But It Wasn’t Over After All Thank God

Outtake from an article by Stein Omland in IMAGE magazine published at
The English & American Studies at Oslo University

The sun was beating down, hard, to the sound of a very loud drum. Mid-whirl, Bob Walkenhorst gabbed a garden hose, and doused the mass of wildly rocking  fans in front of the stage, offering them a few moments of relief from the blistering heat. Steam rose from the crowd as Walkenhorst sprayed himself before launching into the final verse of “Big Fat Blonde”.

It was the Kalvøya (Calf Island) festival of ’89, and Kansas City rockers The Rainmakers were the kings of the island. They were facing their most faithful audience and making more than a handful of new converts. The band probably won themselves more new fans in one single day, than they had done in one swoop since “Let My People Go-Go” dominated the airwaves in ’86. The concert was the stuff of legend. Loud, smart and shock-full of straight ahead undiluted fun. It was vintage Rainmakers.

One year later, it was over. The band came back to the festival the next summer. and did another classic set. But a lot of things were different. The day was overcast and plenty of showers proved that the band could live up to its name if the mood required it. Just a few days earlier the band had announced that they would be breaking up after  this, their final concert.

But when they entered the stage that day they did not hold back one inch. It  was an American band going out with a bang. They whipped the crowd into the same state of near-frenzy as they always did, and the audience begged them to stay.

When it was finally over and the band left the stage, bass player Rich Ruth turned towards the roaring thousands. “I have to leave all this?”, he seemed to ask himself. He looked sad.

Here’s two full concerts with The Rainmakers recorded in Norway for you

The Rainmakers Live at Rockefeller Music Hall on 1994-09-04

https://archive.org/embed/rainmakers1994-09-04.shnf

The Rainmakers Live at Josefine Vertshus on 2012-06-26

https://archive.org/embed/rainmakers2012-06-26.flac

And a mini-gig at Høgskolen i Oslo March 24, 2011 during the
“25 On” comeback tour of Norway.

And a Rainmakers interview at Herreavdelingen NRK Radio.

January 24th 2012, The Rainmakers straight from the airport and into the NRK radio studio in Oslo, Norway to record some songs and an interview for the Herreavdelingen radio show. Host is Finn Bjelke who’s been championing the band since the 1986 debut – Thanks Finn!

 

---

The Rainmakers have always had a large faithful following here in Norway, me included. The two concerts at Kalvøya were my forth and fifth with the Rainmakers. The first one was in ’86 and the ticket was a birthday present from my employees. Rainmakers’ Norwegian fans are still just as faithful and the band show their gratitude by giving five concerts here this coming  summer, I plan to attend at least two of them – Ted

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“God Forever, The Beatles Never” – When Lennon Compared the Beatles to Jesus in 1966

Christianity will go,” said Lennon. “It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that. I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go first, rock ’n’ roll or Christianity.

Birmingham disc jockeys Tommy Charles, left, and Doug Layton of Radio Station WAQY rip and break materials representing the British singing group the “Beatles” on August 8, 1966. The broadcasters started a “Ban the Beatles” campaign after Beatle John Lennon was quoted as saying his group is more popular than Jesus. Charles took exception to the statement as “absurd and sacrilegious.” (AP Phot

 

The Beatles went up in smoke near Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., on August 12, 1966 as neighborhood youngsters severed once and for all their two–year friendship with the four world figures. The Beatlemania bonfire, planned by Chuck Smith, 13, was in protest against John Lennon remark to the effect that the Beatles a
re “more popular than Jesus.” (AP Photo)

 

The Beatles appear to have lost their popularity at Beaver Meadows, a small community in northeastern Pennsylvania according to the sign, “God Forever, Beatles Never”, posted along Route 93, near Hazleton on August 10, 1966. A proposal in the Pa. legislature asks the ban of any future appearance of the Beatles in this state because of a remark attributed to one of the Beatles that they are more popular than Jesus Christ. (AP Photo)

Young churchfolk from nearby Sunnyvale on the San Francisco Peninsula protest against the Beatles and John Lennon’s remark that the Beatles are more popular than Jesus.

Text and image from flashbak

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RIP Sheffield Steel

John Robert "Joe" Cocker OBE
(20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014)

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Johnny Winter: Blues musician who inspired John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards dies aged 70

Blues musician Johnny Winter died the day before yesterday (16 July) in his Zurich hotel room at the age of 70.

His wife, family and bandmates are all saddened by the loss of their loved one and one of the world’s finest guitarists," it read. "An official statement with more details shall be issued at the appropriate time."

He had been on an extensive tour that included Europe. He did his final performance on Saturday (12 July) at the Lovely Days Festival in Wiesen, Austria.

Born 23 February 1944, Winter went onto inspire musicians such as John Lennon, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger – all of whom wrote songs in celebration of him. He also helped revive the careers of the legendary Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker through his collaborations.

Johnny Winter and Janis Joplin

Winter began his recording career at the age of just 15 with his band Johnny And The Jammers, when he released “School Day Blues”. His big break came in December 1968 when Mike Bloomfield invited him to sing and play a song at a Bloomfield and Al Kooper concert in New York. Representatives from Columbia Records attended the gig and signed him in what was then the biggest advances in the history of the recording industry – $600,000.

James Cotton – Johnny Winter – Muddy Waters

In addition to his own performing career, he is known for his work with Muddy Waters – his childhood hero. Winter created three lucrative albums for the musician; Hard Again (1977), I’m Ready (1978) and King Bee (1981). The partnership culminated in him wining three Grammy Awards. He was named 63rd best guitarist ever by Rolling Stone magazine.

Text from The Indipendent

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This Week’s Favourite Female Singer – Beth Hart

Beth Hart (born January 24, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California. She rose to fame with the release of her 1999 single "LA Song (Out of This Town)" from her second album Screamin’ for My Supper. The single was a number one hit in New Zealand, as well as reaching top 5 on the US Adult Contemporary and number 7 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 Chart. The song also aired during Episode 17 of the 10th and final season of Beverly Hills, 90210. Beth also delivered music to the end-scene of the last episode of "Californication" season 6, with "My California", Subsequent albums namely "Seesaw" and "Live In Amsterdam" by Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa, achieved number 1 status on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. Beth’s last release "Bang Bang Boom Boom" rose to number 3 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart, as well as the album "Don’t Explain" by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa. The album "Seesaw" rose to number 8 on the Billboard Top Independent Album Chart. Beth Hart has had two number 1 singles in Denmark "As Good As It Gets" and "Learning To Live", as well a platinum selling album "Leave The Light On". Beth’s first album with Joe Bonamassa, "Don’t Explain", went gold in The Netherlands. Beth in 2014 was nominated for a Grammy award with the album "Seesaw" and she was also nominated for a Blues Music Award in the category Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist.

Early career

While playing the Los Angeles clubs, she enlisted bassist Tal Herzberg and guitarist Jimmy Khoury. In 1993, Hart appeared on Ed McMahon‘s Star Search several times, ultimately winning the Female Vocalist competition for that season.

Beth Hart and the Ocean of Souls was recorded in 1993. It includes "Am I the One" and a pop-rock cover of the Beatles’ "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

Hart released her album Immortal with her band Beth Hart Band in 1996.

Screamin’ for My Supper: Career breakthrough

Her next album, Screamin’ for My Supper (Atlantic, 1999), featured "LA Song (Out of This Town)", a #1 hit in New Zealand and a top 5 Adult Contemporary chart hit. At the same time, Hart was singing the lead role in Love, Janis, an off-Broadway musical based on Joplin’s letters home to her mother.

Leave the Light On, live album and 37 Days

Hart’s Leave the Light On was released in 2003. Hart followed this up with her live album Live at Paradiso in 2005. Her fourth solo studio album 37 Days was released in Europe in July 2007.

"Learning to Live" was used as the theme song to Losing It With Jillian on NBC.

Text from Wikipedia

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On This Day in1971 – Jim Morrison Found Dead

Jim Morrison, the lead singer of American rock group The Doors has died in Paris aged 27. He was found in a bathtub at his apartment at 17 Rue Beautraillis by his girlfriend, Pamela Courson. A doctor’s report stated the cause of death was heart failure aggravated by heavy drinking.

The rest of the band – keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robbie Krieger and drummer John Densmore – are currently in the United States. Morrison, also known as the Lizard King, was born in Florida in 1943, his father Stephen was in the US Navy and rose to the rank of admiral. He formed The Doors with Ray Manzarek in 1965 in Los Angeles.

Morrison had come up with the name after reading Aldous Huxley’s account of drug experiences, The Doors Of Perception.The group became the first popular "new wave" band.

Their first album, The Doors, released by Elektra Records in 1967, was a number one hit in the US, though only just scraped into the British charts. Their following albums, Strange Days and Waiting For The Sun, provided further American hits and, in Hello I love You, a British number 15.

Arrested for lewd behaviour

But with its ever growing fame, the band lost some of its credibility in the rock underground. Morrison’s behaviour, fuelled by drink and drugs, became more outrageous and in 1969 he was arrested for "indecent exposure, lewd conduct and public intoxication" after a concert in Miami’s Dinner Key auditorium. Though some of the charges were later dropped, the scandal made it hard for the band to perform live for some time.

Morrison used the crisis as a spur to creativity and produced one of the group’s most critically acclaimed albums, Morrison Hotel, in 1970.

Over the past year he has made clear he wanted to drop music altogether to become a writer. He has already published two volumes of poetry, The Lords and The New Creatures, and planned to begin a literary career once his contractual obligations to Elektra were fulfilled.

In Context

Jim Morrison is buried at Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, where his grave has become a shrine for successive generations of fans. In 1991, the 20th anniversary of his death, the cemetery had to hire extra security after police used tear gas to disperse rowdy fans.

Since Morrison’s death his records have never been out of print and Hollywood, too, has found The Doors music attractive. The End was used in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, and in 1991 Oliver Stone helped cement the Morrison legend with his film biography The Doors, starring Val Kilmer. The film created a whole new generation of fans.

The three surviving members of the group released a new album, Doors Box Set, in 1997. It included three CDs of previously unreleased songs.

Text from BBC’s OnThisDay

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My Guitars Are Definitely Going To The Salvation Army

Check out Tina S’s Facebook Page and don’t miss her cover of Gary Moore’s “The loner”. It nearly blew my mind – Ted

Videos found on YouTube Lots more videos with Tina S there

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Janis Joplin Cutting “Piece of My Heart”

Photographer Daniel Kramer captures Janis Joplin cutting her 1968 hit “Piece of My Heart” in New York. “Janis wanted a bottle of Southern Comfort, so I accompanied her to a local wine store, then she did a few takes,” he recalls. “It was an empty studio, there was no stage or audience, no one to work to — yet she was just incredible.”

Image and text: THE VIRTUAL MUSEUM FOR EVERYTHING ROOTS AND BLUES

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This Week’s Favourite Female Singer – Melissa Etheridge

Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Her self-titled debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground hit. The album peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200, and its lead single, Bring Me Some Water, garnered Etheridge her first Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. In 1993, Etheridge won her first Grammy award for her single, Ain’t It Heavy, from her 3rd album Never Enough. Later that year, she released what would become her breakthrough album, Yes I Am. The album featured the mainstream rock hits I’m the Only One (#8) and Come to My Window (#25), the latter which scored Etheridge her second Grammy award. Yes I Am peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200, and spent 138 weeks on the chart, earning a RIAA certification of 6x Platinum, her largest to date.

In October 2004, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent surgery and chemotherapy. At the 2005 Grammy Awards, she made a return to the stage and, although bald from chemotherapy, performed a tribute to Janis Joplin with the song "Piece of My Heart". Etheridge’s performance was widely lauded, with India.Arie writing "I Am Not My Hair" about Etheridge. Later that year, Etheridge released her first compilation album, Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled. The album was a huge success, peaking at #14 on the Billboard 200, and going Gold almost immediately. Her latest release is 4th Street Feeling.

Etheridge is known for her mixture of "confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals." She has also been an iconic gay and lesbian activist since her public coming out in January 1993. She has received fifteen Grammy Award nominations, winning two, and an Academy Award. In September 2011, Etheridge received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Text from Wikipedia 

 

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This Week’s Favourite Female Singer – Gianna Nannini

Gianna Nannini (born 14 June 1956) is an Italian female singer-songwriter and pop musician. She may be best known for her 1986 song "Bello e Impossibile".

Musical career

Her first hit was in 1979 with the single "America" and the album California, which became a success in several European countries. Her rise to fame in Italy started in 1984 with the release of her sixth album, Puzzle. This album peaked in the top 10 at the Italian, German, Austrian and Swiss hit-parades. She sang for the videoclip "Fotoromanza" (directed byMichelangelo Antonioni), won several musical awards and started a European tour, including a participation at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1986, her hit "Bello e Impossibile" was a huge success and earned her more awards in Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Her 1987 compilation album Maschi e Altri sold over a million copies.

In 2004, she released Perle, which contains a number of her greatest hits in new arrangements. Backup-musicians were Christian Lohr on piano (who also is co-producer), and a string quartet: Vincenzo di Donna (first violin), Luigi de Maio (second violin), Gerardo Morrone (viola), Antonio di Franca (violoncello). With this orchestra Gianna went on a "Perle-tour" in Central Europe during 2004 and 2005.

The album Grazie was released in February 2006, and peaked at number one of the Italian hit-parade with the single "Sei nell’anima". During the summer of 2006, she toured all over Italy as promotion for the album. "Io", another track from the album, also became a big hit.

In April 2007, she released Pia Come la Canto Io, a collection of songs written for a pop opera that was performed in 2008. This work was eleven years in the making, and is based on the medieval Tuscan character Pia de’ Tolomei (mentioned briefly in Dante’s Purgatorio). The album was produced by Wil Malone, who also producedGrazie.

An acoustic version of her song Meravigliosa Creatura (from Perle) has been used in a 2008 advertisement spot for the Fiat Bravo directed by Matthias Zentner. The song and the spot have achieved such a success to take Perle to the Italian top 50 in sales, and Fiat would later include a Gianna Nannini song, "Aria" in another Fiat Bravo ad.

Text from Wikipedia 

Unfortunately I have not digitised my Gianna Nannini vinyls yet so you’ll have to make do with these YouTube videos. I might post some mp3s later on when I reach her records in the all too huge stack of records that I haven’t digitised yet – Ted

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This Week’s Favourite Female Singer – Stevie Nicks

Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, who in the course of her work with Fleetwood Mac and her extensive solo career, has produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums. She was deemed "The Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll" and one of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and, as a member of Fleetwood Mac, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. As a solo artist, she has garnered eight Grammy Award nominations and, with Fleetwood Mac, a further five.

Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975, along with her then-romantic partner Lindsey Buckingham. Fleetwood Mac’s second album after the incorporation of Nicks and Buckingham, Rumours, released in 1977, was the best-selling album of all time the year of its release, and, to date, made claimed sales of 40 million copies worldwide which makes it the sixth biggest selling studio album of all time. The album remained at No.1 on the American albums chart for 31 weeks, and reached the top spot in various countries worldwide. The album won Album of the Year in 1978 and produced four U.S. Top 10 singles, with Nicks’ "Dreams" being the band’s first and only U.S. number one hit.

Nicks began her solo career in 1981 with the album Bella Donna, which reached Platinum status less than three months after its release, and has since been certified quadruple-platinum. She has produced seven more solo studio albums to date, with her most recent titled In Your Dreams, and released on May 3, 2011. Nicks is known for her distinctive voice, mystical visual style, and symbolic lyrics.

 

Title: Artist: Recording: Recorded: Released: Genre:

Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around  Stevie Nicks  Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks  1981 [Single] 1991 [CD]  Soft Rock

Title: Artist: Recording: Recorded: Released: Genre:

Edge Of Seventeen Stevie Nicks   Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks 1982 [Single]  1991 [CD] Soft Rock

Title: Artist: Recording: Recorded: Released: Genre:

Leather And Lace Stevie Nicks duet with Don Henley  Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks 1982 [Single] 1991 [CD] Soft Rock

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This Week’s Favourite Female Singer – Julie Driscoll

Julie Tippetts (born Julie Driscoll, 8 June 1947, London, England) is an English singer and actress, known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan‘s "This Wheel’s on Fire", and Donovan‘s "Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger & The Trinity. Along with The Trinity, she was featured prominently in the 1969 television special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee, singing "I’m a Believer" in a soul style with Micky Dolenz. She and Auger had previously worked in Steampacket, with Long John Baldry and Rod Stewart.

"This Wheel’s on Fire" reached number five in the United Kingdom in June 1968. With distortion, the imagery of the title and the group’s dress and performance, this version came to represent the psychedelic era in British music. Driscoll recorded the song again in the early ’90s with Adrian Edmondson as the theme to the BBC comedy series Absolutely Fabulous, whose main characters are throwbacks to that era.

Since the 1970s, Driscoll has concentrated on experimental vocal music, married jazz musician Keith Tippett and collaborated with him. Her name is now ‘Julie Tippetts’, thus using the original spelling of her husband’s surname. She participated in Keith Tippett’s big band Centipede and, in 1974, took part in Robert Wyatt‘s Theatre Royal Drury Lane concert; released a solo album, Sunset Glow in 1975; and was lead vocalist on Carla Bley‘s album Tropic Appetites and in John Wolf Brennan‘s "HeXtet".

Later in the 1970s, she toured with her own band, and recorded and performed as one of the vocal quartet ‘Voice’, with Maggie Nichols, Phil Minton and Brian Eley.

In the early 1980s, Julie Tippetts was a guest vocalist on an early single by pop-jazz band Working Week, on the song "Storm of Light", which brought them the attention of a wider audience. Though the band later continued with other vocalists – notably with Tracey Thorn of Everything but the Girl fame and the band’s long term staple, another Julie, last name Roberts – it was this single that marked the band’s arrival and a brief infatuation from the British and European public with stylish pop incorporating a strong jazz flavor, thus marking Julie Tippetts, née Driscoll, as a vocalist for every age.

Title: Artist: Recording: Recorded: Released: Genre:

Wheels On Fire Julie Driscol, Brian Auger & The Trinity  Open  1967 1967 Rock/Rhytm ‘n Blues

Title: Artist: Recording: Recorded: Released: Genre:

Road To Cairo Julie Driscol, Brian Auger & The Trinity  Open 1967 1967 Rock/Rhytm ‘n Blues

Title: Artist: Recording: Recorded: Released: Genre:

Season Of The Witch  Julie Driscol, Brian Auger & The Trinity  Open 1967 1967 Rock/Rhytm ‘n Blues

I apologise for the sound quality on this record, but I’ve had it since 1967 – Ted 😉

Text from Wikipedia

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Happy Birthday Jimmy

Jimmy Page turns 70 to day. Put on your headsets and play some Led Zeppelin people. I suggest “Kashmir”. Listen to those well over 8 minutes and send a warm thought to one of rock’s greatest guitarists – Ted

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On This Day In 1991: Freddie Mercury Dies

Freddie Mercury has died aged 45, just one day after he publicly announced he was HIV positive. The lead singer for rock group Queen died quietly at his home in west London of bronchio-pneumonia, brought on by Aids, his publicist said. The flamboyant star is thought to have had the disease for two years, but he continued to make music and the decline in his health was only rarely glimpsed.

Mercury was born Farookh Bulsara in Zanzibar in 1946 and spent most of his childhood in India before his family settled in England in 1964. That year he enrolled in art school.

Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, Brian May and Mike Grose formed Queen in 1970. Regarded by fans and critics alike as a consummate showman, Mercury was openly bisexual and enjoyed a colourful rock-star lifestyle.

“A great personality”
Music critic Paul Gambaccini

Tributes from all over the world have been pouring in for the man who stole the show at Live Aid and wrote ground-breaking hits like Bohemian Rhapsody – which was number one in the UK for nine weeks.

Music critic Paul Gambaccini praised Mercury for his huge contribution to hard rock music. "He gave a form which was pretty staid and sour, a great personality," he said.

The director of an Aids education charity, Dr Patrick Dixon, told the BBC that Mercury’s greatest gift to his fans was admitting he was suffering from the disease. "His hope was no doubt that through his openness many people throughout the world would see that Aids is a real illness – that it’s killing people every day," said Dr Dixon.

In Context
A Freddie Mercury tribute concert for Aids awareness was held five months after his death at Wembley Stadium, London, and was attended by 72,000 people. Dozens of stars appeared at the event which was broadcast to 70 countries and raised about £20m for Aids charities.

His enormous contribution to music and his early death quickly cemented his reputation as a rock legend. In August 2002 voters in a BBC poll voted him among their top 100 British heroes.

Text from BBCs On This Day

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Thee Midniters

Thee Midniters were an American group, amongst the first Chicano rock bands to have a major hit in the United States. Also they were and one of the best known acts to come out of East Los Angeles in the 1960s, with a cover of "Land of a Thousand Dances", and the instrumental track, "Whittier Boulevard" in 1965. They were amongst the first rock acts to openly sing about Chicano themes in songs such as "Chicano Power" and "The Ballad of César Chávez" in the late 1960s.

The band was promoted by Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg on local radio station KTYM, Inglewood and by his fill-in Godfrey [Godfrey Kerr]. Huggy Boy was later the most popular DJ on KRLA.

Achievements
Thee Midniters are the only 1960s band from East Los Angeles that released a greatest hits album. The band was one of the first to integrate horns, timbales, congas, keyboards and electric guitars to produce a sound somewhat on the order of Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears, albeit a few years before those bands were "big". Most band members attended Salesian High School, off the corner of Whittier Blvd. and Soto St. during their times with the exception of drummer George Salazar who attended Garfield High School.

Highly professional and musically sophisticated compared to the surf bands of the day (they were largely school-trained), Willie Garcia and Thee Midniters were regarded in the East LA of the 1960s as The Beatles on a smaller scale, though they sounded (and still sound) more like a big, soul-gospel review group with a hefty dose of salsa.

A well-known disc jockey, Casey Kasem, said, "They were the best band I ever hired". Kasem filled a regular slot on KRLA AM top forty radio in the 1960s and promoted concerts and dances at the time.

Thee Midniters continue to be impressive with a combination of original and new members and will appear in Raven Productions’ PBS pledge break special "Trini Lopez presents the Legends of Latin Rock," along with El Chicano, Tierra and Gregg Rolie (of Santana and Journey fame) in the spring of 2009.

The band members
Thee Midniters were akin to an East LA allstar band. No other group from the area, and not many from elsewhere for that matter, could boast such a collection of talent. At the top was Willie Garcia a.k.a. Little WIllie G., the lead singer. "Willie G. was one of the most soulful Latin persons I ever heard," said the singer Brenton Wood. "He could really deliver a sermon, and he had a lot of feeling in his vocals." Willie took obscure soul ballads such as "The Town I Live In", or "Giving Up On Love" and made them more beautiful by his own special delivery.

After many years away from the band, Garcia returned in the ’90s to front one of the most sophisticated bands of any genre from the Los Angeles area.

Then there was lead guitarist George Dominguez, whose forte was blues rock. Dominguez had a devoted following among younger players across East LA. For example, Cesar Rosas, later to gain fame as one of the leaders of Los Lobos, would stare at George on stage to see how Thee Midniters’ guitarist played leads and riffs that Cesar could not figure out on his own. On several Midniters’ songs, in particular the live version of "Land of a Thousand Dances", Drummer George Salazar is as ferocious as the best rock players of the time. Trombonist Romeo Prado, was known to be the band’s music arranger and was a huge influence in the overall sound of Thee Midniters. Also Guitarist Paul C Saenz, was one of the members that played with Thee Midniters, in the late 1960s, after that went on to perform with singer Etta James.

Thee Midniters have continued to play through the decades under the leadership and management of Bassist Jimmy Espinoza and Saxophonist Larry Rendon, the two original players remaining in the line-up from the original 1960s group. Since 2006 they have featured Greg Esparza as the lead vocalist along with longtime Midniter mainstays through the years such as Bob Robles on lead guitar, Aaron Ballesteros playing drums, Bobby Navarrette on sax, Bobby Loya on trumpet and Bob Luna playing keyboard. In 2008 they were part of The Latin Legends concert at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and most recently were honored as a legendary garage rock band co-headlining with The Trashmen from Minneapolis, Minnesota known for their hit song "Surfin’ Bird" at the 9th Annual Ponderosa Stomp in 2010 at the House of Blues in New Orleans.

Among the group’s other songs to either achieve national or regional success are "Whittier Boulevard," "Love Special Delivery" and "That’s All."

The name
Thee Midniters adopted the unusual "Thee" to avoid the possibility of a legal challenge from the established R&B group of a somewhat earlier era, Hank Ballard & The Midnighters. Thee Midniters’ popularity and influence was such that a number of Eastside bands of the time adopted the "Thee" moniker, including Eddie Serrano and Thee Enchantments. Thee Headcoats and Thee Hypnotics of more recent times are others.

Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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On This Day In 1967 – Two Rolling Stones On Drugs Charges

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of rock band the Rolling Stones have appeared before magistrates in Chichester, West Sussex, charged with drug offences. The magistrates heard that after a tip-off, police raided Mr Richards’s mansion in Redlands Road, West Wittering on the evening of Sunday 12 February during a party.

They searched the house, interviewed eight men and one woman and found various tablets and substances that were later examined by the Metropolitan Police Laboratory. During the police raid, officers took away a number of items including Chinese joss sticks suspected of masking the sweet smell of cannabis resin and pudding basins holding cigarette ash.

Stones’ lead singer Mr Jagger, 24, has been accused of illegally possessing four tablets containing amphetamine sulphate and methylamphetamine hydrochloride. Guitarist Mr Richards, also 24, is charged with allowing his house to be used for the purpose of smoking cannabis. Both Mr Jagger and Mr Richards pleaded not guilty and were released on bail to appear for trial at West Sussex Quarter Sessions on 22 June.

Outside the court, a crowd of young fans were waiting to see the stars but the two men were driven away in a chauffeur-driven car from the back of the building. A third man, 29-year-old Robert Fraser, a gallery owner has been charged with possession of heroin and eight capsules of methylamphetamine hydrochloride.

In Context
During the widely publicised trial, the prosecution said the only woman at the house – singer Marianne Faithful and Jagger’s girlfriend – was dressed in nothing but a fur rug that she let slip occasionally. They claimed her lack of inhibition was a sign that she was under the influence of cannabis.

On 29 June, the judge sentenced Jagger to three months for possession of amphetamines and Richards to one year in jail for allowing cannabis to be smoked in his home. But in August the sentences – considered very harsh for first offences – were quashed on appeal.

The Stones continued to dabble in drugs and break the law as befitted their wild image. Richards at one point became a heroin addict. But by the turn of the century the band had become an institution as the longest-running rock group in history.

Mick Jagger was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in June 2002.

Article from BBC Home’s On This Day

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Janis Joplin & Grace Slick – Legendary Voices

Janis Lyn Joplin
Was an American singer and songwriter from Port Arthur, Texas. As a youth Joplin was ridiculed by her fellow students due to her unconventional appearance and personal beliefs. She later sang about her experience at school through her song "Ego Rock." Early in her life, Joplin cultivated a rebellious and unconventional lifestyle, becoming a beatnik poet. She began her singing career as a folk and blues singer in San Francisco, playing clubs and bars with her guitar and auto-harp.

Joplin first rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of the psychedelic-acid rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, and later as a solo artist with her more soulful and bluesy backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band. She was one of the more popular acts at the Monterey Pop Festival and later became one of the major attractions to the Woodstock festival.

Joplin’s death in October 1970 at the age of 27 stunned her fans and shocked the music world, especially when coupled with the death just sixteen days earlier of another rock icon, Jimi Hendrix. Music historian Tom Moon wrote that Joplin had "a devastatingly original voice." Music columnist Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote that Joplin as an artist was "overpowering and deeply vulnerable." Author Megan Terry claimed that Joplin was the female version of Elvis Presley in her ability to captivate an audience.

Grace Slick
Born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939 and is an American singer, songwriter, and former model, best known as one of the lead singers of the rock groups The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, as well as for her work as a solo artist, for nearly three decades, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s. Slick was an important figure in the 1960s psychedelic rock movement, and is known for her witty lyrics and powerful contralto vocals.

Alongside her close contemporary Janis Joplin, Slick was an important figure in the development of rock music in the late 1960s and was one of the first female rock stars. Her distinctive vocal style and striking stage presence exerted a definite influence on other female performers, including Stevie Nicks and Patti Smith.

Slick’s longevity in the music business helped her to earn a rather unusual distinction: the oldest female vocalist on a Billboard Hot 100 chart topping single. "We Built This City" reached #1 on November 16, 1985, shortly after her 46th birthday. The previous record was age 44 for Tina Turner, with 1984’s #1 smash, "What’s Love Got To Do With It". Turner (who is, coincidentally, within a month of Slick’s age) turned 45 two months after the song topped the charts. Slick broke her own record in April 1987 at age 47 when "Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now" topped the U.S. charts. Her record stood for 12 years but was ultimately broken by Cher, who was 53 in 1999 when "Believe" hit #1

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Some artists and some songs find a place in your heart and never leave. They lift your spirit whenever you hear them, make everything around you disappear, build a place for just you and their sound . These two artists and these two songs do this for me – Ted

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Vodpod Update – Them

Them were a Northern Irish band formed in Belfast in April 1964, most prominently known for the garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching singer Van Morrison’s musical career. The original five member band consisted of Morrison, Alan Henderson, Ronnie Millings, Billy Harrison and Eric Wrixon.The group was marketed in the United States as part of the British Invasion.

Them scored two UK hits in 1965 with "Baby, Please Don’t Go" (UK #10) and "Here Comes the Night" (UK #2, Ireland #2). The latter song and "Mystic Eyes"" were Top 40 hits in the US.

Morrison quit the band in 1966 and went on to a successful career as a solo artist. Although Them had a short-lived existence, the Belfast group had considerable influence on other bands, such as The Doors.

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Uploaded on British Classics 2 Mystic Eyes Gloria You Just Can’t Win Don’t Start Crying Now But It’s Alright Philosophy Bring em on in

Hey girl Come to me I happen to love you I can only give you everything Out of Sight Hello Josephine Baby Please Don’t Go Here Comes the Night

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The Bee Gees vs. The Beatles

What an absolute ridiculous question, the Fab Four versus three falsetto wankers from the colonies. One need to be brain-dead even to think it, let alone ask it – Ted

Image found at “70s child”

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New Jimi Hendrix Single Was Released On Sunday

After almost 40 years of being under lock and key, a new Jimi Hendrix single was released on Sunday, which was also the rock legends birthday. The song "Mojo Man" was produced by Jimi and his former roommates, brothers Arthur and Albert Allen (also known as TahraQa) who were the group Jimi Henrix and the Ghetto Fighters. They met working with Hendrix in the mid-1960’s and recorded three of of his albums, Cry of Love, Rainbow Bridge and War Heroes. The music and the video will be available at www.urbanstreettales.com

Shame they did not allow record shops the opportunity.

Text from “Stumptown Blogger”

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