Music Monday: March 7, 2022

Posted in Music Monday by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

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Last month singer/songwriter/pianist Gary Brooker died at the age of 76 in England. If you do not know his name, I am quite sure you knew his voice. He was the co-founder & lead singer of Procol Harum, so it is his glorious vocal that is front & center on their iconic 1967 hit. I have adored this song forever and it is featured in three of my favorite movies of all time: “The Big Chill”, “The Commitments” and “Pirate Radio” as the last song on the airwaves of “The Boat That Rocked”.

Brooker was also one of the composers of today’s phenomenal song, but he also played with several other artists, most notably for George Harrison (on 1971’s All Things Must Pass), Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman. Brooker also appeared in the 1996 film adaptation of “Evita”. But for me, nothing else he ever did would compare to his pensive melodic delivery of some of the greatest sing along lyrics ever written or recorded.

“The room was humming harder
As the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
The waiter brought a tray“.

Top: Gary Brooker (pictured front left) with Procol Harum in 1967. Bottom: (Pictured left) with Ringo Starr circa 1999. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

Procol Harum: “A Whiter Shade of Pale“ (1967, written by Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher and Keith Reid).

Stay safe & well.

26Aug2021

Let’s Take A Moment Day 528

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

Hi everyone. Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing. But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

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I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

On Day 442 we celebrated Charlie Watts 80th birthday, which was June 2. Today we say goodbye to the legendary Rolling Stones drummer who died on August 24. Aside from this being a tremendous loss for his family, the band and for music, it is truly the end of an era. The group that spent nearly 60 years together-with the core members playing together for 31 years until Bill Wyman retired in 1993-remained intact as one of the most influential & driving forces in music history.

From the moment he became The Stones permanent drummer in February 1963, Watts kept the beat-strong, steady, constant & true-while his bandmates played more flamboyant roles. And despite being in one of the most successful groups of all time, Watts led a relatively simple life compared to the others. Married since 1964 to Shirley Ann Shepherd, the two became parents in 1968 to their daughter & eventually grandparents to her daughter. A bout with throat cancer in 2004 sidelined the group who did not resume recording until Watts was ready.

Between his quiet demeanor & sophisticated attire, he almost appeared out of step with the rest of the band. But if not for his rhythm, presence and innovative style, The Rolling Stones sound would not have been what it was. They hit the #1 spot on the US charts for one week on March 4, 1967 with today’s song. Fifty four years later, it seems a fitting tribute to the man we lost on Tuesday. Rest in peace, Charles Robert Watts.

“Goodbye Ruby Tuesday
Who could hang a name on you
When you change with every new day
Still I’m gonna miss you“.

Top: Charlie Watts circa 1990. Middle: The Rolling Stones circa 2005 (L-R): Keith Richards, Watts, Mick Jagger and Ron Wood. Bottom: Richards’ poignant social media tribute to Watts. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

The Rolling Stones: “Ruby Tuesday” (1967, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).

I do not own the rights to anything. I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

26Jul2021

Let’s Take A Moment Day 497

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

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Mick Jagger was born on July 26, 1943 in England making today his 78th birthday. He & the rest of his bandmates in The Rolling Stones have been making music together for nearly 60 years. In that time Jagger has established himself as one of the most recognizable & iconic lead singers of all time.

Today’s song is from the band’s 1966 album, Aftermath. It was released with two slightly different song listings for both a US & UK edition. It was the group’s first record to have all original songs written by Jagger & Keith Richards including “Mother’s Little Helper”, “Under My Thumb” and “Paint It Black”. But I consider today’s track to be my favorite. Here’s to 100 more birthdays for Sir Michael Philip Jagger.

“The girl who wants to run away
Discovers that she’s had her day
It’s no good your thinking that you are still mine
You’re out of touch my baby“.

Top: The Rolling Stones circa 1965 clockwise from lower left: Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman. Bottom: Jagger circa 2010. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

The Rolling Stones: “Out Of Time” (1966, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).

I do not own the rights to anything. I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

12Jul2021

Let’s Take A Moment Day 483

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

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Sixteen years after they released their first record together, The Rolling Stones had the #1 album in America on July 15, 1978 with Some Girls. But over a decade earlier, on July 10, 1965, the band had the top hit in the country. It stayed in the #1 spot for four consecutive weeks and went on to become one of their signature songs.

The backstory is Keith Richards wrote this in his sleep. He actually does not remember waking up to write it down but when he got up in the morning, there it was scribbled on the pad on top of his bedside table. If there was any doubt that man was not suppose to have a legendary career in music, that one story alone ended the speculation.

It has been used in dozens of TV shows & movies with great effect. For me it was most memorable when it played as Don Draper walked out of the New York Athletic Cub into the blaring hot summer sun after he started swimming to keep his drinking in check during the season 4 episode 8 of “Mad Men”. When my favorite songs collide with my favorite shows, all is right in my world.

“When I’m watchin’ my TV and a man comes on and tells me
How white my shirts can be
But he can’t be a man ’cause he doesn’t smoke
The same cigarettes as me”.

The Rolling Stones circa 1965 (L-R): Bill Wyman, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones and Charlie Watts. (Image found online. Original source unknown).

The Rolling Stones: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).

I do not own the rights to anything. I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

1Jun2021

Let’s Take A Moment Day 442

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

We have two Rolling Stones birthdays to begin this new month with. Guitarist, & songwriter Ron Wood, born June 1, 1947 in England, turns 74 today. June 2 marks the 80th birthday for drummer Charlie Watts, also born in England, in 1941.

The band released today’s song in the US on June 1, 1968, which happened to be Wood’s 21st birthday. But it would be seven years before he played his first show with the group that would later make him a member. Before that he was a member of The Jeff Beck Group where he met Rod Stewart.

The two men went on to form The Faces in 1969. Together they wrote one of my favorite songs of all time, 1971’s “Stay With Me” (Day 218). The same year, Wood played & contributed songs to Stewart’s 1971 breakthrough album, Every Picture Tells A Story. In 1975, Wood joined The Rolling Stones but remains friends with Stewart, whom he joined for his MTV Unplugged show in 1993.

Watts has been in The Stones since their formation in 1963. His grew up listening to jazz music & started playing the drums when he was 14. He also attended art school & worked as a graphic designer in addition to his work in the band, Blues Incorporated. Playing shows with them in and around the London club circuit is how he came to meet the members of The Stones.

Today’s song was a #3 hit for the band in 1969. In 1986, when it was covered by Aretha Franklin for the movie of the same name, it hit #21. Wood & song co-writer Keith Richards played guitar on her track & appeared in the video as well. Her version is, of course, spectacular because Franklin is The Queen. But it was The Stones version that was used in the movie “Pirate Radio” when Gavin Kavanagh returned to the airwaves, so that makes it my favorite version forever. Happy birthday Ron Wood and Charlie Watts. May you both see 100 more.

“I was drowned I was washed up
And left for dead
I fell down to my feet
And I saw they bled“.

Top: The Rolling Stones circa 1978 (L-R): Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman and Keith Richards. Bottom: The Stones circa 2008 (L-E): Watts, Richards, Jagger and Wood. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

The Rolling Stones: “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1968, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).

I do not own the rights to anything. I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

27Mar2021

Let’s Take A Moment Day 376

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Fifty years ago The Rolling Stones famous logo made its debut. On March 26, 1971 the band’s lips and tongue trademark appeared on their VIP passes for the Marquee Club show in London, making their emblem one of the most identifiable ones in the world.

The same year today’s song hit #1 in four countries including the US and it peaked at #2 hit on the UK charts. It features another one of the band’s iconic guitar riffs and a smoking sax solo by Bobby Keys. The track is from the Stones 1971 Sticky Fingers album which had another legendary picture related to the group-the infamous Andy Warhol designed photo of a man’s crotch area featuring a functional zipper. The Rolling Stones were masters of both innovative music & iconic images.

“I bet your mama was a tent show queen
And all her boyfriends were sweet sixteen
I’m no schoolboy but I know what I like
You shoulda heard me just around midnight“.

Top: The Rolling Stones lips & tongue logo. Middle: The Sticky Fingers album cover. Bottom: The Stones circa 1971 (L-R): Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

The Rolling Stones: “Brown Sugar” (1971, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).

I do not own the rights to anything. I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

28Feb2021

Let’s Take A Moment Day 349

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

The stories of bands throughout history seem to follow one of two paths: They fight with each other and when they fail to achieve success they break up. Or, they fight with each other, achieve great success and break up. In both instances they may reunite again after some time passed but not always. Rarely does a band stay together for too long and it is almost unheard of that one stays together for nearly six decades. That esteemed privilege belongs to The Rolling Stones.

Of course, there have been many changes to the band in those 60 years. Personnel changes, personal changes, musical direction changes, addiction issues, legal issues and so on. And the very first storm they weathered was the loss of the man who founded the band, Brian Jones.

He was born 79 years ago today on Feb 28, 1942 in England. Both of his parents played the piano and passed their love of music on to their son. Jones played in a few groups before placing an ad in 1962 for a blues band. Mick Jagger answered it & brought Keith Richards along for a rehearsal where he joined the group as well, forming the nucleus of the band Jones would name after the Muddy Waters song, “Rollin’ Stone”.

Their success began with today’s song, a cover of a Bobby Womack song which was the group’s first #1 hit in the UK in 1964. Despite the success of the record the group’s manager & producer encouraged the band to write their own songs like The Beatles were doing. Once the Jagger & Richards songwriting team started to see success, the group started moving away from the blues to more of a rock sound.

Thus began problems between Jones & the rest of the band, which when combined with his drug arrests, paternity issues, alleged mood swings and other issues led to him being fired from The Stones in June 1969. A month later, he was found dead in his swimming pool at the age of 27, drowned presumably as an involuntary result of substance abuse. A very sad ending for a man who gave us The Rolling Stones.

“Well, she used to run around with every man in town
She spent all my money, playing her high class game
She put me out, it was a pity how I cried
Tables turn and now her turn to cry“.

The Rolling Stones circa 1964 (L-R): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Brian Jones. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

The Rolling Stones: “It’s All Over Now” (1964. written by Bobby Womack & Shirley Womack).

I do not own the rights to anything. I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

24Oct2020

Let’s Take A Moment Day 222

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

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I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

On this day in 1936 The Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman was born in London, England. In 1973 he received a #1 record to celebrate his 37th birthday when today’s song hit the top of the US charts for one week. I wonder what he will get to commemorate his 84th?

After 31 years with the Stones, he left the band in 1993 to raise three children with his third wife. He started his own band, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, and wrote scores for television and movies. He also pursued other hobbies like photography & archeology. He is featured in the 2019 documentary, “The Quiet One” that I have yet to see but I am guessing that a film on any member of the Stones is bound to be interesting.

Today’s track is another gorgeous Stones ballad that I completely adore like “Wild Horses” (Day 103). But unlike the guitar driven medley of that song, today’s pick is led by a sublime piano performance by the band’s frequent session player, Nicky Hopkins, and an unbelievably gorgeous string arrangement. Hopkins played with other bands throughout his career including The Who, The Kinks and The Rumour, amongst others. But I think he did his best work with Wyman’s old band.

“Remember all those nights we cried
All the dreams were held so close
Seemed to all go up in smoke
Let me whisper in your ear“.

Top: The Rolling Stones circa 1967 (L-R): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman & Brian Jones. Bottom: Richards at a 2012 Stones concert where Wyman joined the band on stage. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

The Rolling Stones: “Angie” (1973, written by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards).

I do not own the rights to anything. I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

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Tag Archives: Bill Wyman

Music Monday: March 7, 2022

Let’s Take A Moment Day 528

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Top: Charlie Watts circa 1990. Middle: The Rolling Stones circa 2005 (L-R): Keith Richards, Watts, Mick Jagger and Ron Wood. Bottom: Richards’ poignant social media tribute to Watts. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

Let’s Take A Moment Day 497

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 483

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 442

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 376

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 349

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The Rolling Stones circa 1964 (L-R): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Brian Jones. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Let’s Take A Moment Day 222

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Like this:

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Top: Charlie Watts circa 1990. Middle: The Rolling Stones circa 2005 (L-R): Keith Richards, Watts, Mick Jagger and Ron Wood. Bottom: Richards’ poignant social media tribute to Watts. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

Like this:

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Like this:

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Like this:

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Like this:

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Like this:

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The Rolling Stones circa 1964 (L-R): Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman and Brian Jones. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Like this:

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Like this: