music Archives - Page 163 of 268 - Ramblin' with Roger

Fun facts: Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) is chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. His father, John A. Chaffetz, was previously married to Katherine (Kitty) Dickson, and they had one son, John. Later, John Sr. married Jason’s mother, Margaret A. Wood. Kitty subsequently married Michael Dukakis (D-MA), the now-former governor. Jason worked on Michael Dukakis’ 1988 Presidential campaign.

DJT

The Vast Left-Wing Media Conspiracy to Make Donald Trump Look Like a Bigot

Donald Trump is shattering taboos around race, causing alarm among those who track racial tension and galvanizing white supremacists

WHO ARE ALL THESE TRUMP SUPPORTERS? At the candidate’s rallies, a new understanding of America emerges.

The Theology of Donald Trump

Just What Were Donald Trump’s Ties to the Mob?

How voters’ personal suffering overtook reason

Donald Trump and the Jews, explained

An old episode of Sesame Street featuring a Muppet named Ronald Grump who is proposing building a condo tower called Grump Tower. Throughout the show (0:00, 10:52, 21:27, 28:18 and 51:23). Plus ‘Sesame Street’ Parodied Donald Trump As A Garbage Grouch

MUSIC

Let’s Make America Great Again

Neil Sedaka – The Immigrant (re John Lennon)

30 Years- Roan Yellowthorne a/k/a Jackie McLean, who Remembers Her Childhood as Don McLean’s Daughter

US. Navy Band Sailors – “Jersey Boys” Medley (2014)

DakhaBrakha: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

17 COVER SONGS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINALS

Ten iconic TV opening theme songs

Donny & Marie Do Steely Dan

Smokey Robinson, a Leader of ‘a Musical Revolution,’ to Receive Gershwin Prize

Animated interview with Bob Dylan, age 20

Paul Simon Talks Peace with His Holiness the Dalai Lama (2005)

The Spice Girls at 20: ‘Women weren’t allowed to be like that in public’

Music Throwback Saturday: Takin’ It To The Streets

You, telling me the things you’re gonna do for me
I ain’t blind and I don’t like what I think I see

Takin’ It To The Streets surprised me. I was collecting those eclectic Warner Brothers Loss Leaders, still my favorite LP compilations, during the 1970s, which I saw advertised on the inner sleeves when I bought my albums by James Taylor or Bonnie Raitt or Seals & Crofts.

I got one called Cook Book, “focusing on Warner’s black acts,” but I’m nearly positive I never saw it advertised, and so never ordered it. Either they sent it in lieu of something that had sold out, or I sent WB money and said, “Anything else in the vaults?”

The Doobie Brothers actually showed up on 10 of the Loss Leaders over the years, including seven times before Cook Book, but with songs such as Black Water, though they did a quasi-soulful cover of the Motown song Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me).

Touring in late 1975, Doobies leader Tom Johnston developed stomach ulcers, and the band considered calling it a day. But member Jeff “Skunk” Baxter “suggested calling up friend and fellow Steely Dan graduate Michael McDonald who at the time was between gigs and living in a garage apartment. McDonald was reluctant at first.” Still, he joined the tour. “Expecting to be finished once touring was completed, McDonald was surprised when the band invited him to the studio to work on their next album.”

That sixth Doobie Brothers’ collection turned out to be Takin’ It To the Streets. McDonald wrote three songs, including the title track, and contributed to another tune. His successful addition changed the direction of the band, as his lead vocals became more prominent in the band’s oeuvre.

Takin’ It To the Streets got to #13 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts and #57 on the Hot Soul Singles in 1976. It was #11 in Canada.

Single
Album version
Live version
Lyrics

You don’t know me but I’m your brother
I was raised here in this living Hell
You don’t know my kind in your world
Fairly soon, the time will tell

You, telling me the things you’re gonna do for me
I ain’t blind and I don’t like what I think I see

Clarinet

I ordered a CD from Amazon that had two Mozart pieces.

Benny Goodman, 400 Restaurant, New York, NY., ca. July 1946

The Daughter played the clarinet for about two years. The added benefit was that The Wife took HER clarinet out of retirement – she had played in high school – and started practicing. They even played a brief duet at one of the family reunions.

Unfortunately, when the Daughter quit, her mother did as well. Still, she loves the instrument.

The Wife is a notoriously difficult person to buy presents for. There have been a few things that had been reliable choices for a time. A few Glee TV soundtracks early on. Her “K girls, Diana Krall and Alison Krauss, when they’d put out a new album. The six
seasons of Downton Abbey on DVD.

This year, uncharacteristically, she actually asked for a classical album featuring clarinetist Benny Goodman. I was unaware that he even played in a classical setting, hearing him entirely in the jazz genre.

Nevertheless, I ordered a CD from Amazon that had two Mozart pieces, Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A major, K. 622 and Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet in A major, K. 581, the former with the Boston Symphony, conducted by Charles Munch, the latter with its String Quartet.

It arrived at work the Friday before Mother’s Day. At church that evening, it was First Friday, and the Capital City String Quartet was playing pieces by Mozart and Brahms with a clarinetist. You can guess that the Mozart piece was the very same K. 581 that had just been delivered to me!

And the K. 622 The Wife had played in a performance in high school, which seems to have been her greatest musical accomplishment.

Happy birthday to my bride, who is turning…some age younger than mine. Hope I have figured what to get you THIS time. In honor of her natal day, listen to Mozart, Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A major K. 581.

VALTER VÍTEK: Clarinet, KUBIN QUARTET : L.CAP, J.NIEDERLE, P.VÍTEK, J.ZEDNÍČEK, Ostrava 1989

Nairi-Quartet: Soo-Young Lee (Clarinet), Narine Nanayan (1st violin), Zhanna Harutyunyan (2nd violin), Gohar Mkhitaryan (viola), Vladislav Kozin (cello)

Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A major K 622

Cleveland Orchestra. Clarinet: Robert Marcellus Conductor: George Szell

Linda Ronstadt is 70

Linda Ronstadt had to persuade her record company to include the song on the album.

The birthday of Linda Ronstadt is actually July 15.

As I’ve previously noted, Linda was the subject of one of the two times I was involved in a buycott involving a musician, the other being the Dixie Chicks. NOT a boycott, I tell my spellchecker, it is, in fact, “the opposite of a boycott: deliberately purchasing a company’s or a country’s products in support of their policies, or to counter a boycott.”

In 2004, she had been escorted from a Las Vegas casino “after she had dedicated a song to the filmmaker Michael Moore.” This sufficiently irritated me that I decided to purchase some Linda Ronstadt music. But what? I had most of her earlier albums on vinyl and many of her later collections on CD.

I decided to order her 1999 box set, which is a great collection. Disc 1 and about a third of Disc 2 are pop album cuts, not necessarily hits, from the most recent back to “Different Drum.” It was followed by selections from her three albums arranged by Nelson Riddle and songs from her two Spanish-language LPs. Disc 3 had duets and trios, and Disc 4 featured rarities. It’s a great collection, though it was sparse of cuts from Hasten Down the Wind, my favorite album of hers.

Of course, I am pleased that she has finally been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Someone put together a list of Top 10 Linda Ronstadt Songs, with links there.
10. ‘Heat Wave’ -From ‘Prisoner in Disguise’ (1975). #5 pop in 1975.
9. ‘Just One Look’ – From ‘Living in the U.S.A.’ (1978). #44 pop in 1979.
8 ‘That’ll Be The Day’ -From ‘Hasten Down the Wind’ (1976) . I used this song A LOT to describe what a triplet in music sounds like. One or two other songs on the album used the same device. #27 CW, #11 pop in 1976.
7. ‘Ooh Baby Baby’ -From ‘Living in the U.S.A.’ (1978). #85 CW in 1978, #7 pop in 1979.
6. ‘When Will I Be Loved’ – From ‘Heart Like a Wheel’ (1974). Written by Phil Everly and a hit for the Everly Brothers in 1960. #1 CW, #2 pop for two weeks in 1975.
5. ‘It’s So Easy’- From ‘Simple Dreams’ (1977). #81 CW, #5 pop in 1977.
4. ‘Poor Poor Pitiful Me’ From ‘Simple Dreams’ (1977) . I got really annoyed with the “purists” who complained that Linda didn’t sing it just as Warren Zevon wrote it, even (gasp) leaving out a verse. #46 CW, #1 pop in 1978.
3. ‘Hurt So Bad’ From ‘Mad Love’ (1980). #8 pop in 1980
2. ‘Blue Bayou’ From ‘Simple Dreams’ (1977). Baseball announcer Tim McCarver only mildly wrecked this great Roy Orbison cover for me by referring to a fastball as a “Linda Ronstadt – blew by you.” #2 CW for two weeks, #3 pop for four weeks in 1977.
1. ‘You’re No Good’ From ‘ Heart Like A Wheel’ (1974). #1 pop in 1975.

Listen to ICON: her discuss the songs on Linda Ronstadt’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 1.

Then I picked a couple of dozen OTHER Linda Ronstadt songs that I enjoy, with links below. The order, save for #1 is fairly soft, and I might have picked a different dozen or more on another day.

24. Willin’ from Heart Like A Wheel (1974). A great Little Feat song. On a comment to a previous Linda Ronstadt post, Dustbury noted why Ronstadt earned his respect early on. “After signing with Asylum in 1973 and putting out ‘Don’t Cry Now,’ someone at Capitol, her previous label, did the math and found out that she owed them one more album. A lot of acts would have handed over a stack of outtakes or a live set. Instead, she did something that turned out to be [an album] which spent nearly a year on the charts and made her a legitimate superstar.”
23. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons from For Sentimental Reasons (1986) – the title song of the third collaboration between Ronstadt and bandleader/arranger Nelson Riddle
22. Lose Again from Hasten Down the Wind (1975). A Karla Bonoff song. #76 pop.
21. What’s New from What’s New (1983) – the title song from the first Ronstadt/Riddle collaboration. #53 pop in 1983.

20. Don’t Know Much from Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (1989). The song written by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, and Tom Snow had been recorded at least five times, including by Mann, before Linda performed this with Aaron Neville. I’m fond of all their duets. #2 pop for two weeks.
19. Still Within The Sound Of My Voice from Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind. A song written by Jimmy Webb and originally recorded by Glen Campbell.
18. My Funny Valentine from For Sentimental Reasons (1986). I’m particularly fond of the instrumentation at the beginning.
17. Ruler of My Heart from We Ran (1998).

16. I Think It’s Gonna Work Out Fine from Get Closer (1982). Featuring James Taylor.
15. Freezing from Songs from Liquid Days (Philip Glass- 1986). Written by Glass and Suzanne Vega.
14. Trouble Again from Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind (1989). Written by Karla Bonoff and Kenny Edwards.
13. Different Drum from Evergreen, Volume 2 (Stone Poneys – 1967) – written by Mike Nesmith in 1965. Her first hit single. #13 pop in 1968.

12. Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) from Winter Light (1993). Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, and of course, a great song from the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album. Love the intentional out-of-synch verse.
11. I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love With You) from Heart Like a Wheel (1974) – written and originally recorded by Hank Williams, a huge country single hit in 1951. The ever-wonderful Emmylou Harris is the duet vocalist. B-side of You’re No Good. #3 CW in 1975.
10. I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself from Winter Light (1993) A Burt Bacharach/Hal David song, both Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick had recorded this.
9. It Doesn’t Matter Anymore from Heart Like a Wheel (1974). It’s a ballad written by Paul Anka, and became a posthumous hit for Buddy Holly. B-side of When Will I Be Loved. #54 CW, #47 pop in 1975.

8. Cry ‘Til My Tears Run Dry from We Ran (1998). Composed by Doc Pomus. Irma Thomas sang this.
7. Anyone Who Had A Heart from Winter Light (1993). A Burt Bacharach/Hal David song, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick and Cilla Black, among others had recorded this.
6. Faithless Love from Heart Like a Wheel (1974). Written by J.D. Souther and recorded by Glen Campbell.
5. Someone to Lay Down Beside Me from Hasten Down the Wind (1975). Another Karla Bonoff song. #42 pop in 1977.

4. Long, Long Time from Silk Purse (1970). Linda had to persuade her record company to include the song on the album. It garnered her first Grammy nomination. #25 pop in 1970.
3. I Never Will Marry from Simple Dreams (1977). A traditional song, sung with Dolly Parton. #8 CW in 1978. Here’s a version with Johnny Cash.
2. Round Midnight from For Sentimental Reasons. Love the strings at the end.
1. Telling Me Lies from Trio (Dolly Parton, LR, Emmylou Harris – 1987). The harmony vocals can just destroy me. #3 CW in 1987

Finally, my link to a live version of 1917.

Music and communication

I do have affection for Chester A. Arthur.

More Ask Roger Anything questions from Chris:

How do you explain to your daughter how to vet sources?

It must be from an example. Just recently, my daughter said, of a tabloid cover in the supermarket, “Cher isn’t really dying, is she?” We watch a couple of news networks, plus Comedy Central, not every day, but often enough, so she can clearly see that shows often offer different emphases.

In your opinion, is Wikipedia a reliable source?

Depends on the topic, and the compiler. There’s an old cliche about a newspaper providing perfect information for topics I know nothing about, but less so for things with which I am familiar. I recently linked to the Wikipedia for the band Blotto, and I noticed that it NEVER mentioned the band members’ actual names. This was a failing.

Some posts are frozen in amber, perfectly accurate as of November 2013, e.g., but not so much today. Whereas other posts are updated regularly to reflect new music released or films made. Deaths are often, but not always, caught.

I specifically remember that back in 2004 or 2005, I corrected a mention that the next Presidential election would be in 2007, when, of course, it was 2008.

Still, when I’m doing research for a topic about which I know nothing, Wikipedia can be very useful, ESPECIALLY the links to the various footnotes.

What’s one area of scientific research that you think we should be funding more (other than medicine and climate change)?

Well, climate change is huge and would include the potential for everything from island nations flooding to the future loss of the maple syrup industry from the continental United States. Once you’ve eliminated climate change and medicine, what I think you have left is space exploration. It has very often answered many questions for answers here on earth, including those two topics.

What’s been the most surprising world change in your lifetime?

Communication, for good and for ill. You make friends on Facebook with people around the world, you have fights with total strangers on Facebook, often about really stupid stuff. You text your friends, while you ignore those physically around you.

I’ve been the guy reading the newspaper, maybe only a dozen years ago, and someone, as often as not, would comment on a story, or maybe just quietly read over my shoulder. Or I’d read over someone else’s shoulder. Those electronic devices don’t seem to open one up to one’s immediate environment, even as one can learn about the most recent terrorism in Turkey.

The Internet allows for more information, but also misinformation, disinformation, satire, lies. We can see Arab Spring or police misconduct, but also LOL cats and Stare-down Sammy, which got 34 million views on Facebook, and was shown on the CBS morning news; I thought it was a waste of air time.

There have been conspiracy theories for a long time, but they can propagate far more freely these days. Even objective facts will be disputed, and as a person dealing with, ideally, objective information, this can be both frustrating and exhausting. (See also my answer about Google.)

I’ve actually had this conversation about an article someone read. (I’m a librarian; a variation of this happens a LOT.)

Her: Is it true?
Me: Where did the information come from?
Her: Facebook!
Me: But what was the ORIGINAL SOURCE of the information?
Her: I TOLD you, Facebook!

Who is your favorite president and why?

Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was rich and rather pompous and arrogant. His ailment thought to be polio at the time, but now believed to be Guillain-Barre syndrome, humbled him, and made him a champion for those less well off. And he had a great partner in Eleanor, with whom he seemed to have achieved an understanding regarding his infidelity.

He was imperfect, the Japanese internment being chief among his failures. But he initiated a lot of useful programs, some of which are around today, such as Social Security and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

I do, though, have affection for Chester A. Arthur, a product of the spoils system who became a reformer for civil service.

Tom the Mayor queried:

What is your Favorite Beatles song?

The last time I made a list, it was 3. Help 2 Got To Get You Into My Life 1 Tomorrow Never Knows. Re: TNK, I recently saw Paul, Ringo, and Georges Harrison and Martin discuss its intricacies. But Help! is something I can sing with my daughter.

What is your Favorite Aretha Franklin Song?

The last time I made a list, it was 4. (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone 3. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman 2. Sweet Bitter Love (1966). 1. Respect
Of course, Respect is a great cover. Since You’ve Been Gone has always been a favorite because it stifled deejays. But Sweet Bitter Love was in a quartet (or more) of songs that I played when romance went south.

What is your Favorite Joni Mitchell song?

The last time I made a list, it was 2. A Case of You 1. River. River reminds me of my late friend Donna George. But the poetry of A Case of You touches me too.