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!

 

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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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