On The Records

We started hearing about Joni Mitchell through her songwriting.

Judy Collins had her first and biggest hit with Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” in 1968.  That same year, a folk singer from New England, Tom Rush, released an album called The Circle Game.  That’s a Joni Mitchell song she hadn’t even recorded yet.  The album also included Mitchell’s “Urge For Going”.  This album is where we first heard Joni’s two excellent songs, plus it had songs by then little-known songwriters James Taylor and Jackson Browne.  For good measure, the cover photo was by Linda Eastman (McCartney to be).

It was time for Joni Mitchell to become appreciated for her performing, as well as her songwriting.  Enter David Crosby.

Mitchell was mostly known in her native Canada, and she’d been working the folk circuit on the East Coast.  David Crosby heard her, was impressed, and convinced her to move to Los Angeles.  Crosby then introduced her to manager Elliot Roberts, and her recording career began.

From 1968 to 1970, she released three albums… Song To A Seagull (1968), Clouds (1969) and Ladies Of The Canyon (1970).

The third album was the charm, as it contained her first song to get significant airplay, “Big Yellow Taxi” with the famous line “They paved paradise, put up a parking lot”.  The album (which was the first of her albums we bought) also finally gave us Mitchell’s recording of “The Circle Game”.  The song was a response to fellow Canadian Neil Young’s “Sugar Mountain”.

Then in 1971 came one of the most critically acclaimed albums ever…Blue.  Joni Mitchell had just come off two of the strongest relationships in her life, with Graham Nash, and then James Taylor.  The result is a very personal and raw set of songs many critics hail as a landmark for singer-songwriters.  Songs that got the most attention include “Carey”, “California”, “River” and “A Case Of You”.

Far be it from me to swim against the tide of critical praise, but I actually prefer her next two albums…For The Roses and Court And Spark.  The difference is that while she continued writing great lyrics, she wrote even better melodies (overall), and added more sophisticated arrangements and vocals.

For The Roses, from 1972, includes Joni’s first Top 40 hit “You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio”.  She was having fun with the idea that she needed to write a song that would get radio play.  Other standout tracks include “For The Roses”, “Barangrill”, “See You Sometime”, “Blonde In The Bleachers”, and “Electricity”.  The arrangements include a little more rock, with Stephen Stills on guitar, and some touches of Jazz.   Quoting the New York Times: “Each of Mitchell’s songs on For the Roses is a gem glistening with her elegant way with language, her pointed splashes of irony and her perfect shaping of images.  She’s a songwriter and singer of genius who can’t help but make us feel we are not alone.”  It’s her only album that has been chosen by The Library Of Congress to be in the National Recording Registry.  Here’s a really good outtake from the cover shoot:

Court And Spark, from 1974, is her most popular and best selling album.  It includes her biggest hit “Help Me” (#7), as well as “Free Man In Paris” (#22), “Raised On Robbery”, “Court And Spark”, and Grammy winner “Down To You” (Best Arrangement).  The influences of rock, pop, and jazz are strong.  Critics liked it too, and it’s listed at number 111 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Albums.  Blue is number 30 on that list…the highest ranking album by a female.  (Update:  In 2020 Blue was moved all the way up to #3 in a radical/unrealistic reworking of the list.)

It was after 1974 that Joni Mitchell began exiting the mainstream.  Maybe she had proven all she wanted in folk and pop music, because she moved away from commercially popular music and turned to the niche of Jazz.  She still produced some critically praised albums, and at times returned to pop, but had no major sellers.

In 1996 she released Hits, a well chosen collection of her most popular recordings.  If you don’t have her other albums, this is the one to get.

(All of the songs are copyrighted from the 1966 through 1973, except one from 1982 and one from 1991.)

Joni Mitchell also continued her drawing and painting, and is considered an excellent artist.  She did the cover art on many of her albums (including those first three).  One of my favorites is the cover for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s So Far album.

Like John Lennon, she can capture so much with seemingly simple line drawings.  And like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell has had a major influence on other songwriters.

If we hadn’t known about Simon & Garfunkel when we first heard the solo Paul Simon album in 1972, I think we’d still have been pretty impressed.

It had “Me And Julio Down By The School Yard”, “Mother And Child Reunion” (with a not yet common Reggae rhythm),  “Peace Like A River”, and 8 more solid songs.  Since we did know about the famous duo, if you were like me, you missed the harmony of Simon & Garfunkel.  But, it was still a really great start to his solo career.

Paul Simon continued to prove himself an American treasure as a songwriter.  His second solo album, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon in 1973, included the classic “American Tune”, and the hits “Kodachrome” (#2), “Loves Me Like A Rock” (#2), and the ballad “Something So Right”.  Then, his third album, Still Crazy After All These Years in 1975, returned him to the top of the charts with “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”, and won the Grammy Award for Album Of The Year.

Paul Simon performed with George Harrison on Saturday Night Live in 1976.  They sang “Here Comes The Sun” and “Homeward Bound”. That SNL Thanksgiving episode is famous for Simon opening the show by singing “Still Crazy After All These Years” while wearing a turkey costume.  Who said he was too serious?  Simon has made over a dozen appearances on SNL through the years.

Paul Simon only had one more hit in the 1970’s, with “Slip Slidin’ Away”, at #5 in 1977.  He finally released his fourth album One-Trick Pony in 1980, and although it had  another top ten hit, “Late In The Evening” (#6), it wasn’t a success by his standards, nor was the accompanying film a hit in theaters.  What to do?

He put on a live concert in Central Park with old pal Art Garfunkel.  At the time, it was one of the largest concerts ever.  The crowd was estimated at half-a-million people, although years later it was questioned whether the park could hold more than 100,000.  The event and the live album transported Simon back to more successful times, but that didn’t last long.  In 1983, he released Hearts And Bones, which turned out to be a commercial low point in his career.  He was even quoted as wondering if he was still a commercially viable artist.

After hearing a cassette of some South African music in late 1984, Paul Simon was inspired.  He began writing new songs, and enlisted the help of musicians from South Africa.  This was a risk, because there was a  boycott against the South African government over Apartheid, and some accused Simon of breaking that boycott.  Paul Simon said he was simply working with fellow musicians, and they shouldn’t be limited because they were living under an unfair government.   Despite the controversy, the result was his most popular solo album ever…Graceland…in 1986.

The album was a hit with fans and critics.  Popular cuts included “You Can Call Me Al” (with a funny video featuring Chevy Chase), “Under African Skies” (with Linda Ronstadt), “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes”, and the title track.  Graceland went on to win Grammy Awards for Album Of The Year, and Record Of The Year, and it sold an estimated 16-million copies.

Paul Simon was once again among the most popular musicians in the world, and he embarked on very successful tours.  His follow-up album came in 1990, Rhythm Of The Saints.  This time, Simon used Brazilian style music on “Born At The Right Time”, “The Obvious Child” and “She Moves On”.  The album was well received by most critics, but it didn’t have the commercial impact of Graceland.

In 1991, he did another “Concert In The Park”, only this time it was a solo effort backed by African and South American musicians.  The crowd was huge, like his previous park concert with Art Garfunkel.  Over the years, he has received almost every song-writing and musical honor that could be applied to his long stellar career.

Paul Simon has continued performing, sometimes doing concerts with Art Garfunkel (when they’ve gotten along), and releasing albums that have had reasonable popularity.  His 2016 album, Stranger To Stranger, includes the popular song “Wristband”.  The song features Italian electric dance beats provided by the artist Clap! (yes, with an exclamation point).  It’s a cool song that tells the story of Simon being locked out of the stage door of his own concert, and then not being able to get back in the front doors, because he doesn’t have a wristband for admission.  Of course it has a deeper meaning of disadvantaged people not being allowed into society.

That’s Paul Simon…still relevant after all these years.

Update:  Paul Simon 2/5/18 statement on retiring:

Update 2023:  Paul Simon released a new studio album called Seven Psalms on May 19th, 2023.  He says the title and some of the lyrics came to him during dream-like early morning sleep hours.  The album is 33-minutes long, all acoustic, and his voice is reflective of his 81 years.

Update May, 2023:  Paul Simon announced he has suddenly lost hearing in one of his ears, and may not be able to perform live again.

One with glasses & one taller…One with glasses & one taller.

Peter & Gordon (top l-r) and Chad & Jeremy (l-r) were often mistaken for each other.  The two duos were part of the British Invasion, and they both had hits from 1964 to 1966.  P&G’s first hit was in May 1964, C&J’s in June 1964.

Peter Asher and Gordon Waller had a secret weapon…Paul McCartney.  Paul was dating Peter’s sister, Jane, and for a time was even living with the Asher family.  Paul wrote songs there, and sometimes he’d give an original song to Peter (who became a good friend) for Peter & Gordon to record.  Their #1 hit “A World Without Love”, plus hits “Nobody I Know” (#12) and “Woman” (#14) were all written by Paul McCartney.

My copy of “Woman” had the songwriter listed as A. Smith, because McCartney didn’t want the song to become popular just because the Lennon/McCartney writing-team name was on it.

Update (12/25/22):  Received the Capitol Records book for Christmas, and it had this cool photo of P&G doing vocals for “Woman” at Abbey Road Studios.

My 1965 picture sleeve of “I Go To Pieces”.

My favorite Peter & Gordon song was written by an artist they toured with, Del Shannon of “Runaway” fame.  “I Go To Pieces” was a #9 hit in early 1965.  The late great Buddy Holly furnished “True Love Ways” (#14), and their other significant singles were two fun novelty songs…”Lady Godiva” (#6) and “Knight In Rusty Armour” #15).  The last of these was released in late 1966.

Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde started as a folk duo called “The Jerks”, but wisely changed their name.  Their music is even more Folk influenced than that of their friendly rivals.   “Yesterday’s Gone” (#21) was their first hit, and their biggest hit was “A Summer Song” at #7.  Their first album, shown above, also included a #15 hit “Willow Weep For Me”.  They did a show tune “If I Loved You” (#23), and their last significant singles were “Before And After” (#17) and “Distant Shores” (#30).

Two of their album cuts are of particular note:  The Lennon/McCartney song “From A Window” (which had been given to Billy J. Kramer, but is better by Chad & Jeremy), and the folk song “Four Strong Winds”.  It was originally by Canadian couple Ian & Silvia (Tyson), and was also done very well by Neil Young on his Comes A Time album.

Peter & Gordon won the competition on the charts, but it was Chad & Jeremy who got on American Television shows.  The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon, and TV shows wanted to join in.  Chad & Jeremy appeared as characters on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” & “The Patty Duke Show”, and as themselves on “Batman”.

By 1967, music became less folk & pop, and more rock & psychedelic.  Neither Peter & Gordon nor Chad & Jeremy fit in.

The Beatles hired Peter Asher as the head of A&R at Apple Records, where he produced the first album by James Taylor.  He moved to the U.S., and produced many extremely successful albums for James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and other artists.  Asher also reunited at times with Gordon Waller for special performances, but in 2009 Waller passed away of a heart attack at the age of 64.

Chad & Jeremy continued sporadically releasing albums and songs into the 2000’s, but did not have chart success beyond their period of popularity in the 1960’s.

I’m a major fan of the British Invasion, and still enjoy both of these duos.  The reality is, not very many British Invasion artists continued successful recording careers past the 1960’s.

I found the above photo of Peter & Gordon online, and it was labeled…Chad & Jeremy.

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Extra:  Starting in 2018, Peter Asher and Jeremy Clyde performed from time to time as Peter & Jeremy.  That might cause a little confusion, but it’s great for them and for fans.

Bonus:  In 2021, I received this 3-minute video birthday greeting from Peter Asher.  Click on this underlined IMG number to play it:

IMG_0096

He’s charming.  I’d like to have a long conversation with him.  Here’s the link to my article about his Beatles book:

https://ontherecords.net/2020/01/the-beatles-a-to-zed-by-peter-asher/

Update:  It was announced on December 20th, 2020 that Chad Stuart passed away at the age of 79.  He died of pneumonia.

In 1994, Glenn Frey said the Eagles never broke up, they just took a 14 year vacation.  The truth is, they did break up in 1980, and Don Henley was quoted as saying they’d only get back together “when hell freezes over”.  In 1993, there was an Eagles tribute album with the track “Take It Easy” sung by Travis Tritt. The members of the Eagles agreed to appear in the song’s video.  Shortly after that, the band reunited.

It was in April of 1994 that the group recorded a live concert using the title Hell Freezes Over.

The album of the concert was released in November of 1994, and included four new studio recordings.  Getting the most radio airplay were “Get Over It” and “Love Will Keep Us Alive” (#1 on the Adult Contemporary chart).  The live recording that received a lot of attention was an acoustic rendition of “Hotel California”.  It featured a new Spanish-style guitar intro, and gave fans another way to enjoy one of the Eagles’ best songs.  The album was #1 and sold over 9-million copies.

The Hell Freezes Over tour made it’s way to Lincoln, Nebraska on January 28th, 1995.  By then, the Eagles had been on the road for about three-quarters of a year.  The striking difference between the recorded concert that had been on MTV and this show was that the band appeared to be a lot looser…just as professional, but having more fun.  The concert included many solo hits from Don Henley (“The Boys Of Summer”, “Heart Of The Matter”, “Dirty Laundry” & “All She Wants To Do Is Dance”), and the best version of Glenn Frey’s “You Belong To The City” I’ve ever heard.  Adding so much to the concert were Joe Walsh’s non-Eagles songs…”Funk #49″, “Life’s Been Good”, and “Rocky Mountain Way”.  The songs gave the band chances to cut loose musically, and added some lyrical humor.  It was a great concert!

The Eagles did more touring.  Don Felder acrimoniously left the band in 2001.  The next release was a live DVD jokingly called Farwell 1 Tour in 2005.  They never released this one as an album, so I copied the audio from the DVD, and put it into an iTunes playlist.

Then came what is likely the final studio album by the Eagles…Long Road Out Of Eden.  It’s a two-disc set that included 20 new songs.

The album was recorded over a period of six-years, and was released in 2007.  It hit #1, sold over 3.5 million copies (7 million discs), and won two Grammy Awards.   It wasn’t like their 1970’s albums with tremendous airplay (because radio formats have changed), but if you take time to get to know the songs, you’ll be rewarded.  I have 12 of the 20 songs on my Best of Eagles 3 playlist…“No More Walks In The Woods”, “How Long”, “Busy Being Fabulous”, “What Do I Do With My Heart”, “Waiting In The Weeds”, “No More Cloudy Days”, “Do Something”, “You Are Not Alone”, “Long Road Out Of Eden”, “I Dreamed There Was No War”, “Center Of The Universe” & “It’s Your World Now”.  

Singles from the album were successful on the Adult Contemporary chart…”No More Cloudy Days” #3, “How Long” #7, “Busy Being Fabulous” #12, and “What Do I Do With My Heart” #13.

The Eagles toured in support of the album, then did another round of touring following the release of the “History Of The Eagles” documentary in 2013.

Glenn Frey had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis since 2000, and treatment led to intestinal surgery in 2015.  He never recovered from it, and passed away in January of 2016 at the age of 67.

Glenn’s “It’s Your World Now” is the last song on the Eagles’ last studio album…

It’s your world now,
Use well the time,
Be part of something good,
Leave something good behind.
The curtain falls,
I take my bow,
That’s how it’s meant to be,
It’s your world now.

It was thought the Eagles might not tour again, but this past July, they co-headlined the Classic West & Classic East concerts.  Glenn’s son Deacon, and their friend, country singer Vince Gill, sang the lead vocal parts made famous by Glenn Frey.  They’re doing a fall “mini-tour” for now, but no one is sure what will happen to the Eagles in the long run.

Update:  The band returned to major touring.  Vince Gill and Deacon Frey are doing a great job of filling in for Deacon’s father.  If you get a chance, watch Eagles: Live From The Forum from 2018.

Update:  (July 6, 2023)  The Eagles are doing one last tour, The Long Goodbye.  It started in September, 2023, and will likely go into 2025.

For the earlier part of their career, please see the article: Eagles…1972-1980, here’s the link:  https://ontherecords.net/2017/07/eagles/

In the 1990’s, I was talking with a younger man who was the Music Director of one of the radio stations where we worked.  He said he wasn’t sure he could like The Beatles, because they “used songs by black artists to become popular.”

That’s the kind of impression a younger person could get if they don’t know the real story.  Besides the fact some white artists were used to popularize songs by black artists in the ’50’s, this type of thinking might be attributed to the popularity of “Twist & Shout”.

(My well-worn single of “Twist And Shout” from 1964)

There is a misconception that The Isley Brothers originated the song.  It was written by professional songwriters Phil Medley and Bert Russell, and was first recorded in 1961 by the Top Notes.  It was not a hit.  The Isley Brothers covered it in 1962 in an R&B/Pop style and it hit #17 on the Billboard singles chart.

Before they were popular, The Beatles were listening to all the U.S. records they could get their hands on.  Like all new bands, their live shows were filled with songs by their favorite artists like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, and American “Girl Group” songs like “Baby It’s You”, “Please Mister Postman” and “Boys”.

After having hits in England with songs they’d written, “Love Me Do” and “Please Please Me”, The Beatles recorded their first album, Please Please Me.  They had four songs completed, and then on February 11th, 1963 they recorded another ten songs they needed to fill out the album, and they did it in just 13-hours!  Six of the fourteen songs were ones they didn’t write (cover songs), including “Twist And Shout”.

The Beatles’ version of “Twist And Shout” is an all-out rocker that adds muscle and excitement to the song.  Some may prefer the R&B/Pop style of the Isley Brothers, and that’s okay.  In fact, like The Beatles and The Stones, we can like both of them.

By the way, The Beatles performed another Isley Brothers’ song, “Shout”, which the Isley Brothers wrote.  The Beatles sang it on a television special in 1964.  They were obviously fans of the Isley’s.

The Beatles only released self-written songs as singles, and never intended to have “Twist And Shout” as a single.  However, the record company that had the rights to the Please Please Me album in the U.S., Tollie, saw how popular The Beatles became in 1964, and chose to release “Twist And Shout”.  It was a major hit (#2, held out of #1 by “Can’t Buy Me Love”).

So, I pointed out this kind of information to my friend and co-worker.  I showed him The Beatles rose to popularity on the strength of their own songs, and that they had written all 21 of their number one hits.  Their few scattered cover songs to hit the charts were released by U.S. record companies, and were not part of what The Beatles considered their official singles.  In England, The Beatles only had their own songs on both sides of every single.  My friend was surprised and satisfied to see how The Beatles became popular on their own merit.

Beyond that, The Beatles not only didn’t “use” black artists, they championed them.  When The Beatles came to New York, they were guest DJ’s at a radio station and could play anything they wanted.  Instead of choosing their own songs, they played songs by their favorite artists, like The Ronettes and Little Richard who were friends from their early touring days.  The Ronettes were the opening act for The Beatles’ last American tour.  The Beatles had it in their performance contract that they would not allow their audiences to be segregated.

(My 1969 record with a photo of Billy Preston)

The only artist The Beatles ever added to their name on a single was Billy Preston, a friend from their time playing in Hamburg, Germany in the early ‘60’s.  Preston made an extremely positive impact on the sessions for the album that became Let It Be, and his keyboard solos in “Get Back” show he deserved the billing.  The Beatles signed Preston to Apple Records.

Smokey Robinson (of The Miracles) was asked if it was okay that The Beatles recorded “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me”.  He replied that he was thrilled.  (Update:  Now it’s been included on the newly remixed Red Album.)

In a Rolling Stone interview with Smokey Robinson and Otis Williams (of The Temptations), Robinson said The Beatles were the first huge white act to admit they listened to black music and love it.  Williams said…”I must give credit to The Beatles. . .It seemed like at that point in time white America said, ‘OK if the Beatles are checking them out, let us check them out.'”  During the 1960’s, Top-40 stations played a greater mix of music than ever before.

It wasn’t long before other artists, black and white, were covering Beatles songs.

We pause from Classic Rock to look back on recent pop music history.

It was just a summer replacement show based on an old-fashioned talent show format.  I remember Sly & The Family Stone winning a summer TV talent show in the 1960’s, now Fox TV was trying it again with an American version of Britain’s “Pop Idol”.  “American Idol” turned out to be a juggernaut for about a decade, starting in the summer of 2002, and then slowly faded out through 2015…although the ratings were still better than many hit shows.

The luckiest thing to ever happen to American Idol was that Kelly Clarkson tried out the first season, and eventually won.  She could sing any style of music Idol threw at the contestants, and viewers loved her.  Finding a real talent validated the show’s very existence.

So let’s look back at the entire run of Idol, and determine how good the show was at finding talent, and which contestants were ultimately the most successful.

There are various ways of measuring success, so let’s start with the most practical way…who is now worth the most money?  It’s a surprising stat, because of the Top Ten contestants on the list, only 4 of them actually won the show.

1. Carrie Underwood…$70-Million.  Singing, Endorsing, Acting, Hosting.
2. Kelly Clarkson…$28-Million.  Singing, Endorsing, Writing.
3. Jennifer Hudson…$20-Million.  Acting (won Oscar), Singing, Endorsing.
4. Adam Lambert…$12-Million.  Singing solo & with rock group Queen.
5. Jordon Sparks…$10-Million.  Singing, own Clothing & Fragrance lines.
6. Chris Daughtry…$8.5-Million.  Rock group Daughtry.
7. Clay Aiken…$6-Million.  Singing, Broadway.
8. Katharine McPhee…$6-Million.  Acting (on TV’s “Scorpion”), Singing.
9. David Cook…$5-Million.  Singing, Endorsing.
10. Daivd Archuleta…$5-Million. Singing.

Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Jordon Sparks, and David Cook are the four who won the show.  The money figures are from “Business Insider”, 2016.

Carrie Underwood was the next big find, in season four.  The shy girl from Oklahoma had never even been on a plane before Idol, and now she’s had 24 #1 singles on the Billboard country chart, and has been the most successful female country star for over a decade.  Friend Miranda Lambert is close, and you might remember she got started on the “Nashville Star” talent show.

Another way we’re checking success is sales of recordings.  These are the official sales of albums in the United States as of 2016:

1. Carrie Underwood, season 4 winner…16-million.
2. Kelly Clarkson, season 1 winner…14-million
3. Chris Daughtry, season 5, #4…7.3-million
4. Clay Aiken, season 2, #2…5-million
5. Fantasia Barrino, season 3 winner…3-million
6. Ruben Studdard, season 2 winner…2.6-million
7. Scotty McCreary, season 10 winner…2.2-million
8. Kellie Pickler, season 5, #6…1.5-million
9. David Cook, season 7 winner…1.5-million
10. Phillip Phillips, season 11 winner…1.5-million

Worldwide, Kelly Clarkson has sold the most.

Others who have sold over a million albums, and their season ranking are…Jennifer Hudson (#7), Jordon Sparks (#1), Adam Lambert (#2), and David Archuleta (#2).

By comparison, winners and other contestants of The Voice have generally had much less success.  The Voice concentrates on the judges instead of the contestants, and is a ratings winner, but has been mostly a talent finding bust.

By concentrating on the contestants more than the judges, especially in the early half of their run, American Idol discovered talented people.  It also gave the contestants enough exposure that the show served as a springboard to start their careers.

On the acting front…Katharine McPhee has had supporting roles in movies, starred for two years on the TV show “Smash”, and is now starring in her 4th season of TV’s “Scorpion” series.  Another Katherine, Katie Stevens, was a top 10 finisher in 2010, and now has a starring role in new TV series “The Bold Type”.  Contestants who have appeared on Broadway include Diana DeGarmo, Constantine Maroulis, Clay Aiken, Katie Webber, Fantasia Barrino, Jordon Sparks, and of course Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson.   Do you remember “American Junior”?  It was a teens & younger spinoff of American Idol for one season.  One of the winners was Lucy Hale.  She became a very popular actress in the successful “Pretty Little Liars” series.

One last thing.  The most versatile performer after Kelly Clarkson was Haley Reinhart who finished third in 2011.  She and Casey Abrams (shown above) brought Jazz to American Idol.  Haley also sang Country, Pop, Rock, and anything else they asked her to sing.

Haley and Casey have had modest success, together and solo.  Haley had a #16 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart with “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, and an album, Listen Up!, that charted at #17.  They sang and played with the Jazz group “Postmodern Jukebox” and there are extremely popular videos of those performances.  A few years after her time on Idol, she still had eight of the top 10 “American Idol Performances” purchased on iTunes.

Obviously, American Idol was a huge success at finding talent, and despite all their talent, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and others could not have had their impressive careers without exposure on Idol.

American Idol returned in 2018, and is now on ABC.

Crosby Stills & Nash hadn’t put out a studio album since CSN&Y’s Deja Vu in 1970.  Finally, the album CSN was released in 1977.

CSN is a solid album, and is a multi-platinum seller, approximately tied in sales with the original Crosby, Stills & Nash album from 1969.  The biggest hit was written by Graham Nash.  In the group’s authorized biography (from 1984) Nash tells the story that he and a friend were on Maui and waiting for the rain to stop so they could go somewhere.  A guy flippantly said to him…”You’ve got half an hour, why don’t you just write a song before you go?”  Nash took that as a challenge, and in about 20-minutes he wrote “Just A Song Before I Go”…a #7 hit single.

Other standouts from the album include “See The Changes” (Stills), “Shadow Captain” (Crosby), “Anything At All” (Crosby), “Dark Star” (Stills), “Cold Rain” (Nash), “In My Dreams” (Crosby), and “Cathedral” (Nash).

Here’s the album cover using an alternate photo from the session.  According to their biography, this album was a happy time for a band sometimes in conflict.

We were living in LeMars, Iowa, and heard CSN would be in Lincoln, Nebraska for a concert in October of 1977.  Going to that concert gave me a new job opportunity.

We had lived in Lincoln from 1973 to 1976 while I got my BA in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Nebraska.  We didn’t want to miss the concert, and while we were back in Lincoln for the show, I visited with my former professors.  The head of the department, Dr. Larry Walklin, told me about a News Director position in Beatrice, about 45 miles south of Lincoln.  It was a change from being a reporter to being the director of a three-man news team.  Many opportunities in radio sprang from that move.  Thank you Dr. Walklin, and thank you CSN.

Framed concert poster “The Reunion” at an angle to reduce glare.

Hanging in a hallway of the Journalism building was the poster you see above.  I might have appropriated it off the wall a short time before the concert that night.  Rationalization: Everyone knew about the concert by then, and it was sold out anyway.  If you can read the printing at the bottom of the poster (click to enlarge), you’ll see ticket prices were $8, $9, & $10.

It was a great concert.  Crosby, Stills & Nash, along with some of L.A.’s top studio musicians, played a mix of CSN’s group and solo songs from 1969 to 1977.  They went from a beautiful acoustic set into an electric set that rocked the arena!  Below are photos I took at that concert.

We were pretty far away in the arena that night, but fans could make their way forward to take photos.  They aren’t very good quality, but they certainly bring back memories.

We also got to see them in 1991 during their acoustic tour.  We had recently moved back to Lincoln (for another 17 years), and the concert was less than a hour away at the Orpheum Theatre in Omaha.   We lucked out on our ticket buying, and were in the first row, right in front of Stephen Stills.

The last time we saw CSN was in 2009.  We had moved from Lincoln to Eugene, Oregon the year before.  CSN came here, and played an outdoor concert at the Cuthbert Amphitheater.  Another great show.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are second only to The Beatles in the number of songs & playlists in our music collection.  There’s so much music I love that they did together and as solo artists.  So glad we got to see them in concert.

The Lovin’ Spoonful’s first 7 singles all hit the top 10!  They were part of the Folk Rock and Country Rock era that started in the mid 1960s.

Zal Yanovsky (guitar), Joe Butler (drums), John Sebastian (guitar) Steve Boone (bass)

This is how we were introduced to The Lovin’ Spoonful.  Their 1965 single, “Do You Believe In Magic” (#9), made you feel good.  They sang:  “Believe in the magic of a young girl’s soul, believe in the magic of rock & roll, believe in the magic that can set you free”.

The band called it “good time music”.  There was nothing else quite like it on the radio.  The songs were written by lead singer John Sebastian.  The band’s musical influences were Folk, Jug Band, Country, and Blues.  It came out as a unique mixture of Rock & Roll.  Their name came from a song by Mississippi John Hurt called “Coffee Blues”, and referred to a “Lovin’ Spoonful” of Coffee (which is different than many guesses about the origin).

The string of Top 10 hits that followed were…”You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice” (#10), “Daydream” (#2), “Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind” (#2), “Summer In The City” (#1), “Rain On The Roof” (#10), and “Nashville Cats” (#8).  The last five of these six were all from 1966.

I remember that in 1966 The Beatles were asked if they had any favorite American Bands, and they said “The Lovin’ Spoonful”.  Since they were a favorite of mine, it stuck with me, and I’ve always suspected that Paul McCartney wrote “Good Day Sunshine” because he liked “Daydream”.

“Nashville Cats” is a straight-forward salute to country music and the “thirteen-hundred-and-fifty-two guitar pickers in Nashville”.  The Lovin’ Spoonful caught some grief for the line “yellow Sun records from Nashville”, because Sun Records was a Memphis studio.  I’m guessing it was simply too hard to make “yellow Sun records from Memphis by way of Nashville” fit.

The Lovin’ Spoonful had more country flavored songs on their albums, including “Lovin’ You” and “Darlin’ Companion” which were recorded by Johnny Cash.

The influence of The Spoonful has far outlasted their career.  They only had three more hits…”Darling Be Home Soon” (#15), “Six O’Clock” (#18), and “She Is Still A Mystery” (#27), all in 1967.  Zal Yanovsky and John Sebastian left the band, and it disbanded in 1968.

Here’s their best Greatest Hits collection…well worth it!  (Click or zoom to enlarge the song list.)

John Sebastian plays guitar, auto-harp, piano, and harmonica (his dad was a classical harmonica player).  John was friends with a lot of other musicians, so he and his harmonica made guest appearances on “Deja Vu” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and on “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors…among many others.

After he left The Lovin’ Spoonful, we lost track of John Sebastian.  Then in 1970 at a record store in Memphis, we spotted this album:

After previewing a whole bunch of recent albums at a listening station, we thought the best one was John B. Sebastian.  Information wasn’t readily available like today, and we didn’t know he had an impromptu performance at Woodstock prior to this release.  If you liked The Lovin’ Spoonful, this album was a good follow up.  We still enjoy many songs off this one, like “She’s A Lady”, “Red Eye Express”, “Rainbows All Over Your Blues”, “Magical Connection” and more.  The album did fairly well, peaking at number 20.

John’s solo career never really caught fire, but he continued to write songs and perform.  One tune he wrote was the theme song for a popular TV show, “Welcome Back Kotter”.  It was the show that introduced John Travolta.  “Welcome Back” became a #1 hit for John Sebastian.

There’s a song of his that deserves special mention.  He wrote and performed “Stories We Could Tell”.  It’s about musicians being on the road.  Why do they put up with all the hassles?  They do it so they can “sit back on a bed in some motel, and listen to the stories we could tell.”  It’s a great song that’s been covered by Jimmy Buffett and Tom Petty.

Here’s the cover of the best collection of his solo recordings.  It includes most of his John B. Sebastian album, and a good selection of the rest of his solo work.

The most recent recordings we’ve purchased by him are from a 2007 album he recorded with David Grisman, Satisfied.  We selected two instrumentals, “Walk Right Back” (the Everly Brothers song) and “EMD”.  They’re beautiful guitar and mandolin duets.

Update:  The music of The Lovin Spoonful was saluted at an autism charity event in Los Angeles on February 29th, 2020.  It was the first time John Sebastian, Joe Butler, and Steve Boone had played together since being inducted in The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twenty years ago.  Among other songs, they played their #1 hit “Summer In The City”.  There were a total of 30 Spoonful songs played by all the musicians who joined in on the tribute.

A long list could be made of 1960s bands that had Top-40 hits for just a short time. Only a few of them were as influential as The Lovin’ Spoonful.

Okay, had to attempt the list:  Gary Lewis & The Playboys (the only other group to start with 7 top 10 hits), The Zombies, The Box Tops, The Association, The Yardbirds, The Searchers, The Dave Clark Five, The Byrds, The Classics IV, The Beau Brummels, The McCoys, The Turtles, The Mamas & The Papas, The Happenings, The Cyrkle, The Buckinghams, Buffalo Springfield, The Rascals, The Monkees, Steppenwolf, Spanky & Our Gang, The Animals, Peter & Gordon, Chad & Jeremy, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Mindbenders, The Troggs, Herman’s Hermits, and more.  I tried not to include one-hit and two-hit wonders, or bands that had Top-40 hits into the 1970s.

Many of these groups had great songs and were popular and influential, such as The Byrds.   The truth is, the average life-span of a 60s rock/pop band was short.  I believe all of these groups had hits for a span of one to four years.  Despite the short careers, many of them, like The Lovin’ Spoonful, are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Doing the previous article on The Beatles’ picture sleeves encouraged me to take a photo of some more sleeves.  Then I had an idea for a quiz.

This display includes singles covers from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s (in no specific order, zoom or click to enlarge).

Here’s a quiz, based on these sleeves.  I’ll post the answers below.  It’s just for your enjoyment, and you’ll have to keep score at home.  Most answers you can get just by looking or figuring out.  Others you can guess.  And some you might just need to know.  You can zoom or click to enlarge the display.

1. Which artist has a whole row?

2. Which song was written by Paul McCartney?

3. What song is from “Fast Times At Ridgemont High”?

4. Which row is all records that belonged to my father?

5. What record is the oldest?

6. What record is the newest?

7. What song is shown by two different artists?

8. What group had vocalist Robert Plant?

9. Which record was banned by some stations as a “drug” song?

10. Which sleeve shows only 1 member of a 2-person act?

Okay, times up.  Raise your pencils and turn over your quiz.

Answers:

1. Billy Joel.

2. “Goodbye” by Mary Hopkin.

3. “Somebody’s Baby” by Jackson Browne.

4. Row 3…obviously the oldest row.

5. “Love Me Tender” by Elvis Presley, 1956.

6. “The One I Love” by R.E.M. from 1987.

7. “Needles and Pins” by The Searchers and by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks. Not easy to spot!

8. The Honeydrippers.  “Sea of Love” & “Rockin’ At Midnight”.

9. “Eight Miles High” by The Byrds.

10.  “The Boxer” has Art Garfunkel on the front and Paul Simon on the back.  Maybe by splitting them up the record company was giving us a hint of the future.

Sorry, no prizes, but hopefully, you had fun testing your vision and your musical knowledge.

Some additional thoughts on singles, and where we are today. 

Singles have been around since Gramophones were invented.  One song on a cylinder.  Singles used to be 10-inch 78 rpm records.  But, it was the 7-inch 45 rpm record which started in 1949 that became the really popular form.  The 33 1/3 rpm album started at about the same time.  You could buy the hit you loved on a 45, or if you thought an album might have enough good songs, you could pay a higher price for the collection of songs.

In the 1970’s, there was a  shift to albums being huge sellers.  By the 1980’s, 45 rpm singles began to disappear.  CD albums took over, and it seemed wrong to only have a single (usually two songs) on a whole disc.

Streaming singles are important these days, and help break artists.  Vinyl albums are selling again, but are still dwarfed by streaming.

 My Beatles “45” covers.  (click to make clearer & enlarge)

I never really “collected” record sleeves, but  just got them when I purchased the records as they were released.  Not all 45’s came with picture sleeves.  Record companies only shipped some that way, and at times those were limited to the first run.  Most of the Beatles sleeves are from Capitol Records.  When Beatles 45’s started coming out on the Apple label (with “Hey Jude” in 1968), they simply had black sleeves that allowed the Apple logo to show through.  That changed, as you can see by “Let It Be”.

Here’s a British EP (extended play 45 rpm record) with 4 songs “Nowhere Man”, “Drive My Car”, “Michelle”, and “You Won’t See Me”, all from the British version of Rubber Soul.  Another thing about those British EP’s…check out the center of this record from 1965.  It’s made so you can use it with a small hole like an album, or it could be punched out to be the normal larger size 45 rpm hole.

Although it looks like the Revolver album, this one is actually another EP.  It has four songs…”Eleanor Rigby”, “Yellow Submarine”, “Got To Get You Into My Life” and “Here There & Everywhere”.

Back when eBay was starting, I sold a mint Four By The Beatles EP.  Since this record was unusual, I thought it might become a collector’s item.  It had a fairly heavy cardboard cover which I stored in plastic, and the record itself was never played (I had the songs on other records).  The songs were “Roll Over Beethoven”, “This Boy”, “All My Loving” and “Please Mister Postman”.   I was pleased with the high bid, but maybe I was foolish to sell it.  I can’t find a photo of mine (no digital camera back then), but above is a photo of a somewhat worn version.

Update:  Finally found the original old photo:

One more British EP.  This one has “All My Loving”, “Ask Me Why”, “Money”, and “P.S. I Love You”.  Perhaps the most interesting part is the 1964 write-up on the back of the record sleeve by publicist Tony Barrow.  He may have been a little over-the-top with the hype:

It seems from the beginning, the order of the names was John, Paul, George, and Ringo.  Maybe it was because that’s the order in which the group formed.  EP’s were popular in England, but never caught on here.

Above is a limited edition flex disc used to mark the CD release of The Beatles 1962-1966 “Red Album”.  It was a giveaway by Musicland., and has the songs “All My Loving” and “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”.  Those songs were never officially released as U.S. singles.

This one looks like the normal “I Want To Hold Your Hand” sleeve, but is a second printing.  You can see they air-brushed out the cigarette that Paul McCartney was holding in the original photo.

This well-worn sleeve represents how layout artists don’t really care much about musical accuracy.  I can understand why they’d flip around John Lennon’s photo so he’d face inward like Paul, but not why they also flipped George Harrison’s photo.  Anyway, they’re now both left handed.

And finally…some of my sleeves from solo Beatles.