DESDINOVA'S 20 FAVORITE ELTON JOHN SONGS

I've posted several Ipod playlist dedicated to such artist as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Monkees, The Doors, Chuck Berry and Prince. A few days ago, I thought "I've never made a Ipod playlist for Elton John." Well, now I think is the right time. These are my favorites in order.

1.  Mama Can't Buy You Love 
2.  Madman Across the Water (original version)
3. All The Young Girls Love Alice
4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
5. Lady Samantha
6. Crocodile Rock
7. Tiny Dancer
8. Saturday Nights All Right For Fighting
9. Philadelphia Freedom
10. Burn Down The Mission
11. Take Me To the Pilot
12.  Kiss The Bride
13. I'm Still Standing
14. Your Song
15. Bennie & The Jets
16. Rocket Man
17. Warp Her Up
18. Funeral For a Friend
19. Candle In the Wind (original version)
20. Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters

WE'RE GONNA CHANGE IT UP A BIT - COVER SONGS THAT WERE DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT THAN THE ORIGINAL

Let's face it, most cover songs sound pretty close to the original. The Beatles version of "Twist and Shout" sounds like the Isley Brothers version, Smash Mouth's version of "I'm a Believer" sounds almost identical to The Monkees version, and even the Jeff Beck Group's version of "Love Is Blue" sounds like Paul Mauriat's "Love is Blue." These are called "faithful" cover versions.

However, there artist that take things in a totally different direction. This blog post (and podcast) will celebrate those great cover versions that "changed it up a bit."

Since I'm using the podcast for illustration, I won't go into very much detail. However, I will point out the inspiration for this post. The Bluebelles' 1984 British hit "Young At Heart" was the subject of a lawsuit by former Fabulous Poodles' fiddle player Bobby Valentino, who played on the record. He said that he should get a credit and some compensation, because his fiddle playing contributed to the success of The Bluebelles recording. It was originally recorded by Bananarama the previous year with a typical bouncy, synthesizer pop song that Bananarama was known for. The judge agreed that his country pop fiddle made the remake a big hit.

I got to thinking about other cover songs that seem to be unrecognizable from the original. Vanilla Fudge's headbanging psychedelic version of The Supremes hit "You Keep Me Hanging On" came to mind, along with Peggy Lee's smoldering, beatnikish version of Little Willie John's bumpin blues "Fever."

I once heard an interview where Screaming Jay Hawkins said he liked Nina Simone's version of "I Put a Spell On You" better than his. On the other hand, I had a co-worker in radio, who would become visibly angry at the very mention of James Taylor's version of the Jimmy Jones hit "Handy Man." Personally, I never cared for Donna Summer's version of "MacArthur Park" and I like most of Donna Summer's hits.

Everyone has covered "Do You Want To Dance?" and "Money," but Bette Midler and the Flying Lizards did those songs different than any other act.

Many of theses are either, rocker becomes ballad, soft rock becomes heavy metal or disco, even a psychedelic pop song turned into a bluegrass song and a bluegrass song from a 60's rural sitcom turned into a Celtic dirge. Even a British rock band doing a goofy Perry Como song about mannequin lust. So lets take a listen.

NOTE: I realize the sound is bad on this. I'm using "borrowed" equipment, so I don't have control of the sound quality. My apologies. I also used a "guest announcer" for this podcast.

"Young At Heart" The Bluebelles 1984 (Original recording by Bananarama 1983)
"For Once In My Life" Stevie Wonder 1968 (Original hit Tony Bennett in 1967)
"Summertime Blues" Blue Cheer 1967 (Original hit by Eddie Cochran 1958)
"Do You Want To Dance?" Bette Midler 1972 (Original hit by Bobby Freeman 1958)
"Love Buzz" Nirvana 1989 (Original recording by Shocking Blue 1969)

"Hooked On a Feeling" Blue Suede 1974 (Original hit by B.J Thomas)
"I Put a Spell On You" Nina Simone 1965 (Original hit by Screaming Jay Hawkins 1955)
"There Is a Time" Solas 2008 (Original recording by The Dillards with Maggie Peterson 1964)
"Fever" Peggy Lee 1958 (Original recording by Little Willie John 1956)
"Diamonds & Rust" Judas Priest 1977  (Original hit by Joan Baez 1975)
"Careless Whispers" Seether 2009 (Original hit by Wham 1984)
"Handy Man" James Taylor 1978 (Original hit by Jimmy Jones 1960)
"The Locomotion" Grand Funk Railroad 1974 (Original hit by Little Eva 1962)
"Bette Davis Eyes" Kim Carnes 1981 (Original recording by Jackie DeShannon 1975)
"Money" The Flying Lizards 1980 (Barrett Strong 1959)
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)" Marilyn Manson 1994 (Original hit for The Eurythmics 1983)
"Satisfaction" Devo 1980 (Original hit for The Rolling Stones 1965)
"Fox On the Run" Tom T. Hall 1976 (Original hit by Manfred Mann 1969)
"Summertime" Billy Stewart 1966 (Written in 1937, first rock era version by Sam Cooke 1957)
"Never Gonna Say Goodbye" Gloria Gaynor 1974 (Original hit by the Jackson Five 1972)
"You Keep Me Hanging On" Vanilla Fudge 1968 (Original hit by The Supremes 1966)
"MacArthur Park" Donna Summer 1980 (Original hit by Richard Harris 1968)
"Woodstock" Mathews Southern Comfort fall 1970 (Original hit by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young March 1970)
"With a Little Help From My Friends" Joe Cocker 1968 (Originally recorded by The Beatles in 1967)
"Walk On By" The Stranglers 1980 (Original hit for Dionne Warwick 1962)
"Proud Mary" Ike & Tina Turner 1971 (Original hit for Creedence Clearwater Revival 1969)
"Light My Fire" Jose Feliciano 1968 (Original hit by The Doors 1967)
"Knock On Wood" Amii Stewart 1979  (Original hit by Eddie Floyd 1966)
"I'm a Man" The Yardbirds 1965 (Original hit by Bo Diddley 1955)
"House of the Rising Sun"  Frygid Pink 1970 (Original hit by The Animals 1964)
"Hey Joe"  Jimi Hendrix 1967 (Original hit by The Leaves 1965)
"Glendora" The Downliners Sect 1966 (Original hit by Perry Como 1956)
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" Diana Ross 1970 (Original hit for Marvin Gaye & Tami Terrell 1967)

And last but not least:

"Blinded By The Light," "For You" and "Spirits In the Night" Manfred Mann's Earth Band 1976-1980 (Original recordings by Bruce Springsteen 1973).

P. S: Before you say "You left off The Cowboy Junkies version of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane." It is different than the version of the Loaded LP." True, but the Cowboy Junkies version is identical to the version The Velvet Underground performs on the Live 1969 LP. So it doesn't count.

DESDINOVA'S 25 GREATEST GUITAR INTROS OF THE 70s

One of the earmarks of 70s rock was the guitar intro. Some have called it a trend, but in reality, they were perfected in the 70s. Lets face it, the first one in rock & roll was Chuck Berry's open to "Johnny B. Good," followed by Buddy Holly's noodling at the beginning of "That Will Be the Day" and we should mention Dave Appell's riff at the beginning of  John Zacherely"s"Dinner With Drac."

The 60s brought the British Invasion, garage bands and psychedelic rock, all of which paved the way for heavy metal and prog rock of the 70s. I could do a whole post on 60s guitar intros too. Everything from "Day Tripper," "Satisfaction," "You Really Got Me," "I Can See For Miles," "Eight Miles High," "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "Sunshine of Your Love," "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass"...like I said enough for another post.

The 80s & 90s had some great ones too, by Guns N Roses, R.E.M, Van Halen, Loverboy, Nirvana, just to name a few. That also could be another post.

In researching this subject, I realize that not every song began with a rocking guitar intro. Some of the biggest hard rock songs of the 70s began with a slow acoustic guitar build up before the hard rocking guitars began. The obvious example is Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven." Also in this group would be Boston's "More Than a Feeling," Kiss's "Black Diamond," Heart's "Crazy On You" and Chilliwack's "Fly By Night."

Also some of the great guitar riffs are preceded by keyboard parts. I ruled those songs out, because I wanted to list those that kick off the song in a big way or at least start song of within a short time. 

I'm going to rank these. I usually don't do that but with this list it would be impossible not to do so. I'm sure some will want to argue, I guess I will accept it.

1.  "Layla" - Derek & the Dominoes: If I hadn't listed this as the number one guitar riff of the 70s, there would have been an outcry all over the Internet. This is one of the songs, if not the song, that set the standard for 70s guitar intros.

2.  "All Right Now" - Free: Like "Layla," it is one of the Class of 1970. This one is simple, but punches you right between the eyes.  Steve Miller wrote "Rock N Me" as a tribute to Free guitarist Paul Kossoff.

3.  "China Grove" - Doobie Brothers: This one was the guitar intro for mainstream pop-rock. This 1973 hit was the great guitar intro for AM radio. Granted, the top two were big AM radio hits too, but this one cemented the idea that a big hit needed a big guitar into, no matter what style of music you did.

4.  "Smoke On the Water" - Deep Purple: Anyone who doesn't try to play this the first time they pick up a guitar, has no business even holding a guitar. The great thing about it is that even if you are lousy and never held a guitar, people can tell that you are attempting to play this song. Like "China Grove" this was 1973.

5.  "Whole Lotta Love" - Led Zeppelin: I had to put Led Zep in the Top 5. Another one from 1970.

6.  "Life In the Fast Lane" - The Eagles: If you were cruising the main drag of your town on a Friday night, there wasn't a better song to have on the radio than this one. Hard to believe there are some people who don't like this song. In a good country, they would be executed for not liking that song.

7.  "Sweet Jane" - Lou Reed: This is an anomaly. Many people consider it one of the greatest guitar intros of the 70s, but it wasn't until the fourth version of the song that it people probably noticed it. The Velvet Underground's 1970 version actually opens with a psychedelic flourish before Lou Reed starts singing. The original version, not released until 1974 on the Live 1969 LP,  was a slow ballad, but still using that familiar riff. The version on the 1972 Live at Max's Kansas City LP actually has a longer intro with the riff. However, the version that more than likely made this one of the great 70s guitar intros was the version from the 1973 Lou Reed live LP Rock & Roll Animal. Guitarist Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner gave this a metal crunch that hits you like a sledge hammer to the head.

8.  "Iron Man" - Black Sabbath: Speaking of metal crunch that hits you like a sledge hammer to the head. Ozzy Osbourne said it best, when you hear this you actually imagine "a big metal bloke walking about." Beavis & Butthead would probably agree.

9.   "Jet Airliner" - Steve Miller Band: This is one of those that sounded better on AM radio than FM. I also think the single edit is better because it goes from the intro into the lyrics, whereas the LP cut goes into a rather redundant guitar bridge before the lyrics. Either way, it is a 70s classic.

10.  "Takin Care of Business" - Bachman-Turner Overdrive: This one builds up on a scale into a upbeat, fun,  heavy metal, boogie woogie jam.

11.  "Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)" - The Hollies:  This one can send chills up my spine when I hear it. Not sure why. The fact that the light and innocent Hollies gave us this may have something to do with it. It's as sexy as...well, a long cool woman in a black dress.

12. "Treat Her Like a Lady" - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose: Usually, soul & funk doesn't get mentioned in the pantheon of great guitar songs of the 70s, but they had some great guitar riffs and intros too. This is one of them. Much like "Takin Care of Business" builds up the scale into a great driving riff. It's so cool, it was used to introduce Ron Burgundy in Anchorman.

13. "Don't Fear The Reaper" - Blue Oyster Cult: Forget the cowbell, the guitar is what makes this song a classic. It is like a Byrds guitar riff on steroids. Not sure if it was on a 12 string guitar or it just sounded like one, but it certainly has a beauty to it that the others guitar intros don't.

14.  "Aqualung" - Jethro Tull: What better way to introduce a song about a homeless, drunken, pedophile with a runny nose than with a sinister guitar riff like this. One of the brilliant moves, on the part of the band, to make this guitar intro so memorable was to not just play it twice, but to isolate it with pauses between each of the two times it is played before the third time when the drums and Ian Anderson's vocal starts. They do almost the same thing at the end of the song, to further get it stuck in your head.

15. "Funk 49#" - The James Gang: The previous years "Funk 48#" was good, but "Funk 49#" was better. It has went on to become a favorite. One of Joe Walsh's early masterpiece guitar riffs.

16. "Stay With Me" - The Faces: During the early 70s, Ron Wood created some great guitar intros for The Faces, but this is the one that has stood the test of time. A bluesy riff that the kicks into high gear, then slows into a rollicking bluesy stroll. No wonder the Rolling Stones ask him to join.

17. "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" - The Rolling Stones: Speaking of the Rolling Stones, you have to include them on a list of great guitar intros, however, they didn't seem to create elaborate, signature guitar intros in the 70s. They had already set the standard in the 60s with "Satisfaction," "Jumping Jack Flash," and the "The Last Time." They gave us one of the great guitar intros of the 80s with "Start Me Up." This one is not just a great guitar intro but a great guitar finish. Keith Richards starts it off with nasty blues riff in an odd key that turns into a jam when joined by Charlie Watts drums. It ends with a psychedelic smooth jazz jam with guitarist Mick Taylor and saxophonist Bobbie Keys.

18. "Do Yo Feel Like We Do" - Peter Frampton: This intro is perfect for a song about waking up confused. It has a slow, groggy, fuzztone scale, that is then matched note for note by a electric piano. I know it is considered blasphemous to some people, but I prefer the original version from the Framptom's Camel LP to the version on Framptom Comes Alive, because the sound is crisper, it is shorter and he doesn't do that annoying talk box thing in it.

19. "Beautiful Girls" - Van Halen: Eddie Van Halen packed a wild party filled with bikini clad girls into this guitar intro.

20. "Panic In Detroit" - David Bowie: There are several of great guitar intros from Mick Ronson on David Bowie's hits. This one is not only is it underrated, but it is so tight and and so forceful, it punctuates Bowie's William Burroughs inspired, dystopian lyrics.

21. "Reelin In the Years" - Steely Dan: They were more of a keyboard band, but this guitar intro is a classic.

22. "Woodstock" - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Stephen Stills guitar intro made this one the most successful version of this rock anthem.

23. "Do Ya" - The Move/Electric Light Orchestra: This is kind of a tie, but then again The Move morphed into ELO.

24. "Jane" - Jefferson Starship: This one was one of two great guitar intros to close out the 70s. Craig Chaquico starts off with a light, spacey sound before turning out a chainsaw like riff that builds up to a sudden stop in the middle of the song, followed by one of the great guitar solos of the 70s.

25. "Driver's Seat" - Sniff N The Tears: This is the other great guitar intro that closed out the 70s. It begins with a rather intense sounding acoustic guitar part that is then joined by a fuzz guitar riff. Together it works into a great underrated open for a British New Wave one-hit wonder.

Honorable Mentions: "20th Century Boy" -T. Rex, "Stone Cold Fever" - Humble Pie, "Thunderbuck Ram" - Mott The Hoople, "Calling Dr. Love" - Kiss, "Man on the Silver Mountain" - Rainbow, "That Smell" - Lynard Skynard, "The Seeker" - The Who, "That Lady" - The Isley Brothers and "Don't Look Back" - Boston.

                   

R. I. P JACK BRUCE

DESDINOVA'S PROGRESSIVE/ART ROCK PLAYLIST

I actually made a post for the old blog of progressive/art rock a few years back utilizing YouTube videos. The problem was some links wouldn't post and some of the songs were not available because of legal issues. I've found if most people are interested in a song I post on a playlist, they will find it on one of the many music download websites by Googling the title and artist name.

I decided to go ahead with this concept after hearing "The Art Rock Suite" by National Lampoon while working on the song parody post from a few weeks ago.

Progressive rock or art rock is a genre of music that has for the most part disappeared, with the exception of Dream Theater (I think Coldplay might count as prog rock too). It was at it height of popularity in the early 70s to the late 80s. It was never popular among rock critics. It may be responsible for punk due to the fact that punkers hated it. For the most part, women don't care for it. Once a staple of classic rock radio station, many programmers these day say that it "attracts the Dungeon and Dragons geek crowd."

The stigma of prog/art rock may come from the fact that it appealed to an older crowd and many times more intellectual crowd. One famous group claimed that their audience was predominantly "bearded, pipe-smoking, college professors and hippies" until they had a number one hit and video on MTV, then teenage girls began showing up at their concerts. KTXR's Wayne Glenn has told about finding a lone prog rock LP in the collections of elderly couples, who have given or sold him their records. Part of the punkers contention with prog rock was that it was an attempt to make rock and roll nice, boring and commercial.

Another thing point out as a reason they dislike prog/art rock is it is cliched. Like other forms of popular music such as heavy metal (which prog is confused with by some people), hip-hop and country, prog has its cliches.

1. Surreal, profound and flowery lyrics. A lot of mythology and Romanticism thrown in too.
2. Orchestras and string sections.
3. More emphasis on keyboards than guitars.
4. The songs are long, usually between 5 to 25 minutes long.
5. The cover of the album is a fantasy or sci-fi painting, usually by Roger Dean (above), Frank Kelly Freas or H.R. Giger.
6. Sudden change in tempo or crescendo.
7. A big finish.
8. Most prog/art rock groups are British. Few are American (Kansas, Styx).

So let me give a playlist of great prog/art "masterpieces" for your Ipod or for you to hunt down on CDs or LP. NOTE: These ares not ranked or in any particular order, just as they came up on my Ipod.

1. "Suite Madam Blue" Styx
2. "Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen
3. "Bloody Well Right" Supertramp
4. "Catherine of Aragon" Rick Wakeman
5. "Conquistador" Procol Harum (The 1972 live version)
6. "Carry On Wayward Son" Kansas
7. "March of the Mad Duke's Circus" Ars Nova (Another early prog/art rock band from L.A)
8. "Rock & Roll Dreams Come True" Jim Stienman
9. "Welcome to the Machine" Pink Floyd
10. "Tubular Bells" Mike Oldfield
11. "Heat of the Moment" Asia
12. "Do It Again" Steely Dan
13. "Spirits In the Night" Manfred Mann's Earth Band
14. "Green Eyed Lady" Sugarloaf
15. "July Morning" Uriah Heep
16. "Locomotive Breath" Jethro Tull
17. "The Fountains of Salmacis" Genesis (Peter Gabriel era)
18. "When the Heart Rules The Mind" GTR
19. "I've Seen All Good People" Yes
20. "The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Feather" Alan Parson Project
21. "Rondo" The Nice
22. "Turn It On Again" Genesis (Phil Collins era)
23. "Dream Weaver" Gary Wright
24. "Karn Evil #9 (1st Impression)" Emerson, Lake and Palmer (a.k.a "Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends")
25. "Art For Art's Sake" 10CC
26. "God Gave Rock and Roll To You" Argent
27. "Cold as Ice" Foreigner
28. "Mad Puppet" Goblin
29. "In the Court of the Crimson King" King Crimson
30. "Nights in White Satin" Moody Blues
31.  "Nice, Nice, Very Nice" Ambrosia
32.  "Roll Over Beethoven" Electric Light Orchestra
33. "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" Mike & the Mechanics
34. "Joy" Apollo 100
35. "Pretty Ballerina" The Left Banke (Many believe the first prog rock band)
36. "Mars" Isao Tomita (Note: Not "Mars: Bringer of War." He does a version of that song too.)
37. "A Farewell To Kings" Rush (I knew if I left off Rush, their fans would whine)
38. "Gravedigger" The New York Rock & Roll Ensemble
39. "Theme from Clockwork Orange" Walter Carlos




  

DESDINOVA'S FAVORITE BEATLES SONGS

This week marks the 50th anniversary of The Beatles appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show. It is the 50th anniversary of The Beatles launching the British invasion, dominating the record charts and becoming one of the most influential acts in pop music history. Of course, this also means that, while the mainstream media celebrates this great anniversary, the local media (especially the Springfield News Leader) will inform us that "Ozarks-don't-like-them-thar-Beatles." This has happened many times over the past few years. Instead of talking to the ultimate Beatle-fan or a music professor to explain how the Beatles changed music, the News Leader will find a crabby, old white man (around 90 years old), who will say they "just made noise" or some bat-guano-crazy woman in her 60's, who organized an anti-Beatle group in high school in 1964 or later. When "Free As a Bird" was released, the News Leader had an article about how none of the Springfield radio stations were going to play it. I'm sure some of the local talk radio nitwits will bash the Beatles. 

Thankfully, you have me, Desdinova the Super Villain of the Ozarks, to save the day.  I have compiled a list of my 64 favorite songs by the Beatles songs.  I picked 64 because 1964 was the year the Beatles came to America and we are better off because they did.

1. I Feel Fine
2. I Am the Walrus
3. Can't Buy Me Love
4. I Want to Hold You Hand
5. Rain
6. Strawberry Fields Forever
7. Tomorrow Never Knows
8. Ticket to Ride
9. A Hard Days Night
10. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
11. And Your Bird Can Sing
12. Magical Mystery Tour
13. Hey Bulldog
14. We Can Work It Out
15. I'll Be Back
16. She Loves You
17. Drive My Car
18. I Saw Her Standing There
19. Helter Skelter
20. Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
21. Day Tripper
22. Paperback Writer
23. Revolution
24. Eight Days a Week
25. Got To Get You Into My Life
26. Help!
27. Taxman
28. Don't Bother Me
29. No Reply
30. You Won't See Me
31. All My Loving
32. Things We Said To Day
33. I'm Looking Through You
34. Blue Jay Way
35. Come Together
36. Something
37. I Need You
38. Glass Onion
39. I'm Down
40. Doctor Robert
41. Nowhere Man
42. Tell Me Why
43. All You Need is Love
44. I'll Cry Instead
45. Another Girl
46. While My Guitar Gently Weep
47. Baby You're a Rich Man
48. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
49. You Can't Do That
50. Old Brown Shoe
51. It Won't Be Long
52. It's All Too Much
53. Love Me Do
54. I'm Only Sleeping
55. Get Back
56. Getting Better
57. Eleanor Rigby
58. Hey Jude
59.Your Mother Should Know
60. Hello Goodbye
61. Yellow Submarine
62. Penny Lane
63. A Day In The Life
64. Free as a Bird

BTW: After I wrote this intro, KY 3 news posted some great stories by journalist Ed Filmer from 2000 about the Beatles secret trip to the Ozarks. One features syndicated radio personality Jim Bohannon.
This one is about the ranch they stayed at in Alton, Missouri.  

THE CRY BABY'S TURN - GREAT WAH-WAH GUITAR MOMENTS

Last week, I gave you a list of fuzztone guitar hits. Since I believe in fairness and diversity (I know that is a dirty word here in Springfield, Mo, but that is why like to use it), I thought I would give the wah-wah pedal the same treatment. The title of this post comes from the fact that "Cry Baby" is the name of a popular brand of wah-wah pedal.

A quick history of wah-wah pedal: It was inspired by trumpeter Clyde McCoy's hit "Sugar Blues." An extra bit of 3-degree-separation-type trivia, "Sugar Blues" was written by jazz musician Clarence Williams, who was the grandfather of actor Clarence Williams III of The Mod Squad. Clarence Williams III played Prince's father in Purple Rain and Prince's hit "Kiss" is included on this list.

As with fuzztone, some of the early wah-wah experiments were performed by Chet Adkins in country music.The first wah-wah pedal was marketed in 1966. A short time later, Clyde McCoy endorsed a brand of wah-wah pedal with his name (and face) on it, since he was the inspiration for the wah-wah sound. The "Cry Baby" came around a short time later.

I was surprised to find out some things about wah-wah guitar. Unlike fuzztone, wah-wah is not been as prevalent in music as the fuzztone guitar. Fuzztone has been used on rhythm guitar and on bass guitar, so it has been worked into many songs since it was popularized by the Rolling Stones on "Satisfaction."

While an out growth of the psychedelic and progressive rock of the 60s, wah-wah has been most prominent in funk and disco, as well as, movie and TV scores of the 70s. Of those, genres the wah-wah appears in detective/cop shows, Black-exploitation films and X-rated adult movies.

I also found a difference, compared to fuzztone, when people listed the best or greatest wah-wah. There was no similarities or agreement on list of "great moments" in fuzztone guitar, but there seemed to be almost universal agreement on the "greatest moments in wah-wah guitar." The top five on all of these list had Jimi Hendrix at number one with "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)," Cream was at number two with "White Room" and rounding out the rest of the top five would be (different orders on different list) "Sweet Child O'Mine" by Guns N Roses, "Theme From Shaft" by Issac Hayes and "Enter the Sandman" by Metallica.

So here is some of the great moments in wah-wah guitar.

"Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" - Jimi Hendrix Experience
"White Room" - Cream
"Sweet Child O'Mine" - Guns N Roses
"Theme from Shaft" - Issac Hayes
"Enter the Sandman" - Metallica
"Stand" - R.E.M.
"Electric Funeral" - Black Sabbath
"Kiss" - Prince & the Revolution
"1969" - the Stooges
"25 or 6 to 4" - Chicago
"Peace Frog" - The Doors
"Papa Was a Rolling Stone" - The Temptations
"Walk Away" - James Gang
"Tell Me Something Good" - Rufus
"Crimson and Clover" (LP version) - Tommy James & the Shondells
"My Home is in Alabama" - Alabama
"Night Fever" - Bee Gees
"Free Ride" - Edgar Winter Group
"Children of the Sun" - Billy Thorpe
"Show Me the Way" - Peter Frampton
"1976" - Redd Kross
"Rubber Bullets" - 10CC
"Play That Funky Music" - Wild Cherry
"We're an American Band' - Grand Funk Railroad
"Theme of Foxy Brown" - Willie Hutch
"Pictures of Matchstick Men" - Status Quo
"Theme from S.W.A.T" - Rhythm Heritage
"1984" - David Bowie
"Back To the River" - Damnation of Adam Blessing
"Hope You're Feeling Better" - Santana
"No Opportunity Nessesary, No Experience Needed" - Yes
"Strawberry Letter 23" - Brothers Johnson
"Brick House" - The Commodors
"Your Mama Don't Dance" - Loggins & Messina
"Mama Can't Buy You Love" - Elton John
"Smiling Faces Sometimes" - The Undisputed Truth
"If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want To Be Right)" - Luther Ingram
"Well All Right" - Blind Faith
"That Lady" - Isley Brothers
"Hot N Nasty" - Humble Pie
"I Just Want to Celebrate" - Rare Earth
"Spiders & Snakes" - Jim Stafford
"For The Love of Money" - O'Jays 

YOUR DAILY ALLOWANCE OF FUZZTONE GUITAR

Recently, I was watching commercials from the 80s and 90s on You Tube. They reminded me of something I forgot about from that era: the obsession with bran. Every cereal boasted "Your daily allowance of bran."

At the time, I was one of the student DJs on the "Midnight Snack" on KSMU-FM. I would say, "Have you gotten your daily allowance of fuzztone guitar?"

A little quick trivia before I give you an Ipod playlist of "Your daily allowance of fuzztone guitar."
While it is commonly associated with psychedelia and heavy metal, fuzztone was created by accident by COUNTRY MUSIC PEOPLE IN NASHVILLE. Something was not hooked up right during the recording of Marty Robbins "Don't Worry." Not long after that, Chet Adkins decided to create his own version on a record for Ann Margaret called "I Just Don't Understand."

The Ventures then contacted Red Rhodes, who worked on the Marty Robbins hit about recreating that sound for an instrumental called "The 200 Pound Bee." Rhodes worked out the first pedal for fuzztone. They went on the market in 1962, but didn't sell well because the admen decided to market the fuzztone pedal as a device to make a guitar sound like a violin or horn.

The next year, Keith Richards used it on a Rolling Stones song called "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." From that moment on, fuzztone was a major part of rock and roll.

Here is a daily dose of fuzztone guitar for you readers. Note: this is not a "best" or "greatest" list. Don't argue with this list. It is a prescription; a health dose of fuzz tone guitar to make you feel better. I may prescribe another dose latter.  

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" - The Rolling Stones
"Pushin Too Hard" - The Seeds
"To Die Alone" - The Bush
"Talk Talk" - The Music Machine
"Spirit In The Sky" - Norman Greenbaum
"She's Fallen In Love With a Monster Man" - Screaming Lord Sutch
"I Can See For Miles" - The Who
"I Heard Her Call My Name" - Velvet Underground
"I Can Only Give You Everything" - The Troggs
"Blue's Theme (From Wild Angels)" - Dave Allen & the Arrows
"House of the Rising Sun" - Fryjid Pink
"Your Auntie Grizelda" - The Monkees
"Heart Full of Soul" - The Yardbirds
"Bad Little Woman" - Shadows of Knight
"Addicted To Love" - Robert Palmer
"When Doves Cry" - Prince & the Revolution
"The Nile Song" - Pink Floyd
"Cowgirl In The Sand" - Neil Young and Crazy Horse
"Deflecting Grey" - The Pretty Things
"Money For Nothing" - Dire Straits
"I Take What I Want" - James & Bobby Purify
"Beat It" - Michael Jackson
"I'll Make You Pay" - The Shady Daze
"No Fun" - The Stooges
"Whole Lotta Love" - Led Zeppelin
"You Don't Love Me" - Kaleidoscope
"Foxy Lady" - Jimi Hendrix Experience
"No Time" - The Guess Who
"Think For Yourself" - The Beatles
"San Francisco Girls (Return To The Native)" - Fever Tree
"A Girl Like You" - Edwyn Collins
"Shadows" - The Electric Prunes
"Hurdy Gurdy Man' - Donovan
"Paranoid" Black Sabbath
"Smoke On the Water" - Deep Purple
"Bluebird" - Buffalo Springfield
"Who Is Gonna Mow Your Grass" - Buck Owens

Doors' Keyboardist and Founder Ray Manzarek Dies

http://www.mercurynews.com/music/ci_23284917/publicist-ray-manzarek-founding-member-doors-dies-at

The Doors are one of my all time favorite bands. I will follow this up with an Ipod playlist of my favorite Doors songs.

HEAVY METAL IPOD PLAYLIST 1: EVOLUTION

I promised a heavy metal playlist and I deliver. Even though I made a disco playlist last time, my heart will always be with heavy metal. I was a huge fan of the "hair bands" of the 80s, as were many people in my age group. However, I was a hardcore headbanger and wanted to learn the history of heavy metal. I wanted to go back to the beginning of the genre and experience it to the fullest.

So let us go back to the prehistoric days of heavy metal as it evolved into one the greatest rock and roll genres ever. Turn on your black lights and lava lamps, stare at you posters on Barnabas Collins and Raquel Welch, read some Lovecraft and Vonnegut and contemplate taking down Tricky Dicky while you listen to these early metal tracks.

NOTE TO YOUNGER READERS: The definition of what qualifies as heavy metal has changed over the years. These songs were a one time considered heavy metal by rock music journalist and historians.  Don't try to argue with me on this.

"Wild Thing" - The Troggs
"I Can Only Give You Everything" - Them
"Shapes of Things" - The Yardbirds
"Come See Me" - The Pretty Things
"All of the Day, All of the Night" - The Kinks
"Talk Talk" - The Music Machine
"I Had Too Much To Dream" Electric Prunes
"We Ain't Got Nothing Yet" - The Blues Magoos
"Pushing Too Hard" - The Seeds
"Summertime Blues" - The Blue Cheer
"Fire" - Jimi Hendrix Experience
"My Fire Department Needs a Fireman" - The Shadows of Night
"You Keep Me Hanging On" - Vanilla Fudge
"Beacon From Mars" - Kaleidoscope
"White Room" - Cream
"I Can See For Miles" - The Who
"Pride of Man" - Quicksilver Messenger Service
"Oz Lee Eaves Drops" - The Other Half
"Beck's Bolero" - Jeff Beck Group
"No Fun" - The Stooges
"Kick Out the James" - MC5
"Man of the World" - Fleetwood Mac
"Dark Eyed Woman" - Spirit
"Evil Woman (Don't Play No Games)" - Black Sabbath
"In A Gadda Da Vida" - Iron Butterfly
"Born To Be Wild" - Steppenwolf
"How Many More Times" - Led Zeppelin
"Hush" - Deep Purple
"Into The Sun" - Grand Funk Railroad
"Song for Jeffrey" - Jethro Tull
"Did You See Her Eyes" - Illusion
"Funk 49" - James Gang
"Prodigal Son" - The Amboy Dukes
"No Time" - The Guess Who
"I Heard Her Call My Name" - The Velvet Underground
"I'm Going Home" - Ten Years After
"Nightmare" - Elias Hulk
"Gypsy Part 1" - Gypsy
"Back To The River" - The Damnation of the Adam Blessing
"I Don't Need No Doctor" - Humble Pie
 

DISCO SHOCK OR I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY MADE A DISCO RECORD

I've been searching for photos of generic disco compilations for these Ipod playlist post, but (pardon the pun) this cover not only is a great cover but (pardon the pun again) has the perfect title for this playlist.

Disco's popularity caused some well established mainstream performers to try their hand at disco. Most of these not only were great records by the artist, but some of the best hits of the disco era. On the other hand, these artist made enemies with some hardcore disco haters (Rod Stewart took the most flak of these artist). Some of these may not have intended to be disco records per say, they just were embraced by the disco crowd and the club DJs.

For the most part, people have forgiven these artist for going disco.

 "I Was Made For Loving You" Kiss
“Heart of Glass” Blondie
“(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” The Kinks
“Copacabana” Barry Manilow
 “Alive Again” Chicago
“Here Comes the Night” Beach Boys
“Do You Think I’m Sexy” Rod Stewart
“Mama Can't Buy Your Love” Elton John (You could also count "Philadelphia Freedom" as disco too)
"Miss You" Rolling Stones
"Young Americans" David Bowie
"December 1963 (Oh What a Night)" Four Seasons
"Another One Bites the Dust" Queen
"Goodnight Tonight" Paul McCartney
"Shakedown Street" Grateful Dead
"Clones" Alice Cooper
"All Over The World" Electric Light Orchestra (From the movie, Xanadu)
"Volarie" Al Martino
"Don't Stop The Music" Bay City Rollers
"Right Behind The Rain" Brenda Lee (I heard an interview with Brenda Lee where she mentioned making a disco record that she felt was a mistake. This song, from 1980, is the closest thing to disco by Brenda Lee that I could find. If you know of a better example tell me.)

  

DESDINOVA'S FAVORITE ROLLING STONES SONGS

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Rolling Stones have released a new greatest hits compilation entitled GRRR! To be exact, they have released three different versions of this greatest hits, each one with more hits included. I became a major fan of the Rolling Stones in the seventh grade. That was when they released the Tattoo You LP which included the hits "Start Me Up," "Waiting On a Friend" and "Hang Fire." Oddly enough, I saved up enough money to get Hot Rock 1964-1971, because I felt I should start at the beginning with the songs that had made them famous. From there, I was hooked. I've decided to list my twenty favorite Rolling Stones songs. Trust me, I could pick more than twenty, but I think twenty is enough for now.

1. "Jumping Jack Flash"
2. "Paint It Black"
3. "Start Me Up"
4. "Bitch"
5. "I Can't Get No Satisfaction"
6. "She Was Hot"
7. "She's So Cold"
8. "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"
9. "Dandelion"
10. "Get Off of My Cloud"
11. "The Last Time"
12. "It's Only Rock & Roll (But I Like It)"
13. "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)"
14. "Miss You"
15. "Time Waits For No One"
16. "Gimmie Shelter"
17. "Brown Sugar"
18. "Let's Spend the Night Together"
19. "Under My Thumb"
20. "Honky Tonk Woman"

As I said above, there could be more. I will add this, my two least favorite Rolling Stones songs are "Fool To Cry" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want." I also left off (on purpose) songs that the Rolling Stones covered, "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Harlem Shuffle" and "It's All Over Now." 

THE MISIDENTIFIED HITS OF ROCK & ROLL

While working at Rock 99 (KWTO-FM), I and some of my co-workers noticed that some people requested songs by the hook rather than the actual title. This was because the title had nothing to do with the song itself.I have listed about twenty of the songs that was requested by the wrong title. The actual title of the song is in the parentheses. I should mention that some of these were not on the Rock 99 playlist while I worked there, but the mangled request always made me and my fellow DJs laugh.

1. "Stop, Children, What's That Sound" by Buffalo Springfield (For What It's Worth)
2. "This Ain't No Party, This Ain't No Disco" by Talking Heads (Life During War Time)
3. "Welcome Back My Friends To the Show That Never Ends" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Karn Evil #9)
4. "Go Ask Alice" by Jefferson Airplane (White Rabbit)
5. "I Need a Dirty Woman" by Pink Floyd (Young Lust)
6. "Teenage Wasteland" by the Who (Baba O'Riley)
7. "Ground Control To Major Tom" by David Bowie (Space Oddity)
8. "Don't Go" by Led Zeppelin (D'yer Mak'er)
9. "Hearts Afire" by Earth, Wind & Fire (That's the Way of the World)
10. "I Don't Give A Damn, I Ain't Going To Vietnam" by Country Joe & the Fish (I Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die Rag)
11. "I Love the Flower Girl" by the Cowsills (The Rain, The Park and Other Things)
12. "My Name Is Lucifer" by Black Sabbath (N.I.B)
13. "Clap Your Hands a Little Bit Louder" by Stevie Wonder (Fingertips Part 2)
14. "Mr. Jones" by Bob Dylan (Ballad of the Thin Man)
15. "There Is No Dying" by The Beatles (Tomorrow Never Knows)
16. "Take A Load Off Annie" by The Band (The Weight)
17. "I Don't Like Cricket" by 10CC (Dreadlock Holiday)
18. "There's Blood In the Streets" by the Doors (Peace Frog)
19. "See My Lonely Life" by Alice Cooper (The Ballad of Dwight Fry)
20. "Don't Ask Me What I Think of You" by Fleetwood Mac (Oh Well)

Honorable Mentions: "Little Robin Marie" by Mountain (Nantucket Sleighride), "Annie, Are You Okay?" Michael Jackson (Smooth Criminal) and "Here We Are, Entertain Us" by Nirvana (Smells Like Teen Spirit).

I AM NOT ASHAMED PLAYLIST 4

I thought it was time for another Guilty Pleasures I AM NOT ASHAMED playlist.

"Cars" Gary Numan

"Wild Is the Wind" David Bowie

"Trouble' Lyndsey Buckingham

"Christo Redentor" Harvey Mandel (Sounds like make-out music for Captain Kirk)

"Juicy Fruit" Mtume

"Special Lady" Ray, Goodman & Brown (KLWT-FM 92 in Lebanon played this everyday at 4:05 p.m. You could set your watch by the automation)

"South Side" Moby with Gwen Stefani

"The Letter" The Arbors (Neat cover by a prog-sunshine pop)

"Raspberry Beret" Prince & the Revolution

"Iesha" Another Bad Creation

"Voo Doo Walk" Sonny Richard's Panics with Cindy and Misty (Go-go dancing singers doing a song about monster - What is there not to like about this?)

"Now To You" The David

"Who Do You Think You Are?" Candlewick Green (Original British version of the Bo Donaldson & the Haywoods hit)

"Do You Want To Dance?" Bette Midler (Sexiest cover version of this song ever)

"Theme from Dark Shadows" Bob Cobert Orchestra (The 45 single easy listening version with a great piano player)

"Down By The Station" The Four Preps (Children's song turned into a song about a being a player)

"Dancing Bear" The Mamas & The Papas

"Sugar Sugar" The Archies

"What Goes Around Comes Around" Justin Timberlake

"Easy Come, Easy Go" Winger

"Mona Lisa Lost Her Smile" David Allen Coe

"Signs" Five Man Electrical Band

"Who Is Gonna Mow Your Grass" Buck Owens & the Buckaroos (One of the best fuzztone guitar parts ever in a country song)

"Isn't It Time" The Babys

"Heat of the Moment" Asia

"Too Shy" Kajagoogoo

"Master Jack" Four Jacks & a Jill

"No Reply At All" Genesis

"Guilty" Barbara Streisand & Barry Gibb

"Never My Love" The Association

"Fantasy" Aldo Nova 

THE GREATEST NUMBER ONE HIT EVER - LIGHT MY FIRE

This is the anniversary of my all time favorite song reaching Number One on the Billboard chart as well as many Top 40 radio station surveys (WMCA New York survey above). It is "Light My Fire" by the Doors. Yes, it is true the song was a hit (exactly) two years before I was born, but it has always been a favorite of mine. Many people of my age group became interested in the Doors after a greatest hits LP starting selling strong in the early 80s and a book about Jim Morrison called No One Here Gets Out Alive became a best seller. Rolling Stone even ran a cover story on the reknewed interest in Jim Morrison entitled, "He's hot. He's sexy. He's dead." The song was around several months before it starting getting airplay on Top 40 around the country because of it's seven minute plus length. It was edited for radio down to about three minutes and thirty seconds. It became a radio favorite and one of the greatest summertime hits. Here is video of the Doors doing the short version live.

DESDINOVA'S TOP FIVE WESTERN PARODY FILMS

According to a reference book on Western movies, that I read many years ago, the Western has been parodied more than any other film genre. That fact may have changed. The movie listing that accompanied this factoid was a photo from the film of two native American characters eating a submarine sandwich. I wish I knew what the name of that film was, because I would love to see if it was any good.

I have decided to list five of my favorite Western parody films. There are many Western comedies, however, I wanted to look at Western parodies only.

A parody, of course, pokes fun at the cliches that come with the genre. Western parodies have some characteristics all of there own.

1. Anachronism - Since Westerns take place in the 1800, Western parodies tend to stick current words, phrases, references and props into the Western setting.  In Son of Paleface, Bob Hope talks about television, the sound of a toilet flushing comes from a tee pee in Carry On Cowboy, characters in Blazing Saddles mention movie director Cecil B. DeMill, jazz musician Mongo Santamaria, Wide World of Sports, as well as Western actors Richard Dix and Randolph Scott. There is also Nazi's and Hell's Angels mixed in. Zachariah has Joe Walsh and the James Gang playing in the desert and, three years later, Blazing Saddles featured Count Basie and his orchestra performing in the desert. The sidekick in Rustler's Rhapsody's life is saved by a bullet proof vest.
2. The bad guy or unconventional hero wins - The Villain's Cactus Jack and Carry On Cowboy's Rumpo Kid do not get punished at the end. Miss Charming picks Cactus Jack over Handsome Stranger at the end of The Villain. In Rustler's Rhapsody, Colonel Ticonderoga gives up and throws a party for everyone.
3. Gay stereotypes abound - Maybe it has to do with Westerns being considered "manly" and "macho," but Western parodies feature enough gay stereotypes and gay jokes to fill a moving van. Carry On Cowboy and The Villain feature "gay" Indian chiefs, gay dancers fights the outlaws at the end of Blazing Saddles, Rustler's Rhapsody gives us the paradox of people questioning the hero Rex's masculinity due to his flashy attire, while it is obvious that Colonel Ticonderoga is gay (Yes folks, Andy Griffith played a gay guy in a movie). Zachariah and his pal, Matthew, were forerunners of the main characters of Brokeback Mountain. In Son of Paleface, Junior says that he didn't know he was a boy until his was twelve.

1. Blazing Saddles (1974) - "Never Give a Saga an Even Break" was used in the advertising and Mel Brooks created a movie that manages to satirize Western cliches and racism in the same movie. Clevon Little is a railroad worker named Bart, who is to be hanged for hitting a supervisor (Slim Pickens) over the head with a shovel. The evil railroad company boss, Heddly Lamar (Harvey Korman), talk the governor (Mel Brooks) into replace the sheriff of Rockridge, that his henchmen murdered, with Bart in order to drive the resilient residents out of town, so the railroad can go through. After a not to warm reception, Bart teams up with an alcoholic gunfighter, Jim the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), to save Rockridge from the railroad company. At the end of the film, the fight between the citizens of Rockridge and Larmar's outlaws spills off of the Western town set onto the set of a Bubsy Berkly-type musical, where the outlaws clash with the dancers. Bart has a gun fight with Lamar outside Grauman's Chinese Theater. The film ends with Bart and Jim riding off into the sunset in a limo.
The film is filled with great gags from Bart and his fellow railroad workers singing a Doo-Wop version of Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You" to Yiddish speaking Indian Chief (also Mel Brooks) to cowboys passing gas while eating beans around a campfire to a Gabby Hayes clone (Charles Starret) that nobody can understand. The film is also notorious for its use of the "N word," which shocked people in 1974 and is even more disturbing in these more politically correct times, yet its use, along with much of the humor, is a sharp poke in the eye at racism.

2. Son of Paleface (1952) - This is one of the first of two Republic Studios Western inspired parodies on this list. It is a sequel to the highly successful Bob Hope Western comedy film The Paleface. Unlike its predecessor, Son of Paleface pokes fun at Republic Studios Westerns that were still popular in theaters in 1952 and quickly becoming a mainstay of the new medium television. A gang of outlaws, lead by a masked villain called the Torch, is stealing gold shipments around the town of Sawbuck Pass. A federal agent named Roy (Roy Rogers) is sent to investigate the robberies, disguised as a singing cowboy. At the same time, Junior Potter (Hope) arrives in Sawbuck Pass to collect his inheritance. Both Potter and Rogers meet a sexy saloon owner named Mike (Jane Russell), not realizing that she is really the Torch. To complicate matters, the Indians want to kill Junior because his father, Paleface Potter (Hope's character in the previous film), was an Indian fighter that killed a great number of their tribe.
Many people say Son of Paleface is one of the few sequels that is better than the original. The film pokes fun at many of the traits that were exclusive to Republic Studios Westerns such as death deifying stunts, outlandish plots, masked villains, musical numbers (the big hit, Buttons and Bows, from the first film returns) and Republic's two biggest stars, Roy Rogers and Trigger. Not only is Rogers great at playing a parody of himself, but Trigger has a flare for comedy as well. Hope was at the top of his game at this point in his career, playing Junior as a nerdy wanna-be hero.

3. Rustler's Rhapsody (1985) - If Son of Paleface pokes fun at Roy Rogers, then Rustler's Rhapsody nails Republic's first major star, Gene Autry. It especially takes aim at his Cowboy Code that was followed by the other Republic cowboys (The Lone Ranger had a similar code too) and how movies changed (and society) from the heyday of Republic Studios in the 30s and 40s. Tom Berenger plays Rex O'Herlihan, a fancy dressed cowboy in a white hat arrives in the town of Oakwood Estates. He meets Peter the town drunk (G.W. Bailey), who is surprised when Rex tells him that "all Western towns are the same" and he knows how the story will end because he "can see the future." Rex has a brief gun battle with the henchmen of a rancher name Colonel Ticonderoga (Andy Griffith). The leader of the gang is shot in the back by his own men, who then tell Ticonderoga that Rex did it. Colonel Ticonderoga teams up with the owner of the railroad (Fernando Rey) and his "Spaghetti Western" henchmen to try and stop Rex. When that fails, Ticonderoga hires "Wrangler" Bob Barber (Patrick Wayne), a cowboy/lawyer, who dresses just like Rex. He begins questions Rex's adherence to the Cowboy Code and his sexuality in an attempt to discredit him as a Western Hero.
The basic theme of Rustler's Rhapsody could be "We can't go back to the good old days." It almost seems like it could be a clever retort to the Statler Brothers song "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott?" In the real world and real Old West, the cookie cutter, happy ending world of the B-Western wouldn't exist, where as the dirty and violent Spaghetti Western world was probably closer to the truth. I should also mention two other great characters, the saloon owner/prostitute "with a heart of gold," who only talks dirty to men (Marilu Henner) and Colonel Ticonderoga's "sweet and innocent" daughter (Sela Ward), who can strip to her bloomers at the drop of a Stetson hat.

4. The Villain (1979) - The beautiful Charming Jones (Ann Margaret) collects her inheritance with help from a bodyguard named Handsome Stranger (Arnold Schwarzenneger), but the lawyer (Jack Elam) hires a black-leather clad outlaw known as Cactus Jack (Kirk Douglas) to steal the money back. The thing is Cactus Jack isn't very good at robbing stage coaches. The stagecoach has to pass through the territory of Chief Nervous Elk (Paul Lynde) and his klutzy Indian warriors.
Let's not beat around the tumbleweed here, The Villain (known overseas as Cactus Jack) is a cross between Tom & Jerry and the Road Runner cartoons using real people disguised as a Western parody. Kirk Douglas is a human equivalent of Wile E. Coyote slamming into rock bluffs and pulling boulders on top of himself. However, one of my favorite moments in the film is when Handsome Stranger (Schwarzenneger) has a conversation with a telegraph agent (Mel Tillis).

5. Carry On Cowboy (1965) - Prudish, teetotaler Judge Burke (Kenneth Williams - sort of the British equivalent to Paul Lynde) is the mayor of family friendly Stodge City. Outlaw Johnny Finger, known as the Rumpo Kid (Sid James) comes into town and turns Stodge City into a base of operations for his gang of cattle rustlers. After Finger kills the elderly Sheriff Earp (Jon Pertwee - the 3rd Dr. Who), Judge Burke sends a telegram to Washington, D.C. for marshal. Washington sends Stodge City an klutzy, young, Englishman Marshall P. Nutt (Jim Dale), a sanitation expert. who walked into the wrong room. Finger tries everything to kill Marshall including bringing in Chief Big Heap (Charles Hawtrey) on his Indians.
The Carry On films switched from comedies based on occupations to movie parodies in the mid 60s. This is one of the best of the parodies. Besides taking pot shots at the familiar Western cliches, this film is filled with double entendres and bad puns that were a mainstay of the Carry On films. Favorite gag in the movie is when Rumpo Kid arrives in Stodge City, a group of men walk up behind him. He quickly turns around and guns them down. He then says, "I wonder what they wanted?"

Honorable mention: Zachariah (1971) - I'm giving Zachariah an honorable mention because it is overlooked and could have been something great. It started off as a Western parody version of Herman Hesse's Siddhartha written by Firesign Theater, complete with a used buggy salesman (Dick Van Patten), an outlaw rock band (Country Joe and the Fish) and a madam who has slept with both Marshal Dillon and Marshall McLuhan. In the middle of the film, it turns into a serious story about two men who were lovers turning against one another. Firesign Theater disowned the movie, claiming they wrote a Western parody film "that never got made." Rumor has it MGM took the movie away from them and rewrote it. The movie became popular on VHS in the 80s when the film's stars John Rubenstein and Don Johnson were staring in popular TV detective shows (Rubenstein was on Crazy Like a Fox and Johnson was on Miami Vice). The opening sequence with the James Gang playing "Laguna Salada" in the desert is great, as is the prog rock band New York Rock and Roll Ensemble playing their song "Grave Digger."  For a great in-depth review of the film, check out this post on a site called Jim's Reviews.

Jon Lord, 71, keyboardist for Deep Purple - Chicago Sun-Times

Jon Lord, 71, keyboardist for Deep Purple co-wrote ‘Smoke on the Water’ - Chicago Sun-Times

Bob Welch, Ex-Fleetwood Mac, Dead - Billboard.com

Bob Welch, Ex-Fleetwood Mac, Dead in Apparent Suicide | Billboard.com#/news/bob-welch-ex-fleetwood-mac-dead-in-apparent-1007263952.story#/news/bob-welch-ex-fleetwood-mac-dead-in-apparent-1007263952.story

Interesting side note: I bought a copy of this LP for my KSMU radio show in the late 80s. The owner of the record store I bought it at in Springfield, Missouri, said, "I met that girl on the LP cover. They sent her on a promotional tour when the record was released." To paraphrase the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, "Worst record store promotion ever."

WHAT IS YOUR MUSICAL FLASHPOINT?

Click on image to enlarge

Some of the recent passings in the music world got me to thinking about this. KTXR radio personality Wayne Glenn has put forth a theory an his radio show that pretty much holds water. Nothing involving scientific research but just a general observation from talking to listeners and taking request from them. Wayne Glenn has observed that people seem to gravitate toward the music that was popular when they were between the ages of 9 to 12. This is when most people first become interested in music.

I call this the "musical flashpoint." My musical flashpoint would be 1978 since I was nine years old at the time. That summer, the tube on our TV went out and my parents didn't fix it for along time. This may have been responsible for my discovering pop music and radio in general. During that summer, I noticed that the Springfield Leader and Press (Now the News Leader) published the Billboard Top 10 in the Sunday edition. I would flip around the dial to the see if I could find these songs being played on the local radio stations. I even started keeping a chart that tracked how often these songs were played and on what radio station (This is how boring my life was at age nine).

In those days, you could find more "popular hits" on the radio. In those days, most radio stations felt that you had to play what was popular especially if you were the only radio station in town. Many small town radio stations had what was called a split format. Usually, they played country from sign on through the early morning for dairy farmers, easy listening during the midday for housewives and rock/pop from the afternoon until sign off. The horrific plague of "we-can-only-have-country-or-talk-in-the-Ozarks" only came about in the 90s.

I found a chart on ARSA to use as an illustration of that summer's great music. I look down the list and notice many of my favorite songs:  Gerry Rafferty "Baker Street," Eddie Money "Baby Hold On," The Sweet "Love Is Like Oxygen," Rolling Stones "Miss You," Jefferson Starship "Runaway," Patti Smith Group "Because The Night," Foreigner "Hot Blooded," Donna Summer "Last Dance,"   Meat Loaf  "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad," Bob Seger "Still The Same," Styx "Fooling Yourself," Pablo Cruise "Love Will Find A Way" Abba "Take A Chance On Me," and The O'Jays "Use Ta Be My Girl" are there, as well as the guilty pleasures like Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing," Chuck Mangione "Feels So Good," Steve Martin "King Tut," The Trammps "Disco Inferno," Bonnie Tyler "It's A Heartache," Yvonne Elliman "If I Can't Have You," Frankie Valli "Grease," England Dan & John Ford Coley "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again," Barry Manilow  "Copacabana"  (the only Barry Manilow song I have ever really liked).

I've also figured out that even if I didn't hear the song or group in 1978, I usually like anything made at that time. An example of this would be a big British hit by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley called "If I Had Words." Sure it is a sappy bubble gum/reggae song based on a song by Saint-Saens "Symphony No. 3," but I like it, because it has an energy and playful nature like many of the songs of that era. I really didn't hear the Sex Pistols until sometime in the early 80's (although I knew of them back then), but they immediately became one of my all-time favorite bands. I don't think I heard Pousette-Dart Band until college, unless they weren't identified on radio (the late 70s was the beginning of that bad trend in radio).

There, of course, are other singers and bands that were popular in 1978 that were not on that particular radio survey that I cannot live with out. Groups like Kiss, the Eagles, Boston, REO Speedwagon, Van Halen, the Cars, Bruce Springsteen, the Bee Gees, Kenny Rogers,  the Jacksons, Kansas, Earth, Wind and Fire and...I could go on and on.

Now, if you are waiting for me to trash today's popular artist, you can keep on waiting. I like most popular music and enjoy listening to it, as a matter of fact I'm madly in love with Katy Perry (Okay, okay,  I HATE COUNTRY MUSIC, but I admit it). I'm not be one of those old guys who sit around complaining about what younger people do, because I never liked for older people to say disrespectful things about the music I liked. Also, I have more friends who are younger. I wonder what year was their musical flashpoint?  

Guitar amplifier pioneer Jim Marshall dies aged 88

Guitar amplifier pioneer Jim Marshall dies aged 88