Music Monday: February 27, 2023

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

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Saturday marked the 80th birth anniversary for George Harrison. The Quiet Beatle was born born February 25, 1943 in the London city he & his fellow Beatles would make famous, Liverpool. He was the first from the group to have a solo #1 song (“My Sweet Lord” in December 1970-January 1971) and the first artist to host a benefit concert to raise money & bring awareness to a cause he believed in (The Concert For Bangladesh held on August 1, 1971). And as if his years with The Beatles and his solo work were not enough, in 1988 he became a Traveling Wilbury with four other musical superstars: Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.

The year 2001 was already horrible due to 9/11, but unimaginably it became even worse two months later when we lost Harrison to cancer at age 58 on November 29, 2001. It was a terrible blow to music and to me personally as George was always my favorite Beatle. His song, “Something”, is my favorite by the band despite the preponderance of Lennon and McCartney tunes.

Today’s track is the one that started my own music collection. It was released 50 years ago in May 1973 and it was the first single-yes, a 45-I ever bought for myself. It was Harrison’s second #1 single, hitting the top spot for one week on June 30, 1973. It also dethroned Paul McCartney & Wings’s song, “My Love” from the #1 spot after four conseciutive weeks.

Happy birthday, George. You are missed. Every. Single. Day.

“Give me hope
Help me cope with this heavy load
Trying to touch and reach you with
Heart and soul“.

Top: The Beatles circa 1967 (L-R: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon). Middle: Harrison circa 1970. Bottom: The Traveling Wilburys circa 1988 (L-R: Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Harrison and Tom Petty). (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

George Harrison: “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” (1973, written by George Harrison).

Stay safe & well.

21Nov2022

Music Monday: November 21, 2022

Posted in Music Monday by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

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

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

If you have ever wondered when exactly Al Green became the R&B legend he is, it was 1972. The Forrest City, Arkansas native released not one but two of his best albums that year: Let’s Stay Together debuted in January and I’m Still in Love with You came out in October.

Both records gave us some great original music but also introduced us to the songs Green admired with his unique and incredible covers. The first album featured an unbelievably soulful rendition of “How Do You Mend A Broken Heart” initially recorded by The Bee Gees while the October release had a Kris Kristofferson track (“For The Good Times”) and a Roy Orbison classic (“Oh, Pretty Woman”).

If you hear a touch of a Stax beat happening on these albums, that is because Green’s drummer was Al Jackson Jr., a founding member of that label’s house band, Booker T. & the M.G.’s. Green took the music around him, his gospel roots, his influences like Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke and turned it all into a gorgeous hybrid of soul, R&B, pop and southern sass.

Today’s song is a favorite of mine thanks to a standout vocal by Green, the electric harmony of his backup singers, the incredibly sharp & powerful horns and a seductive rhythm that is impossible not to move along with. It is just one of the many blessings from the man we now call The Reverend.

“Love is walkin’ together
Talkin’ together
Singin’ together
Prayin’ together“.

(Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

Al Green: “Love and Happiness” (1972, written by Al Green and Mabon Hodges).

Stay safe and well.

23Aug2021

Let’s Take A Moment Day 525

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.

This weekend we lost a pioneer in two musical genres. Isaac Donald “Don” Everly died August 21 at the age of 84. Born February 1, 1937 in Kentucky he and his younger brother, Phil (January 19, 1939 – January 3, 2014), were a trailblazing duo in both country music & the birth of the rock & roll era who used harmonizing vocals to create their signature sound. Don sang lead and Phil provided the harmony.

The two men started singing with their parents on their father’s radio show on KMA in Iowa in the 1940’s as The Everly Family. They moved to TN in the early 1950’s where the brothers pursued music full time once Don graduated from high school in 1955. They were soon discovered by guitarist Chet Atkins who helped introduce them to Acuff Rose publishers & the songwriting team of Boudleaux Bryant.

They wrote the brothers’ first hits in 1957, “Bye Bye Love” (a cross over hit on both the country & rock & roll charts) & “Wake Up Little Susie”. The duo was also the first to record the Boudleaux Bryant song “Love Hurts” in 1960 before it became a hit for Roy Orbison a year later. The boys did write some of their own songs including “Cathy’s Clown” (1960, written by Don) & “When Will I be Loved” (1960, written by Phil).

The brothers success led to their 1960 contract with Warner Brothers Records for one million dollars. At that time it was an unprecedented amount of money for a rock & roll act and would keep the boys with the label for ten years. But the unrelenting work schedule took its toll on the duo. So did contract disputes, sibling rivalry, drug use and more which led their official break up in 1973. They did reunite a decade later but their relationship remained strained.

Some of the biggest names in music were fans of The Everly Brothers. In his 1976 Wings song “Let ‘Em In”, Paul McCartney mentioned the duo by their first names (“…Martin Luther, Phil and Don”). George Harrison recorded a demo of today’s song that was included on his 2012 posthumous album, Early Takes: Volume. His friend & Traveling Wilbury bandmate Bob Dylan covered today’s song for his 1970 album, Self-Portrait. Both Everly Brothers sang on the track “Graceland” by another of their admirers, Paul Simon. In 1986 they were a part of the inaugural class inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame by Neil Young.

Today’s song was based on a French recording of “Je t’appartiens” from 1955. It was a Top Ten hit for the brothers in 1959. As much fun as their faster songs are, I think it is the ballads that show off their vocal harmonies best. Rest in peace, Don Everly.

“Each time we meet love
I find complete love
Without your sweet love
What would life be“.

Don (L) and Phil Everly circa 1957. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

The Everly Brothers: “Let It Be Me” (1959, written by Gilbert Bécaud (music), Manny Curtis (English lyrics) and Pierre Delanoë (French lyrics).

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

Stay well.

5Jun2021

Let’s Take A Moment Day 446

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Sixty years ago today-June 5, 1961-Roy Orbison hit the #1 spot in the country for one week with today’s song. His Traveling Wilbury bandmate, Jeff Lynne, covered this track on his 2012 album, Long Wave and it is exceptionally good. But there is only one Roy Orbison and his version is damn near perfect.

“Then all at once he was standing there
So sure of himself his head in the air
My heart was breaking which one would it be
You turned around and walked away with me“.

George Harrison (L) & his future Traveling Wilbury bandmate, Roy Orbison (R), in 1964. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Roy Orbison: “Running Scared” (1961, written by Joe Melson and Roy Orbison).

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

Stay well.

23Apr2021

Let’s Take A Moment Day 403

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

On this day 85 years ago “The Caruso Of Rock” Roy Orbison was born. Another legend from the Sun Records label, he was born April 23, 1936 in Texas. Between his extraordinary solo career & his tenure as a Traveling Wilbury, Orbison’s career spanned four decades from the 1950’s to the 1980’s.

Popular covers of his songs were done by Linda Ronstadt (1977’s “Blue Bayou”), Don McLean (1978’s “Crying”) and Van Halen (1982’s “Oh, Pretty Woman”) but only Orbison could deliver his songs in his famed operatic style. Today’s song was the follow up to his 1961 hit, “Crying” (Day 22) and continued his chart success of that decade. The world will never see another Roy Orbison.

“I love you and
I’m dreaming of you
That won’t do dream baby
Help me stop my dreaming“.

Roy Orbison and Bruce Springsteen in 1988’s “A Black & White Night”. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Roy Orbison: “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)” (Live performance from “Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night” filmed September 1987, broadcast on January 3, 1988 on Cinemax. Originally released in 1962, written by Cindy Walker).

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

Stay well.

8Jan2021

Let’s Take A Moment Day 298

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Today is the 86th birth anniversary for the man crowned “The King”. But this month two other key events took place in history that helped Elvis Presley earn that title. January 5, 1923 is the day Sun Records founder Sam Phillips was born in Alabama. And January 2, 1950 is the day he opened the Memphis Recording Service in TN which became Sun Studio two years later. Not only did Elvis start there, but so did Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison, amongst others. Is it any wonder why Memphis is the country music capital?

If you want to pinpoint the moment rock & roll changed American culture forever, look no further than “The Milton Berle Show” broadcast on June 5, 1956. Elvis sang today’s song that night which he would not record until a month later. It was during this appearance that he stood behind a microphone for the first time without his guitar (supposedly at Berle’s suggestion) leaving The King’s gyrating hips and pelvic thrusts in full view. This caused a nationwide swoon of nearly every young girl who was watching him. But their parents were watching, too, and many of them were not happy about what they saw. The complaints flooded in which is why when Elvis went on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in September & October that year and for his third and final time on January 6, 1957, he was censored. But anyone who saw Berle’s show knew why the girls in Sullivan’s audience were screaming. Life & music as the country & the world knew it was over. Elvis was now in the building.

So in honor of the day The King was born, let’s go back to where his reign began, on Berle’s show in 1956. Part of this clip is the one Mrs. Gump & Forrest watched from a store window in the film. She may have thought he was “not for children’s eyes” but anyone who understands music knows Elvis could do no wrong. All hail The King! And thank you, Sam Phillips, for showing him the door to the throne.

“Yeah, they said you was high-classed
Well, that was just a lie
Yeah, you ain’t never caught a rabbit
And you ain’t no friend of mine“.

Sam Phillips (L) with Elvis Presley at Sun Records circa 1954. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Elvis Presley: “Hound Dog” (Live performance on “The Milton Berle Show” broadcast on June 5, 1956. Song recorded July 1956. Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller).

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

Stay well.

8Nov2020

Let’s Take A Moment Day 237

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

(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.

Time for another cautionary rock & roll tale. This one belongs to Gram Parsons who was born Ingram Cecil Connor III in Florida on Nov 5, 1946. He overcame a tough childhood (both parents were alcoholics, which led to his father’s suicide when Parsons was 12 & his mother’s from cirrhosis when he was in high school). He quit Harvard University in 1965 after one semester to pursue music, a talent he acquired when he learned how to play the piano as a child.

By the late 1960’s he met Chris Hillman of The Byrds & contributed to the band’s 1968 album, “Sweetheart Of The Rodeo”. It is considered to be one of the earliest country rock records due in large part to Parson’s influence of what he called “Cosmic American Music”. Then he & Hillman formed The Flying Burrito Brothers and continued with that sound.

It was also around this time that Parsons met The Rolling Stones and became fast friends with Keith Richards. The friendship centered around music and drugs, but the latter began to dominate Parsons life and career. By 1971 he had been dismissed from the Burrito Brothers & was all but kicked out of Richards house (and life) by his girlfriend and allegedly Mick Jagger as well. That is when Parsons started his solo work with a young female singer named Emmylou Harris, who provided harmony vocals for all his songs, including today’s pick.

It was written around 1960 with the original version credited to The Everly Brothers in 1961 followed by Roy Orbison’s rendition later the same year. But for the younger crowd, the more well known version of this song was released in 1974 by the band, Nazareth. That was my favorite rendition until I heard Parsons’. Since it is basically a duet with Harris, it highlights the sadness of the lyrics as if they were singing about their own heartbreak to each other. The slower tempo and stripped down musical arrangement only adds to the desolate feeling of the song. It is truly beautiful.

So is the version Richards performed with Norah Jones at the 2004 tribute concert for his old friend, who covered “Wild Horses” with the Burrito Brothers in 1970 for their second album. Parsons died in 1973 from a drug overdose at the age of 26. His second and final solo album, “Grievous Angel”, was released a year after he died and features today’s track.

“Some fools think
Of happiness, blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves, I guess
They’re not foolin’ me“.

Top: Gram Parsons circa 1972. Bottom: Emmylou Harris & Parsons circa 1972. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

Gram Parsons featuring Emmylou Harris: “Love Hurts” (1974, written by Boudleaux Bryant).

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

Stay well.

30Oct2020

Let’s Take A Moment Day 228

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

There is another birthday in music upon us and this one belongs to U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. Born October 31, 1961 in Dublin, Ireland he began playing drums at age 9 in marching bands. According to the band’s website, Mullen put an ad up at his school in 1976 seeking musicians to form a band that brought him together with his three bandmates. They put out an EP in 1979 and were signed to Island Records a year later. U2’s 1980 debut album gave them their first hit, “I Will Follow”. But it was their 1983 album, “War” that led to worldwide success. Nearly 40 years later, they are considered one of the most successful bands of all time.

I like a great deal of U2’s music and one album I particularly enjoy is 1988’s “Rattle & Hum”. They recorded a lot of it in Memphis at the legendary studios of Sun Records. That was where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and others began their recording careers. One of the song’s U2 worked on there was a collaboration with blues legend B.B. King. Despite how high he raised the bar on this track, U2 was not far behind. The raw intense lyrics from Bono & the music from the rest of U2 helped them keep up with power of The King Of The Blues, resulting in one heck of record.

“I ran into a juke joint when I heard a guitar scream
The notes were turning blue, I was dazing in a dream
As the music played I saw my life turn around
That was the day before love came to town“.

U2 with B.B. King in 1988 (L-R): Larry Mullen Jr., Bono, B.B. King, Adam Clayton & The Edge. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

U2 (in honor of Larry Mullen Jr.’s birthday) featuring B.B. King: “When Love Comes To Town” (1988, written by U2: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen Jr.).

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

Stay well.

16Oct2020

Let’s Take A Moment Day 214

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Throughout her career Linda Ronstadt sang many songs originally recorded by other artists like Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou”, Chuck Berry’s “Back In The USA” and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ “Ooo Baby Baby”, amongst others. But she also worked with unknown songwriters and helped establish their careers through her interpretations of their tunes. One of the composers she collaborated often with is Eric Kaz. He co-wrote several of her songs including “Love Has No Pride” (Day 15), “I Won’t Be Hangin Round”, “Sorrow Lives Here” & today’s track. His music has also been recorded by country superstars George Strait and Alison Krauss, former Eagle Randy Meisner and Bonnie Raitt, to name a few. Today’s song is the title track from Ronstadt’s 1989 album and I think it is one of her best.

“Life isn’t easy
Love never lasts
You just carry on
And keep moving fast“.

Top: Songwriter Eric Kaz. Bottom: Linda Ronstadt. Both pictures circa 1975. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

Linda Ronstadt: “Cry Like A Rainstorm” (1989, written by Eric Kaz).

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

Stay well.

29Aug2020

Let’s Take A Moment Day 166

Posted in Music by Michele at Lilacs & Rust

(Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Today in 1964 Roy Orbison, nicknamed The Caruso Of Rock, released today’s track. It would go on to become his signature song. It hit #1 for three weeks in the fall of that year and it is a true rock & roll classic. If you need to be reminded of this man’s genius and how effortless he made his music look, I suggest you watch “Roy Orbison & Friends: A Black & White Night” from 1988 to see him perform with several of his fans including Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello. k.d. lang and J.D. Souther. It is a great concert.

Many artists have covered this song. Some not so good, some not so bad. One of the best I think is by Chris Isaak who recorded his cover for the album, “Beyond The Sun”. But nothing beats the original. Mercy!

“I guess I’ll go on home, it’s late
There’ll be tomorrow night, but wait
What do I see?
Is she walkin’ back to me?”

Roy Orbison photographed on April 13, 1967. John Hercock/Central Press/Getty Images. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Roy Orbison: “Oh, Pretty Woman” (1964, written by Bill Dees and Roy Orbison).

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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Lilacs & Rust

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Tag Archives: Roy Orbison

Music Monday: February 27, 2023

Music Monday: November 21, 2022

Let’s Take A Moment Day 525

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Don (L) and Phil Everly circa 1957. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Let’s Take A Moment Day 446

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 403

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Roy Orbison and Bruce Springsteen in 1988’s “A Black & White Night”. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

Let’s Take A Moment Day 298

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 237

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Top: Gram Parsons circa 1972. Bottom: Emmylou Harris & Parsons circa 1972. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

Let’s Take A Moment Day 228

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 214

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Let’s Take A Moment Day 166

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Roy Orbison photographed on April 13, 1967. John Hercock/Central Press/Getty Images. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

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Don (L) and Phil Everly circa 1957. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

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Roy Orbison and Bruce Springsteen in 1988’s “A Black & White Night”. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

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Top: Gram Parsons circa 1972. Bottom: Emmylou Harris & Parsons circa 1972. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)

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Roy Orbison photographed on April 13, 1967. John Hercock/Central Press/Getty Images. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)

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