Tag Archives: The Spinners

Music Monday: August 10, 2026

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

#musicmonday #musicblog #musicandlyrics

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The English rock band The Who released their debut studio album, My Generation, in the UK in December 1965. However, it was not released in the U.S. until 60 years ago in April 1966 under the title The Who Sings My Generation. The cover was different as well, and the U.K. version had a Bo Didley song, “I’m A Man”, that did not appear on the U.S. release. In its place was the song “Instant Party (Circles)”. Guitarist Pete Townshend-who turned 81 in May-penned most of the album’s original tracks.

The song “My Generation” is featured prominently in the 2009 film, “Pirate Radio” (a/k/a “The Boat That Rocked”), most notably as the song that celebrated the ship’s refusal to be shut down by a law banning rock & roll. Watching all the DJ’s dancing to that song in honor of their boat’s mission to bring great music to Great Britain was just perfect. Great scene, great song.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The band’s fifth album, Who’s Next, was released 55 years ago in August 1971. Once again the majority of the songs-eight out of nine-were all written by Pete Townshend and continued the band’s reign as one of the greatest British rock bands of all time.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The R&B group The Spinners formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1954. However, they did not score their first Top Ten hit until 1972 with “I’ll Be Around”. That was followed by my personal favorite, “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love”, which peaked at #4 in March 1973. A year later, a duet with Dionne Warwick-“I Never Knew Love Before”-hit #1 in October 1974. The Spinners had a total of seven Top Ten hits, including the one released fifty years ago in August 1976 which reached the #2 spot in the country by the end of that year.

The Spinners’ seventh album was released 50 years ago in July 1976. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Twenty years ago, one of the funniest & most original shows I ever saw began its eight year run. “Psych” premiered in July 2006 and was centered around the machinations of the hyper-aware Sean Spencer who used that gift to appear “psychic” which made the police take notice & use his “gift” to help them solve a variety of cases. Working as a team with his best friend from childhood, Burton Guster-better known as Gus-who was usually introduced by an array of nicknames Sean deemed comical & triggering in the moment. The series ran for eight seasons with three movies released since the final episode in 2014-“Psych: The Movie” in 2017, “Psych 2: Lassie Come Home” in 2020 and “Psych 3: This Is Gus” in 2021.

Creator Steve Franks gave us an unbelievably fresh & hilarious take on the ususal cop show, adding in an incredibly endearing bromance ripe with every pop culture reference known to man between Sean & Gus, the family dynamic with Sean’s dad, retired cop Henry Spencer (played by Corbin Bernsen), plus the pairing of senior detective Carlton “Lassie” Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) with a younger trainee, Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson), both working under the helm of Chief Karen Vick (Kirsten Nelson). And in the “taking care of your own” category, the second movie was rewritten to to include Omundson after he suffered a debilitating stroke in 2017).

Add to that notable guest stars from William Shatner, Cybill Shepherd, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald and many others and it is a can’t miss show, period. If you are out of the loop on this one, I urge you to binge watch it soon.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The cast of “Psych” (L-R): Maggie Lawson, Corbin Bernsen, James Roday Rodriguez, Kirsten Nelson, Dule Hill and Timothy Omundson. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Who: “My Generation” (1966, written by Pete Townshend).

The Who: “Baba O’Riley” (1971, written by Pete Townshend).

The Who: “Behind Blue Eyes” (1971, written by Pete Townshend).

The Who: “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (1971, written by Pete Townshend).

The Spinners: “The Rubberband Man” (1976, written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed).

The Friendly Indians: “Psych Theme Song” (2006, written by The Friendly Indians).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: May 8, 2023

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

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Another year, another huge disappointment by The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. They announced their nominees for the Class of 2023 a few weeks back. After a 20+ year wait, the list finally included the gifted eloquent singer & songwriter, Warren Zevon. And despite fans voting him in, the HOF ignored their voice and chose instead to induct other people. I cannot even use the word artists as that term does not apply to some of the unworthy “acts” getting in this year. The process to gain entry has been a popularity contest for years and has absolutely nothing-NOTHING-to do with talent. Yet every year I get sucked into believing the HOF will do the right thing. I feel like Charlie Brown with that lousy football.

While there are several artists getting in that I am thrilled for-namely lyricist extrordinaire Bernie Taupin in the Musical Excellence Award category, The Spinners as Performers and Don Cornelius (creator, producer and host of the TV show, “Soul Train”) as the recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award-I am just sick about Zevon. In their description of him on the Hall’s nominating page, they wrote: “Warren Zevon was an artist’s artist. One of the most talented and significant singer-songwriters to emerge in the 1970s, Zevon wrote poetic but offbeat songs, often with darkly humorous and acerbic lyrics, and delivered them with a dry wit and a twisted energy like no other performer could”. Yet they passed him over.

According to Zevon’s website, it was Long Island’s own Billy Joel who spearheaded this year’s nomination in a letter to the Hall’s nominating committee that read:

“If anyone deserves to be, he does. He was a real original, and I don’t know if that’s appreciated enough. The first minute I saw him, I was knocked out. He was like the crazy brother I never had. He was fearless, and it stuck with me. I never thought he got the attention he deserved.” On that, Billy, we can agree.

Warren William Zevon was born January 24, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. As a young teenager, he had the good fortune to occassionally visit the homes of two remarkable conductors-Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft. By 1966 Zevon was part of the duo, Lyme and Cabelle, with Violet Santangelo. His debut solo album, Wanted Dead Or Alive, was released in 1970. One of its songs was retitled & recorded by Leslie Miller for the soundtrack to Midnight Cowboy.

Six years later after a stint as band leader and keyboardist for the Everly Brothers, Zevon’s self-titled second album-produced by Jackson Browne-came out. Like the first one, it was a critical success but did not sell. However, it did include two songs which Linda Ronstadt would also record: “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” and “Hasten Down The Wind”. In 1978 Zevon achieved both commercial & critical acclaim with his third album, Excitable Boy (also produced by Browne along with guitarist Waddy Wachtel). That introduced the world to “Werewolves Of London”.

Per the HOF’s rules, an artist is eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first album. That means Zevon qualified in 1995. Even if the HOF wanted to use his major label debut date to qualify him-album #2 in 1976-that put his eligibility in 2001. That was two years before he died from mesothelioma on September 7, 2003 at age 56. In case you are too tired to do the math, that was 20 years ago. 

After he found out about his health, Zevon spent the fall of 2002 recording his final album, The Wind. It was released on August 26, 2003 and won two Grammy Awards in 2004: Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for his duet with Bruce Springsteen, “Disorder In The House“. The album featured appearances by several of Zevon’s other friends including Jackson Browne, Ry Cooder, Joe Walsh, Tom Petty, Emmylou Harris and John Waite, amongst others.

As much as I love the collaboration with Springsteen, today’s song is my favorite track on the album. It was nominated for Song Of The Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance but that is not why I adore it. The message of it is just beautiful. It was Zevon’s goodbye to his family (daughter Ariel and son Jordan-who accepted Zevon’s Grammys on his behalf in 2004-and her two sons, Maximus and Augustus), his friends and his fans. It closed out the album, his recording career and his life in a stunning and heartbreaking way. It also proved that if talent could get a true artist like Zevon into the R&R HOF, he would already be in.

“Shadows are fallin’ and I’m runnin’ out of breath
Keep me in your heart for a while
If I leave you it doesn’t mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for a while“.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Warren Zevon: “Keep Me In Your Heart” (2003, written by Jorge Calderón and Warren Zevon).

Stay safe & well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 343

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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?

Feb 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.

Detroit had Motown, Philadelphia had Philly Soul. That genre was not as big nor as successful as the Motor City’s sound but it was still a powerful force in music. The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, The Spinners, Billy Paul, songwriters Ken Gamble & Leon Huff along with Thom Bell were just some of the artists that came out of this musical movement. It was a fusion of soul that had combined elements of sophisticated jazz, funk, big instrumental string & horn arrangements with a side of pop delivered in the vocal. I loved this music despite many music critics citing this sound as the basis from which the dreaded disco era emerged (sorry not a fan).

One of the groups I remember quite fondly was Blue Magic, specifically for today’s song. They formed in 1972 & were led by the beautiful falsetto voice of Ted Mills with harmony & backing vocals by Keith Beaton, Richard Pratt and brothers Vernon Sawyer and Wendell Sawyer. Together they turned today’s song from their debut album into a top ten hit in 1974, selling over a million copies. They had a good run of success for five years before their popularity waned thanks to the aforementioned disco years. They disbanded shortly thereafter but reformed in the 1990’s. There have been many personnel changes since then but they were still performing prior to the pandemic. But I will always love the original lineup the best for giving us today’s fabulous song. .

“See the man with the broken heart, you’ll see that he is sad
He hurts so bad
See the girl who has lost the only love she ever had
There’s got to be no sadder show to see
No doubt about it satisfaction’s guaranteed“.

Blue Magic

Blue Magic’s 1974 self-titled debut album. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Blue Magic: “Sideshow” (1974, written by Vinnie Barrett and Bobby Eli).

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 327

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?

Feb 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.

The Spinners were a Motown act in the 1960’s but had no success with the label. In 1972, they signed with Atlantic Records and everything changed, Today’s song is my favorite by this group.

“Each night I pray there will never come a day
When you up and take your love away
Say you feel the same way too and I wonder what
It is I feel for you“.

Spinners

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Spinners: “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love” (1972, written by Melvin and Mervin Steals, a/k/a Mystro and Lyric).

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

Stay well.