Bobby Womack dead at 70

Bobby Womack, legendary soul singer, dead at 70

My favorite Bobby Womack recording is the theme to Across 110th Street.

 

DESDINOVA'S TOP 30 FAVORITE BRITISH INVASION HITS

The British Invasion of the early 60s is the second most important event in the history of rock and roll. To use modern terms, it was a game changer. I have loved the British Invasion music since I became interested in rock and roll in elementary school. I took some flak for liking this music in junior high and high school.

Overall, I have found that Ozarkers hate the British Invasion music. Not sure why. Of course, the local media doesn't help. Over the years, I've seen the Springfield News Leader run countless articles filled with quotes from idiots who hate the Beatles, Stones and other British Invasion acts. Recently, one of the CHR stations ask people on their Facebook page if they thought the Beatles were overrated. I can't believe a radio station would even bring up a topic like that.

I work as a producer on a popular radio show. I researched and scripted and idea for this program called "The British Invasion Songbook." We played hits of the British Invasion that had been recorded previously (and less successfully) by other artist. When it was finished, an insurance agent called a complained, saying he "always hated the British Invasion music. Don't ever do that theme again!" Like we should care what kind of music an insurance agent doesn't like.

Since I have a firm belief that I should force Ozarkers (and others around the world) to like the same music I do, I present my list of my favorite hits of the British Invasion. These are not ranked by chart performance or in any chronological order. I also decided to limit to the main years of the British Invasion's popularity, which would be 1964 - 1968, this way I can get a mix of the first wave (1962-66) and second wave (67-70) of the British Invasion, while including a few hits by first wave acts that hit during the second wave. Also trying to concentrate on the more "power pop" feel of the British Invasion rather than the later progressive/blues/metal British groups (that would make a good follow up list).

1. "She Loves You" - The Beatles
2. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" - The Rolling Stones
3. "You Really Got Me" - The Kinks
4. "I Can See For Miles" - The Who
5. "The House of the Rising Sun" - The Animals
6. "Bus Stop" - The Hollies
7. "Heart Full of Soul" - The Yardbirds
8. "She's Not There" - The Zombies
9. "Needles and Pins" - The Searchers
10. "Come See Me" - The Pretty Things
11. "Gimmie Some Lovin" - Spencer Davis Group
12. "Pretty Flamingo" - Manfred Mann
13. "Wild Thing" - The Troggs
14. "She's Fallen In Love With a Monster Man" - Screaming Lord Sutch
15. "Sunshine Superman" - Donovan
16. "I Only Want To Be With You" - Dusty Springfield
17. "Mystic Eyes" - Them
18. "Go Now" - Moody Blues
19. "It's Going To Be Alright" - Gerry and the Pacemakers
20. "Fire Brigade" - The Move
21. "White Shade of Pale" - Procol Harum
22. "All or Nothing" - Small Faces
23. "Sign of the Times" - Petula Clark
24. "Something I've Got To Tell You" - Glenda Collins
25. "Bits & Pieces" - The Dave Clark Five
26. "Here Comes My Baby" - The Tremeloes
27. "Game of Love" - Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders
28.  "No Milk Today" Herman's Hermits
29. "To Sir With Love" - Lulu
30. "The Knack (and How To Get It)" -John Barry Orchestra

I'm sure I left off someones favorite. Leave it as a comment and I might create another list.

     

 

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

PANCAKES IPOD PLAYLIST 2

Retrospace coined the phase "pancakes" as a euphemism for a prominent for of entertainment on the Internet that also starts with the letter "p." There were so many pop songs about "pancakes" that I needed a second playlist. I also see that I could make "pancake" playlist for The Rolling Stones and Prince alone. If you remember, Prince's popularity lead to the call for warning labels on music.

One of the radio stations here in the Ozarks runs a liner that says "Would you want your grandmother to hear some of the current hits played on other radio stations?" My Grandma Jones (Rest her soul) referred to a woman in a skimpy or short dress as "showing Christmas" and referring to a small amount of something as not being "enough to fill a cat's butt." Emenim and 50 Cent isn't going to upset her too much.

Here is those songs about "pancakes" that would upset the grandmas of Springfield, MO.

"Sink the Pink" - AC/DC
"Touch It" - Monifah
"Lightning Strikes" - Lou Christie (In the mid-60s, Lou Christie was banned from some radio stations)
"Sexual Healing" - Marvin Gaye
"Do Me Baby" - Prince
"Tube Snake Boogie" - ZZ Top
"Rattlesnake Shake" - Fleetwood Mac
"Shake, Rattle and Roll" - Big Joe Turner
"Skin Tight" - Ohio Players
"Fat Bottomed Girls" - Queen
"Bump N Grind" - R. Kelly
"Between the Sheets" The Isley Brothers
"One On One" - Hall & Oates
"Centerfold" - J.Geils Band
"Lets Put the X In Sex" - Kiss
"Bad Boy" - Ray Parker Jr.
"Lady Marmalade" - Labelle
"Every Picture Tells a Story" - Rod Stewart
"Something's Burning" The First Edition
"Self Control" - Laura Branigan
"Juicy Fruit" - Mtume
"The Lemon Song" - Led Zeppelin
"She Was Hot" - The Rolling Stones
"When You Touch Me" - Skyy
"Wiggle Wiggle" - The Accents (A "Litty Bitty Pretty One" rip off with racey lyrics)
"Strip" - Adam Ant
"Big Ten Inch Record" - Aerosmith
"Wonder Girl" - Sparks
"Penetration" - Iggy & the Stooges
"Muscles of Love" - Alice Cooper
"Peaches" - The Stranglers
"Turn Off The Lights" - Teddy Pendergrass
"Obsession" - Animotion
"I Touch Myself" - The Divinyls
"Hungry Like The Wolf" - Duran Duran
"Relax" - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
"Shakin" - Eddy Money
"I Wanna Sex You Up" - Color Me Badd
"Sex (I'm a...) - Berlin
"You've Never Been This Far Before" - Conway Twitty (Bom-bom-bom)
"Work With Me Annie" - Hank Ballard and the Midnighters

Remember, practice safe "pancakes."

BTW: Retrospace is looking at the scientific probability of "pancakes" happening.

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."