Tag Archives: MTV Unplugged

Music Monday: August 28, 2023

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another triple play edition of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Earlier this month we said goodbye to music mogul & co-founder of A & M Records, Jerry Moss, who died on August 16, 2023 at the age of 88. Best known as the “M” of the label to pair with his friend and partner, Herb Alpert, who was the “A”. Together they brought us music by Cat Stevens n/k/a Yusuf Islam, Carole King, The Carpenters, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Peter Frampton, The Police, Janet Jackson, not to mention Alpert and his group, The Tijuana Brass and so many others.

Known for their artist friendly approach and for giving the ruthless recording industry a human touch, Moss and Alpert nurtured their talent and took their label-which started in a garage for $100 in 1962-and grew it to the $500 million dollar empire they sold to PolyGram in 1989. About a decade later, they received an additional $200 million for a breach of the integrity clause. Both Moss and Alpert reminded us that music is not only about the people who create it, but the people in the industry like they were who gave those artists the platform to make music so it would reach the rest of us.

herb-alpert-and-jerry-moss
herb-and-jerry
Jerry Moss The Carpenters

Top: Herb Alpert (L) and Jerry Moss outside their studio in 1966. Middle: Alpert (L), the A to Moss’s (R) M circa 1972. Bottom: Moss with Richard (L) and Karen Carpenter in 1969. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

The Allman Brothers Band fourth studio album, Brothers and Sisters, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Released in August 1973, it was the group’s first full non-live release after two devastating losses: The death of co-founder & guitarist Duane Allman from a motorcycle accident on October 29, 1971 at the age of 24 and the death of bassist Berry Oakley also as a result of a motorcycle crash a year later on November 11, 1972 at the same age of 24.

Thankfully, he recorded two songs for the 1973 album before he died and one of them is today’s second highlighted pick. Written and sung by guitarist Dickey Betts, who will turn 80 later this year on December 12, it was the lead single from the album and features the musician at his best. The track also gave the band commercial success in the traditional sense as it was their only record to hit the Top Ten, peaking at #2 in October 1973.

Allman

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I am not a fan of rap. It is just not a genre that ever spoke to me. But when Lauryn Hill’s debut solo studio album-The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill-was released on August 25, 1998, it was everywhere so I could not help but take notice of it. Plus the music was not only rap but a blend of that, hip-hop, R&B and neo soul which gave many of her songs a different and unique type of sound. The first time I heard the third of today’s featured songs, I felt like I had been gut punched. I immediately got its message from the pain and honesty Hill expressed in the lyrics and her vocal delivery. It spoke to me and so many women I knew who had found ourselves in similar situations at one point in our lives, so there was no way we could not relate to the power of her writing.

Hill went on to work with Aretha Franklin and a few other artists and released a live album in 2002 (MTV Unplugged No. 2.0). But despite the enormous success of Miseducation (it won five Grammy Awards in 1999, including Album Of The Year), the former Fugees frontwoman never released another studio record. There are a multitude of stories and theories on that subject and I do not want to take part in any speculation. I just know that the song I fell in love with was fabulous and as someone who lives for music, I wish to acknowledge that.

Hill

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Carpenters: “Superstar” (1971, written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell).

The Allman Brothers: “Ramblin’ Man” (1973, written by Dickey Betts).

Lauryn Hill: “Ex-Factor” (1998, written by Lauryn Hill).

Stay safe and well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 442

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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?

June 2021 blog

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

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.

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“.

Stones 1978

The-Rolling-Stones

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.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 218

Posted in Music by

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?

Thoreau quote 2

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

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.

In October of 1969 Rod Stewart joined a revamped version of The Small Faces when they became known simply as The Faces. The move united him with the band’s new guitarist & songwriter, Ron Wood, who met Stewart in 1964 then played with him in The Jeff Beck Group from 1967-1969. Stewart also had a solo record deal at the time which garnered him worldwide success in 1971 with the release of “Every Picture Tells A Story”. Wood worked with him on that record as well, with both men co-writing that album’s title track. The two also wrote today’s song together. They stayed with The Faces until 1975 when Wood left to join The Rolling Stones & Stewart continued his solo career. The rest of the group officially disbanded the same year as well. Both Wood & Stewart enjoy long successful careers which continue today.

For as hard rocking as today’s track is, it surprisingly came across unbelievably well in a rousing acoustic format when Stewart performed it on his 1993 MTV Unplugged show joined by Wood, who not only played guitar, but contributed backing vocals as well. I love nearly everything Stewart has ever done, but find the combination of his vocal & Wood’s slide guitar completely exhilarating on today’s track. It is a great classic rock tune that sounds as fresh today as it did when it was a top 20 hit in 1972.

“So in the morning please don’t say you love me
‘Cause you know I’ll only kick you out the door
Yeah I’ll pay your cab fare home you can even use my best cologne
Just don’t be here in the morning when I wake up“.

The Faces 1969

Rod Ron unplugged

Top: The Faces circa 1969 (L-R, top to bottom): Ronnie Lane (bass), Kenny Jones (drums), Ian McLagan (piano & keyboards), Rod Stewart (vocals) & Ron Wood (guitar). Bottom: Wood (L) and Stewart (R) at his 1993 MTV Unplugged show. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

The Faces: “Stay With Me” (1971, written by Rod Stewart and Ron Wood).

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

Stay well.