Want to meet Ringo Starr?

Ringo Starr the artist, is coming to a Pop art gallery near you. That is if you live near New York. On June 25, 2012, Starr will be appearing at the Pop International Galleries (473 W. Broadway) and you can go meet him. That is if you are invited. It is a private function, "by invitation only".

The Rock And Roll Detective was there in 2005 for this event. It was very cool. This year, Ringo has a new batch of art, or as my daughter calls it, "KidPix". It is very colorful.

Now the question on everone's mind is: How do I get invited? It's very easy. You become a client and purchase a piece of Ringo's art (ahead of time), and you get to meet a Beatle and an artist! Good luck getting a moment alone with the drummer. The place is so packed that you may never get over to his side of the room. But, if you are tall, you will see him!

By the way, his artwork is all autographed. So, whatever you do, if you go, don't ask him for an autograph! After all, he already signed the artwork. Have a good time.


(c) Rock And Roll Detective(r), All rights reserved. Arwork: (c) Ringo Starr

"Louie Louie", The FBI and the History of Northwest Rock And Roll

No one could really understand the lyrics of "Louie Louie" as recorded by The Kingsman. Except perhaps former FBI head J. Edgar Hoover. He was outraged by the muddled singing. Hoover wrote to one informer (whose name is blanked out in the documents released by the FBI): 'Such material cannot help but divert the minds of young people into unhealthy channels, and negate the wholesome training they have already been afforded by their parents.' Eventhough, the words were indecipherable !

Regardless of what the FBI thought The Kingsman were singing, the irony is, the FBI turned the song into one of the biggest hits in rock history by making such a big deal out of investigating it.

Jerry Dennon was the man repsonsible for getting this song played around the country. Dennon is now the subject of a new DVD documentary entitled “Louie Louie and the History of Northwest Rock & Radio,” recemtnly released March 15, 2012 by SoundWorks USA, Inc., a multi-media entertainment, manufacturing and content company based in Redmond, Wash.

Jerry Dennon

With Northwest singer-songwriter Bonnie Guitar, Dennon formed Jerden Records (using the first three letters of his first and last name). In 1963, Jerden released the now-legendary Kingsmen single, “Louie Louie,” the most popular version of a 1955 Richard Berry song that became one of the most frequently recorded songs of rock ‘n’ roll. (The song is ranked No. 55 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”)

Dennon's story and the history of Northwest Rock & Radio is a facinating and fun tale of early rock and roll in the wild wild Northwest. Here is the link to the DVD: http://www.soundworks.net/thehistoryofnorthwestrockvol4battleofthebands-1.aspx

Enjoy.

(c) 2012 The Rock And Roll Dective(r)

The Beatles and their Animals!

Have you ever wondered where they all come from? It is amazing, once you think about it... just how many songs The Beatles wrote that referenced animals. Take for example the two dog songs and one cat song...

1. Martha My Dear... Paul's song about his sheep dog Martha;



2. Hey Bulldog... which was Paul and John's afterthought song for the Yellow Submarine soundtrack, or Songtrack as it is now known. This song rocks and is unique in its vocal interplay - barking and joking - as the song plays out.

 

3. Leave My Kitten Alone. Well, okay, it is not really about John's kitten. It is really a girl he is singing about. But still, an animal reference nonetheless.

 

Then we know that The Beatles seemed interested in the aviary of birds. Although I suspect there was a clever analogy there! We have Blackbird for example. Again, despite the chirping sound effects, Paul was writing about the civil rights movement in the 60s and the role of black women. The tune, And Your Bird Can Sing comes to mind as more winged-writing from the group.

Next we get to the more intesting animals such as Dig a Pony and I Am The Walrus. Once again the lyrics don't support a story about animals, yet there are those references again.



Finally, The Beatles just cannot leave out the more exotic creature-songs such as : Piggies, Octopus's Garden, Rocky Racoon and Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey! And then of course, we have Good Morning, Good Morning where the progressive sounds of larger and larger animals are heard.

After the breakup, you might think the solo Beatles would have focused on other things. But No! They kept referencing animals; as this lifelong animal fetish continued!

We got Fish on the Sand, Pisces Fish, and Baltimore Oriole from George Harrison.

And who can forget Paul McCartney's classic Mary Had A Little Lamb. McCartney continued his animal rights activity with Looking for Changes,  Wild Life, and Linda's White Coated Man.

During his solo career, John Lennon didn't shy away from animal references either, penning Free As A Bird, that would be used after his death as a Beatles reunion track. And he even named one of his albums Shaved Fish!

Even Ringo Starr got in the act with: Bye Bye Blackbird; Monkey See-Monkey Do; and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Where did all of these animals come from?

2012 (c) Rock And Roll Detective(r)

Garbage is Back!!

The long awaited return of Garbage is finally here! The band that started in the mid 1990s with an innovative sound has a string of hits over a ten year period including: Vow, Stupid Girl, Only Happy When It Rains, Push It, Shut Your Mouth, The World Is Not Enough and many more. Garbage is Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, Shirley Manson, and Steve Marker. They return in 2012 with a new batch of songs that are sure to keep the flames of Rock 'n Roll alive and well for some time to come. I have heard the title track and a few others and you will love this album!

Their new album, "Not Your Kind of People" comes out on May 15, 2012 and the band plans to tour Europe starting out in England on May 9th.

Here is a taste of what to expect from the new Garbage album:

2012 (c) Rock And Roll Detective(r)

Occupy Grammys - Who The F%*K is Linda Chorney?

For your consideration… Linda Chorney - EMOTIONAL JUKEBOX - Best Americana Album Grammy


I have been a voting member of NARAS since 1994. As a music historian I have studied the sometimes strange Grammy victories of the past. Equally strange are the silent, hidden voting blocks of music industry corporations. For example, could the Anita Kerr Quartet have really beaten out The Beatles in 1965 for a Grammy without the Nashville voting block quietly getting together for a few beers? I think not. By the way, we haven’t heard much from the Anita Kerr group lately have we? Well at least we all recall that her “hit” We Dig Mancini was far better than The Beatles’ Help!

Lately, the powers that be in the Americana Association are up in arms because Linda Chorney has been nominated for a wonderful new album Emotional Jukebox in the BEST AMERICANA ALBUM category of the Grammys.



Emotional Jukebox by Linda Chorney


So, why is the “Southern Man” so upset about Linda? One claim is that she doesn’t fit in the Americana category. Oh so Jethro Tull got a Grammy for Best Heavy Metal artist. No one seemed to have a problem with that, did they? Perhaps if they listened to the album first, they would see that Linda’s music is pure Americana! FYI Americana is not defined by Southern Corporate music alone. Or by some Association!

Another claim is “Who the F@#k is Linda?” Never heard of her. Oh I see, Grammy voters can only vote for Corporate Machine candidates that the Americana Association has “created” with questionable radio record spin reporting and ginned up articles with their favorite newspaper hacks?

The machine is telling Grammy voters they made a mistake nominating Linda Chorney for Best Americana album. Well, I listened to Linda’s entire album when she connected with me out of the blue. And it was, in my opinion, Fantastic. So I voted for her nomination.

Now I am voting to give her a well-deserved Grammy. I have worked for artists such as The Beatles, George Harrison, The Traveling Wilburys, Butch Vig and Garbage. So I think I know enough about good music when I hear it. I don’t need to be told who to vote for by Nashville or the Texas Americana mafia.

So, please consider listening to Linda Chorney’s new album and consider voting for her for Best Americana Album. Let your ears decide for themselves. Be independent, like Linda, not a corporate sheep.

Grammy Voters can hear most of the album here: http://www.lindachorney.com/FinalHTMLS/press.html

Check out her website and listen to some tunes at: http://www.lindachorney.com/


Jim Berkenstadt, The Rock And Roll Detective®.

Guitar Strings Used By Clapton, Santana and many more...

There is a cool web site out there that you collectors should check out called Wear Your Music (https://www.wearyourmusic.org/).

Pete Who?

It features guitar strings used on the guitars of your favorite Rock And Roll heroes. The strings are donated to this organization and the proceeds from sales goes to benefit charities of the artists and to environmental causes. And of course the steel strings don't end up in the landfills. It is a win-win for charitable causes, collectors of rock memorabilia and the enviroment.

 The site also features other recycled products like bowls made out of vinyl LPs. There are over 150 artists who are participating at the site with their Ax strings.

Carlos Santana

You can even add jewels and clasps to the bracelets. And they make great Christmas gifts. Check it out.

Bob Weir (Grateful Dead, Bobby & the Midnights, Rat Dog)

Rock and Roll Detective (r) is a registered trademark of Rock And Roll Detective, LLC. (c) 2011.

Frank Zappa Meets John Lennon on stage

 

Once upon a time, Frank Zappa and the Mothers collaborated with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It was in the early 1970s when artists worked together without checking with their record labels or attorneys. They just experimented together… musically that is. And the results were very joyous at times and a little tough to listen to at other times. This recording might fall into the latter category for most folks.

In the summer of 1969, Frank Zappa had broken up a previous incarnation of the Mothers and decided to form a new version of the group. The new band contained the core of the old Turtles – vocalists Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, along with their bass player Jim Pons. The Turtles, you will recall had a streak of hits including Happy Together and Elenore . Their streak of hits came to an abrupt halt around the time they played Tricia Nixon’s masked ball Inside the White House in 1969, only to be allegedly caught smoking weed in the Lincoln Bedroom and tossing equipment around. I wonder if President Nixon had anything to do with the Turtles removal from radio’s Top 40? Can you say political backlash? Anyway, by August, 1970, these Turtles were available to start a new gig with Zappa. 

The new lineup recorded several albums with Frank Zappa. The first one was called Chunga's Revenge. 

 

Due to legal problems and royalty issues that embroiled Volman and Kaylan, the “suits” said they would have to be credited under different names. The names chosen were “Phlorescent Leech and Eddie”. This eventually got shortened to their more famous nicknames, “Flo and Eddie”.

In June of 1971 Zappa’s Mothers appeared in concert at New York’s Fillmore East. They played a set of Zappa classics and even made room for the Turtles’ “Happy Together”. The concert was eventually released as: Fillmore East - June 1971. 

But the album was missing some of the tracks from that show.

The reason? Towards the end of the show, Zappa brought on John Lennon and Yoko Ono (and additional bass player Klaus Voormann) to jam. 

 

They played either four songs by Lennon’s account or five by Zappa’s. Here is where it gets interesting. Lennon decided to release an album called Sometime in NYC, which contained a bonus live disc. 

 

The live disc contained tracks from two different concerts. Confused yet? 

Lennon released the jam set at the Fillmore with Zappa as the following:

1.      Well, (Baby Please Don’t Go)  (Walter Ward) 4:41

2.      Jamrag  (Lennon/Ono) 5:36

3.      Scumbag (Lennon/Ono/Zappa) 4:08

4.      Au (Lennon/Ono) 6:23

Lennon’s album of this collaboration was released June 12, 1972 in the US.

However, 20 years later in 1992, Frank Zappa decided to release his version of this concert collaboration. The album was called Playground Psychotics and contained this concert as well as other Zappa concerts all on a 2 cd package. 

 Zappa digitally remixed the concert with Lennon and Ono and changed some things along the way to fit with his reality of the concert. Can you spot the differences?

1.      Well (Ward) 4:43

2.      Say Please (Lennon/Ono/Zappa) 0:57

3.      Aawk (Lennon/Ono/Zappa) 2:59

4.      Scumbag (Lennon/Ono/Howard Kaylan/ Zappa) 5:53

5.      A Small Eternity with Yoko Ono (Lennon/Ono) 6:07

It is interesting to see Zappa’s title changes, especially the last one. And even the publishing credits changed. Also of note, Howard Kaylan can be heard in the Zappa remix version commenting about Yoko who gets in and out of her “bag” during the performances. 

For the record collector who has to have it all, you will need to track down all three albums to recreate this piece of live music history: Fillmore East for the part of the Zappa show prior to the Lennon’s coming on; Sometime In New York City   to hear the Lennon mix of their jam; and Playground Psychotics to hear Zappa’s remix of the jam. 

However, you may only listen to this concert one time before deciding to file it away for a long time.

Happy hunting from the Rock And Roll Detective…