“I was going home in October. Everybody goes home in October.”
– Jack Kerouac, “On The Road”, 1957.
Welcome to the most beautiful month of the year, everyone!
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Enjoy this glorious month!
Stay safe & well.
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
The Heart of Saturday Night, the second studio album by singer & songwriter Tom Waits, was released on October 15, 1974 on Asylum Records. The title song was written as a tribute to writer Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac, better known as Jack Kerouac, the author of one of my all time favorite books, “On The Road”.
It is easy to see the similarities between he and Waits. They both observed and then relayed stories about the invisible and forgotten people of the world. On Day 189 of my Lockdown Countdown, I wrote about “the souls Waits zeros in on and shares with his audience. The ne’er-do-wells, the alcoholics, the hookers, the broken-hearted, the sad sacks, the angry types, the ones wondering where their lives went, the ones haunted by their choices or the ones just broken by life. Waits is their voice. And to me they are all people I want to get to know because, as the saying goes, there but for the grace of God. Waits extends a hand to each of them. And that in and of itself gives us all hope.” I love Waits’ view of the world. I believe Kerouac would, too.
The cover of Waits’ 1974 album. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Hall & Oates 12th studio album, Big Bam Boom, was released 40 years ago on October 12, 1984. The first single & its fabulous video were released a week earlier and the song hit the #1 spot for one week in Dec 1984. The second single, “Method Of Modern Love”, peaked at #5 in February 1985. The duo has six #1 songs and 16 Top Ten hits in their career to date, which sadly may now be over after 50+ years. The two musicians are currently engaged in a legal battle over Oates allegedly trying to sell his half of the duo’s business without Hall’s required consent. I love these guys and I am seriously hoping they can resolve this matter amicably so we can all see them reunite on “Live From Daryl’s House”. Fingers crossed.
The cover of the duo’s s 1984 album. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Tom Waits: “(Looking for) The Heart Of Saturday Night” (1974, written by Tom Waits).
Hall & Oates: “Out of Touch” (1984, written by Daryl Hall and John Oates).
Stay safe and well.
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?
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.
When the first Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class was inducted in 1986, several notable people speculated that eventually everyone would get in. Not true. While many of those inducted in the last few years have me shaking my head (Abba, really???) so does the absence of Bad Company. They are an unbelievably great band and have one of the greatest lead singers to ever take center stage: Paul Rodgers.
I fell head over heels in love with his magnificently powerful soulful voice the first time I heard him sing “All Right Now”, a monumental tune he co-wrote for his first band, Free. But his years with the band he co-founded, Bad Co., solidified his reputation as a great singer-songwriter. From “Can’t Get Enough”, “Simple Man”, “Running With The Pack”, “Feel Like Makin’ Love”, “Shooting Star” and so many others, Rodgers has penned many of the group’s biggest hits. He also plays guitar, piano & keyboards. Rodgers’ talent and the band’s musicianship are undeniable which helped them become a powerhouse group in the 1970’s. Yet despite being eligible for induction into the HOF since 1999 (25 years after their debut album came out in 1974), Bad Co. has yet to be voted in. And for the life of me I cannot understand why. (The HOF has also snubbed Tina Turner, Warren Zevon, John Coltrane and Todd Rundgren. But I digress).
Let’s not forget that Rodgers also had a five year stint touring with Queen beginning in 2004. He was also in a band with Jimmy Page in the 1980’s (The Firm) and made tribute records to two of his musical heroes, Jimi Hendrix and Muddy Waters, the latter of which earned him a Grammy nomination. Not to be overlooked, the other members of Bad Co. have great resumes as well: guitarist and group co-founder Mick Ralphs, who has written or co-written many of the group’s songs (including “Can’t Get Enough” & “Feel Like Makin’ Love”), was once a member of Mott The Hoople (best known for “All The Young Dudes”) & has toured with David Gilmour; bassist & songwriter Boz Burrell, who was also a member of King Crimson and drummer & songwriter Simon Kirke, who was also in Free and toured with Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band.
I consider all of their albums my favorites for different reasons, but when you name one after a Jack Kerouac novel (1979’s “Desolation Angels”) I think it takes center stage (no pun intended). And who doesn’t need a fantasy to escape to right now more than ever?
Bad Company: “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” (1979, written by Paul Rodgers).
I do not own the rights to anything. I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.
Stay well.
Hello, fellow Vixens!!! Happy July!!!
With the long holiday weekend to celebrate our nation’s independence upon us, I thought I would share the songs I listen to whenever I take a road trip. There is something about the open highway that is invigorating and inspiring to me. Seeing this beautiful country from different vantage points reminds me how lucky I am to call it home.
One of my favorite buildings in Waxhaw, NC.
Copyright 2011.
I celebrate that freedom with the musicians who have contributed to the soundtrack I live my life to. The songs I chose may not specifically mention or relate to the holiday at all, but they or the artists singing them remind me of home. This is my comfort music.
And given the current climate with the Supreme Court’s ruling and one state’s steps to see us all as equals under the same flag, this year’s observance of the 4th of July seems more important than ever.
The view from one of my favorite antiques barns in Jeffersonville, VT.
Copyright 2013.
So here is what I will be listening to this weekend:
10) “Feeling Stronger Every Day” by Chicago. A great American band named for their home city. And what a message for anyone who needs some encouragement.
9) “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. America’s all American band born on the bayou by way of California.
8) “The Weight” by the Band. The late Levon Helm at his best.
7) “American Pie” by Don McClean. An unlikely anthem if ever there was one.
6) “Dancing in the Streets” by Martha and the Vandellas. Does it get more American than Motown-a/k/a Detroit-where Chevys were made? Remember the car maker’s old tag line? “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet”. What a visual.
5) “Roadhouse Blues” by the Doors. The harmonica adds the perfect amount of Americana to this rocker.
4) “Me & Bobby McGee” by Kris Kristofferson. A song about falling in love while on the road with the “windshield wipers slappin’ time”. Jack Kerouac would have been so proud.
3) “This Land is Your Land” by Pete Seeger & Friends. Forget why they were there. Just focus on the moment when Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen and others stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to sing one of the greatest songs celebrating our country.
2) “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen. New Jersey’s elite music master celebrates the best of this country (see #3) and the worst (“Born in the USA”). But no one does it with more passion, grace or heart than Freehold’s fortunate son.
1) “America the Beautiful” by Ray Charles. It’s Ray Charles singing. Enough written.
Bonus: ANYTHING by Otis Redding. My top choices are “Tramp” and “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay“.
What will you be listening to over the holiday weekend?
Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, Vixens!!!
The display in front of one favorite antiques stores in Babylon, NY.
Copyright 2011.
Lilacs & Rust 