rajneeshpuram.

Naturally, your neighbours up and down the road are going to have a problem with this if you set a thousand-strong strange people out loose wandering around in an area of less than 400 - often driving the Bhagwan around in Rolls-Royces. His teachings were a bizarre mixture of Eastern philosophy, sexuality and material obsession.

I'm automatically suspicious of any religious leader that needs to ride around in fancy new cars while everyone else has to walk.

The extra population boost from Rajneesh's followers (along with the import of several thousand homeless people) eventually was big enough to overwhelm the nearby city of Antelope, OR and by 1984, the City of Antelope became the City of Rajneesh.

City of Rajneesh, 1985

The original residents were angry at the newcomers whom they saw as invaders.

The Rajneeshees also made a series of New Age music albums under the name Basho's Pond.

This album perfectly defines New Age music if you've never heard it before. Note the "audiophile quality virgin Teldec vinyl" and DMM mastering. It was meant to be played on higher end stereo equipment. Which by the time you're finished buying the stereo amplifier, tuner, speakers, CD player, CDs, cassette deck, cassettes, turntable and records, New Age music was essentially an $8,000 wind chime.
You can hear some of it here:   http://ghostcapital.blogspot.com/2012/12/chaitanya-hari-deuter-govindas-deva.htm

 

Now things were really getting weird. And so was the Bhagwan. First he encouraged free love....Then he backtracked when AIDS became a terrifying epidemic. There was no cure for HIV/AIDS (there still isn't.) And virtually nothing was known about it amongst the general population, only that it was only a "gay" disease (it isn't.) Gay people (especially gay men) were targets of persecution across the nation due to the AIDS scare. And there was no shelter to be found in the Rajneesh community for them. Rajneesh preached the same hateful rhetoric as the fundamentalist Christians. He also favoured euthanasia for children born with birth defects.

Things came to a nasty head however when it was revealed Rajneesh's followers were involved in a bio-terrorism plot. Their plan involved contaminating salad bars with salmonella at restaurants in The Dalles, OR in an attempt to thwart the local election in their candidate's favour by reducing local voter turnout. The plan backfired - more local people voted than ever and the FBI and INS quickly began to investigate. It was revealed they had salmonella in vials and a petri dish and Rajneesh and his aides quickly attempted to flee the country. Rajneesh was arrested on immigration charges. But not on the bio-terrorism charges. On a plea bargain, he eventually returned to India, where he changed his name to Osho. He died in 1990.

His ashram in India is still active..

Plaque in Antelope, OR which memorializes the Rajneesh "invasion".......

Z-Rock Radio

Remember these guys?

Z-Rock was a national hard rock radio network from the late '80s to December 1996. Z-Rock was very popular with the headbanger metal crowd. They were heard over some FM stations, but most of Z-Rock's affiliates were third tier local AM stations that didn't find much success in any other format.

Z-Rock's days were numbered once the Seattle Grunge Revolution hit nationwide in 1992 and music tastes started changing towards alternative rock. In October 1993, the network further exacerbated their demise by pulling the plug on their AM affiliates and going FM only. As the network dwindled, so did their remaining affiliates until Z-Rock was taken off the air by their parent company, SMN Networks. However, the remaining local affiliates were allowed to retain the Z-Rock logo and imaging for their stations.....

Remember......

Yma Sumac

Yma Sumac "Voice of The Xtabay" (10" inch LP, 1952) Right here is where "Exotica" music began.....

Before Minnie Riperton and Mariah Carey, Peruvian singer Yma Sumac was considered to have the widest vocal range of any known singer, over FIVE octaves (that's a range going nearly the entire human vocal spectrum, from a gut-deep basso to an ear piercing C-note. The best opera singers can barely accomplish two octaves.)


But WHO was she?

She was reportedly descended from the last Incan emporer, Atahualpa (although no DNA evidence was ever presented, it's a claim supported by the Peruvian government.)

It was also claimed in the 1950s she was nothing more than a housewife from Brooklyn named Amy Camus (and "Yma Sumac" was this name backwards.) However, that rumor has been discredited by several Peruvian and Argentinian records she recorded for Odeon in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

The shellac doesn't lie......

Her popularity peaked in the 1950s during the hi-fi craze. Her exotic look, music and voice made her very popular with young hi-fi fans. In fact, before the first formal hi-fi demonstration albums, it was her records that were the bench test of hi-fi enthusiasts.

One of her most famous was Mambo! (10" inch LP, 1955)

 

Here's Side One.....

Yma Sumac died November 1, 2008.


 

PAUL IS DEAD!

Remember those "Paul Is Dead" Beatle rumours that spread around for decades. They all started with this INFAMOUS 1969 WABC broadcast.

WABC 770 AM New York had a MAMMOTH nighttime skywave signal that could be heard as far west as Denver, CO. And people everywhere tuned in. They even showed up in the Pittsburgh radio ratings!

Granted, Roby Yonge did not last long on WABC. There's a story about this Rick Sklar (his former program director at WABC) wrote in his book "Rocking America" (A GREAT READ - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) you should read.....

You can just imagine the HORROR on his face when he heard this!......

"Live Is Life" Opus (1985)

Interesting tune from Opus. Austria is usually one of the last places on Earth you'd look for reggae. But this one hit wonder scored a massive new wave hit with this flytape catchy tune.

Instant '80s Pop Culture Fact: "Live Is Life" was the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's favourite song. It also came out at the height of his cult's popularity.

Imagine a bobblehead of this guy if you want a visual of how the Bhagwan danced.....

I Don't Like Mondays

"I Don't Like Mondays" The Boomtown Rats is a seminal New Wave classic from 1979. What many pop music fans had forgotten (or never knew) that the song has it's origins in a tragedy that became a sort of precursor to the school shootings that occurred during the late '90s that led to the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 to the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings of late last year.

On January 29, 1979 (34 years ago today), Brenda Ann Spencer, a troubled 16 year old girl opened fire from the window of her house in San Diego to the playground of Cleveland Elementary School, which was across the street, killing the principal and a custodian and injuring eight students and a police officer. When asked why she opened fire, she flippantly remarked, among other things, "I don't like Mondays", which in spite of the context in which it was used became a sort of catch-phrase in the early '80s, appearing on buttons and t-shirts.

Her cold blooded lack of remorse for her crime at the time was enough to have her tried as an adult and sentenced 25 years to life for the killings. She had been denied parole four times. Her last parole hearing was in August of 2009 and she will not be eligible for parole again until 2019.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Ann_Spencer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Don%27t_Like_Mondays

Colonel Sanders' Tijuana Picnic

I didn't know where to categorize this. Under Food, Restaurants or Music. Well, it's a little of all of the above.

Could you think of two things that could be more further apart than Herb Alpert-like brass music and Kentucky Fried Chicken?

Before these unholy Taco Bell/KFC combo restaurants started popping up everywhere (do these corporations even know that when you're really in the mood for Original Recipe, the LAST thing you want to smell is greasy tacos and vice-versa?) and bizarre things like chipotle started showing up on KFC's menus, such a union meant automatic BANKRUPTCY to whoever was serving it. And rightly so. Leave the fried chicken and the faux Mexican food to the specialists. And keep them separate.

Of course some whiny corporate suck-up will say "But think about it; let's say mom and dad wanted KFC food and the kids wanted Taco Bell food. Wouldn't it be great if they could each have what they want under one roof?"

And then people wonder why kids are so spoiled today. Because when I was growing up, eating out was a TREAT. And a RARE treat at that. We NEVER argued or complained about where we were going to eat because ANYTHING was better than ANOTHER night of meatloaf.

I could sympathize with the Colonel when he said two years before his death in 1980 that he wished he never sold Kentucky Fried Chicken. I wish he hadn't either. You just don't know heartburn until you had just eaten strips of Extra Crispy and chipotle sauce in a gummy tortilla, no matter how much lettuce and cheddar cheese shreds they put in it.

But let's go back to the late '60s and this vinyl gem. I don't know how exactly it was distributed, but seeing as it was on Mark 56 Records (a company that specialized in producing custom albums for businesses to be sold cheaply or just given away as a loss leader for another product) it was probably given away with a bucket of chicken or sold for 98¢.

It's a generic album of trendy Tijuana Brass knockoffs (that sound was HUGE in the '60s) that corporate America was pushing on every supermarket sound system and FM radio station they could for middle class suburban moms of the late '60s who wanted to be hip, but didn't want anything to do with pot (and ended up alcoholic instead.)

I especially love the liner notes the Good Colonel wrote on the back of this album. Who would've known he was as much an expert on Latin-tinged pop jazz as he was pressure cooking chicken?

Actually, he wasn't. They were ghost-written. But he sure knew how to sell Kentucky Fried Chicken.....

Here's a sample:

Lena Zavaroni

I'm no fan of child recording stars in any way. I just can't handle the high, shrill frequencies that leave me screaming for a Fiona Apple tune. But this record bears a special horror to me, as my mom once owned a copy of this album.

If you're not familiar with the name Lena Zavaroni, you probably weren't around in 1974. Because for most of that year, this Scottish girl was "The Next Big Thing", appearing on American variety shows and telethons and scoring a debut album at the tender age of 10 with Ma! He's Making Eyes At Me.

But beyond who this girl who seemed to come out of nowhere was, it was the impact it had on an American R&B institution.

This album was most shockingly released in America in 1974 on Stax Records, the once mighty home of powerhouse soul like Otis Redding, Booker T. & The MGs, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Rufus Thomas, Issac Hayes, etc, etc, etc.

But by this time, all of Stax's biggest artists from the '60s had been stolen by Stax's former distributor, Atlantic Records by 1968 and Stax was left with only a handful of lesser soul acts on the label. Even the original master tapes of Stax's most successful '60s hits were taken. The label virtually had to start all over again from the beginning.


How do you recreate such a massive institution Stax was?

After 1968, Stax had floundered so badly in a lopsided distribution agreement with CBS Records that in a Faustian deal (it's the only way I can describe it) Stax quickly signed this girl for American distribution (I'm not sure whether it was Stax themselves that signed her as a last ditch attempt to bring their sorry financial house back in order or CBS that forced them into it in the hopes of killing off a potential rival to CBS's own home roster of R&B acts - the story varies.) But thanks to the crappy CBS distribution deal, the only way they could promote this album was through a massive TV campaign of commercials for the album (which my mom succumbed to), and other TV appearances because most record stores had trouble even getting Stax's regular R&B output.

Stax was also considered the bratty stepchild within the CBS household and with the exception of a few token spins of her only charting single (the album's title track) American radio simply would not play her songs. (10 year olds singing songs that only grandmothers liked has a way of doing that.)

And even more embarrassing for Stax, which was once one of the biggest and most respected R&B record labels in America were some of the blackface Al Jolson songs this little 10 year old white girl sang on this album, including "Mammy" and "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby (With A Dixie Melody)"

The gambit failed - HORRIBLY. Stax suffered a massive backlash from it's loyal base of hardcore R&B fans over this album and Stax went bankrupt in 1975. It's name and remaining assets were picked up by Fantasy Records and aside a few releases every so often, was mostly dormant until the 2000s.

But she disappeared as quickly as she came in America.

She maintained a small cult following in Europe (where she became more or less the Connie Francis of the '80s, still singing pop standards at a time when most young women her age were singing far more edgier rock material.) While considered a throwback in the '80s, she would probably seem very mainstream today.

She had a variety show in the UK (where the variety TV show format survived well into the '80s.)

However, she suffered from anorexia. Her weight dropped to a deadly 70 lbs. On top of struggling to maintain a fading career. At the end of her life, she was living on UK government benefits. She also suffered from chronic depression, at one point begging for doctors to operate on her brain so she wouldn't have to suffer anymore (This was before the days of newer medications and treatment programs.) 

The eternal tragedy of the former child star. Perhaps the most Faustian deal there is.

She died in October 1999 at 35.

RIP Gary Collins (1938-2012)

You might best remember Gary Collins and his unmistakable voice as the host of '80s afternoon TV talk show, Hour Magazine. He also made several guest appearances on The Love Boat and Fantasy Island as well as several TV infomercials in the '90s. He was 74.

Halloween Hits: "The Bells" James Brown (1960)

Undisputedly the Godfather Of Soul's creepiest record.......

Halloween Hits: "Phantom 309" Red Sovine (1967)

The single was originally released on this Starday label. It has also appeared on COUNTLESS trucker music compilation albums on Starday sister labels Gusto and Power Pak in the '70s

"Phantom 309" went to #9 on the country charts in 1967-68. It was also re-released in 1975 shortly after C.W. McCall's "Convoy" launched the CB radio/trucker craze

Red Sovine was a journeyman country singer who recorded for several labels, including RCA Victor and Decca with little success. But he soon became best known for his sentimental spoken word stories, mostly focused around long haul truckers and their families. It's with this niche did Sovine (and Starday/Gusto/Power Pak Records) find their greatest fan base.

In 1976, he released his best known single "Teddy Bear" It was also Sovine's only pop Top 40 hit, just entering for one week at #40.

"Phantom 309" is also parodied by an act called Red Bovine, who released "The Phantom Wind Breaker" in 1977 and was featured heavily on Dr. Demento's radio program and a few of Dr. Demento's album compilations..

Red Sovine died in 1980 while suffering a massive heart attack that caused him to swerve off the road and crash into a tree. He was 61. 

Halloween Hits: "D.O.A" Bloodrock (1970)

This is another super creepy song and a heavy metal classic. Single handedly inspiring countless classics such as "Detroit Rock City" Kiss and "One" Metallica. With a lead singer whose voice and style of singing was an irrefutable template for Ronnie James Dio's '80s career.

"D.O.A." is a song written from the perspective of someone dying in a horrific plane crash, inspired by an actual event the band's guitarist witnessed when he was 17. "D.O.A." was Bloodrock's biggest hit (and the song was released as a heavily edited - and sucky - single version) So here it is in it's full 8:25 album length glory. This is from their album Bloodrock 2.

Bloodrock broke up in 1975. 

Halloween Hits: Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House - Disneyland Records (1964)

http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index361.html

Who could forget this kid classic?

If you grew up in the '60s and '70s (as well as many from the '80s), this record was a part of your childhood. Even if you never owned a copy, you knew all about it's existence because you often had a friend that did.. 

Originally released in 1964, Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House remains a perennial Halloween holiday classic.

(Kinda like this album, but for Halloween.)

It was re-released in 1973 with an orange jacket and it has been re-released in it's entirety on CD.

Side One of the LP is narrated by the great Laura Olsher, who sadly passed away in June 2012.

Side 1

Side Two has a compilation of classic Disney sound effects. The most famous one is here.

Side 2

Laura Olsher's voice could be heard on many Disneyland story albums........

                              (Let's hear it for the G.E. Wildcat Portable Stereo Phonograph )

.........and even appears as a sample on Ice Cube's 1991 gangsta rap classic "Jackin' For Beats"

Her performance as Mrs. Cratchit in the 1962 Christmas special Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is another one of her famous roles......

                                  

Remembering.......

I know this is not the most appropriate thing to talk about in a blog called History's Dumpster or it's format.....But a lot of things changed on that horrible day.......The most important one should be how we treat the ones we love........You never know when they will be gone forever........

RIP Neil Armstrong