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Song of the Day – “Midnight Moonlight” by Old & In the Way

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Song of the Day by Eric Berman – “Midnight Moonlight” by Old & In the Way

This happened 41 years ago the other day…

When not playing with The Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia liked to dabble in side projects including stints with his own Jerry Garcia Band, The New Riders Of The Purple Sage, gigging with Merle Saunders, recording with John Wales and guesting on albums by the likes of Ornette Coleman, David Bromberg, Brewer And Shipley, Bob Dylan, CSN&Y, Jefferson Airplane and many others.

But Garcia was also a member of a bona-fide “supergroup.” When most people hear the term “supergroup,” bands like Cream, Blind Faith, Derek & The Dominos, CSN&Y and The Traveling Wilbury’s come to mind.

Garcia’s supergroup was Old & In The Way, a bluegrass collective of great pedigree featuring Jerry Garcia on banjo and vocals, David Grisman on mandolin, Peter Rowan on guitar, Vassar Clements on fiddle and John Kahn on bass. (John Hartford sat in with the band before Clements came on board.)

Rowan and Grisman played together with ex-Byrd Clarence White in the bluegrass group Muleskinner, and also in the Elektra Records recording group, Earth Opera. Grisman also played with The Even Dozen Jug Band and guested on The Grateful Dead’s American Beauty album. Rowan and Clements were members of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, and John Kahn played with Muleskinner, Howard Wales and Garcia.

Garcia formed Old & In The Way in 1973 as a vehicle to play bluegrass banjo. The group grew out of living room jams between Garcia, Grisman and Rowan who all lived near each other in Marin County, California. Together they would gig around locally with John Kahn in tow and John Hartford on fiddle. After Hartford could not commit to a tour, the group called on Vassar Clements to take his place.

They were together for a total of nine months, and the Old & in the Way album was recorded on October 1st and 8th 1973 in front of an audience at The Boarding House in San Francisco.

Their one-off eponymously titled album was subsequently released on The Grateful Dead’s Round record label in 1975 featuring today’s Song of the Day by Eric Berman, which was penned by Peter Rowan. The album also included their bluegrass cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses,” a version of the Peter Rowan-penned New Riders’ tune “Panama Red,” and traditional tunes like the Delmore Brothers’ “Pig In A Pen” and Carter Stanley’s “White Dove.”

With great harmonies and instrumental interplay, Old & In The Way’s old timey, good-feeling vibe struck a chord with Grateful Dead heads, making it one of the best selling bluegrass albums of all time. And indeed, several songs from the album have gone on to become standards of the Bluegrass repertoire including “Midnight Moonlight, “Wild Horses” and the album’s title track. Even more so, today’s Song of the Day by Eric Berman became a standard of the Grateful Dead repertoire as well.

Garcia continued to record numerous records with David Grisman, including Not For Kids Only, one of the greatest children’s albums of all time, and two Old & In The Way albums were subsequently released featuring live recordings from the same gigs after Jerry Garcia’s death.

Last year, Grisman’s label finally got around to releasing all of the group’s recordings which consisted of two nights encompassing four sets of music in the order in which it happened, and it was all recorded 41 years ago this week.

Today in Rock History – March 27

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1966, The Who appeared at the Central Pier, Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

1966, During an UK tour, Roy Orbison fell off a motorbike while scrambling at Hawkstone Park, Birmingham fracturing his foot. He played the remaining dates sat on a stool and walking on crutches.

1967, Fats Domino played his first ever UK date at London’s Saville Theatre, supported by The Bee Gees and Gerry And The Pacemakers.

1967, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were awarded the prestigious Ivor Novello award for”Michelle,” the most performed song in the UK in 1966.

1967, The Young Rascals record their future number one smash “Groovin’.”

1968, The Bee Gees kicked off a 24-date UK tour at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Also on the tour, The Foundations and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.

1968, The Who appear at The Forum in Montreal, Canada. Opening for them is The Troggs making their North American debut.

1968, The Beatles were at number one on the singles chart with “Lady Madonna,” the group’s 14th chart topper.

1969, Pink Floyd played at St. James’ Church Hall, Chesterfield, England, supported by King Mob Echo and Gandalf’s Garden. The set list:  Astronomy Domine / Careful With That Axe, Eugene / Interstellar Overdrive / Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun / A Saucerful Of Secrets.

1970, Led Zeppelin performed at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

1971, New York radio station WNBC banned the song “One Toke Over the Line” by Brewer & Shipley because of its alleged drug references. Other stations around the country followed.

1971, Bruce Springsteen & Friendly Enemies opened for The Allman Brothers Band at the Sunshine In, Asbury Park in New Jersey, tickets cost $4.00. Springsteen had just disbanded his group Steel Mill and within a few weeks would form Dr Zoom & The Sonic Boom with Steve Van Zandt.

1972, Elvis Presley recorded what would be his last major hit, “Burning Love,” a number two hit.

1973, Jerry Garcia from The Grateful Dead was arrested when police found cocaine and LSD in his car after being busted for speeding in New Jersey.

1973, Rolling Stone magazine reported that after becoming a disciple of Sri Chinmoy, Carlos Santana had changed his name to “Devadip,” which means “the lamp of the light of the Supreme.”

1975, Lynyrd Skynyrd played at the Bayfront Center Arena, St. Petersburg, Florida.

1976, Genesis appeared at Memorial Auditorium, Kitchener, Ontario.

1976, Paul McCartney and Wings were forced to postpone forthcoming US tour for three weeks after guitarist Jimmy McCulloch fell in his hotel bathroom and broke a finger.

1977, Genesis played at the Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

rutles-all-u-need-is-cash1978, The Beatles parody All You Need Is Cash featuring The Rutles was shown in the UK on BBC-TV.

1978, Bob Dylan performed at the Entertainment Centre, Perth, Australia.

1979, Eric Clapton married Patti Harrison, the former wife of George, at Temple Bethel, Tucson, Arizona. Patti applied for a divorce in 1988.

1980, Rush appeared at Memorial Arena, Victoria, British Columbia.

1981, Eric Clapton performed at Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, Tennessee.

1982, Former Small Faces and Faces bass player Ronnie Lane was admitted to hospital for treatment for multiple sclerosis.  Lane succumbed to the disease in 1997.

1984, Bryan Adams went into Little Mountain Sound, Vancouver, Canada to record “Run To You” for his fourth studio album, Reckless. It was the first single released from the album and gave Adam’s his first UK hit, peaking at number 11. The music video shot in London and Los Angeles was nominated for the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards in five different categories.

1986, Van Halen kicked off a 112-date North American tour at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Los Angeles. This was the band’s first tour with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals.

1987, U2 performed from the roof of a store in downtown Los Angeles to make the video for “Where The Streets Have No Name.” The commotion attracted thousands of spectators and brought traffic to a standstill. The police eventually stop the shoot.

1988, The Grateful Dead played at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia.

2000, Singer, songwriter, poet and actor, Ian Dury died after a long battle with cancer aged 57. Dury had been disabled by polio as a child, formed Kilburn and the High Roads during the 1970’s. His first album New Boot’s And Panties became a punk classic spending 90 weeks on the UK chart, featured the 1979 UK number one single “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick.”

2012, David Bowie’s landmark album Ziggy Stardust was celebrated with a blue plaque in central London. Former Spandau Ballet star Gary Kemp, unveiled a plaque at the spot where the cover of the 1972 release was shot. The location in Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, is now a pedestrian area featuring bars and restaurants.

Born on March 27:  Sarah Vaughn, jazz singer (1934); Andy Bown, bass, songwriter, Status Quo, The Herd, Judas Jump (1946); Tony Banks, Genesis (1950); Paul Wickens, multi-instrumentalist, Paul McCartney, Styx, David Gilmour, others (1956); Andrew Farriss, INXS (1959); Johnny April, bass, Staind (1965); Brendan Hill, drummer, Blues Traveler,  Stolen Ogre (1970);  Fergie, The Black Eyed Peas (1975)

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Song Of The Day – “Good Shepherd” by Jefferson Airplane

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jeffersonairplanevounteersJeffersonAirplane2The epiphany of an eight year old…

The backdrop of my childhood played out with images of the Viet Nam war and the unrest that culminated in the protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention coming over the television screen. While I wasn’t privy to what it all meant, I did know that the world around me was changing and that my older sister and her peers were making it happen. And I also knew that I very badly wanted to be a part of it all.

I was eight years old in 1969 visiting my grandmother’s house when up the drive came the coolest MG convertible (if memory serves me right) I’d ever seen in my life. The car stopped right in front of granny’s house and out popped my groovy long-haired cousin Paul in full-on hippie regalia. Nothing was cooler than Cousin Paul at that moment, and then I spotted the record that he had laying on the front seat of the car.

It was called Volunteers by Jefferson Airplane. I had never heard of the group, although I already knew the song “Somebody To Love” from my older sister’s records. I just never made the connection that this was the same group.

I asked Cousin Paul if I could look at the record and he gladly obliged. The image on the front cover was a bit disturbing to me. I couldn’t tell if each band member was wearing a mask, or if they just looked that way. I just knew that the image was kind of creepy. Upon flipping the jacket over, I began reading the “Paz Chin-In Huge Success” story on the back cover. It didn’t make any sense to me. Then I opened the gatefold and saw the huge peanut butter and jelly sandwich inside which made me wonder what the sandwich had to do with everything else here.

Inside was a fold-out poster with the headings “Revolt!” on the front and “Feed And Water Your Flag” on the back. I was totally confused, and although I hadn’t heard a note of the music contained within, I knew was that I wanted to own this record.

Fortunately my ninth birthday was just around the corner, and as promised I received my very own copy of Volunteers from one of our neighbors with whom we exchanged birthday gifts.

A whole new world opened up to me upon putting the needle down on the vinyl.

First there was the opening tune with some of the most harmonious singing the Airplane ever committed to vinyl. “We Can Be Together” was a sentiment I could understand and sink my teeth into, and there was just enough novelty value in the lyric “Up against the wall motherfucker” for a nine year old who’d never heard the “f” word on a record before, to make it a track worth playing over and over again.

Next up was today’s Song Of The Day. At the time, I didn’t know that it was a traditional song with biblical overtones, but I sure did like it. “Good Shepherd” is Jorma Kaukonen’s masterpiece on this record with some of his sweetest guitar fills.

“The Farm” came pouring out from the speakers next featuring the tasty pedal steel playing of Jerry Garcia. I didn’t know who he was back then, but I sure did like this song. The animal noises reminded me of The Beatles’ “Good Morning Good Morning” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Things turned sinister and a little disturbing with “Hey Frederick,” a centerpiece for Grace Slick’s vocal prowess. The song was long, over eight minutes. As a kid, I thought the longer the song, the more important it must be. And the imagery of the lyric “There you sit mouth wide open / Animals nipping at your sides” was enough to make me feel uneasy as the first side of the record came to a close.

Side two began with the buoyant “Turn My Life Down,” another Jorma tune featuring Marty Balin’s pure soulful voice. Then came the David Crosby/Paul Kantner masterpiece “Wooden Ships.” I already knew this song from my older sister’s copy of the Crosby, Stills & Nash album which was played around the house all the time. The Airplane version seemed so epic in comparison, especially during the fade when the band invited the listener to “Go ride the music.” I wasn’t sure at the time how to “ride the music,” but I did know that the band was taking my ears on a life-changing, mind-opening ride.

The next song was another featuring Grace Slick. Grace was the star of the band, so her songs on the record were the ones I initially gravitated to. With “Eskimo Blue Day,” she outdid herself as she wailed the lyric “doesn’t mean shit to a tree” over the course of the song, which proved more than novel to my young ears. At the time, I had no idea that she was singing about the environment.

The next two songs were the weakest (and still are) on the album. The country and western arrangement of Nicky Hopkins’ “A Song For All Seasons” never truly fit into the scheme of this record, and the organ dirge “Meadowlands” seemed to just be taking up space as I patiently waited for the album’s title track to come on.

Then came Volunteers! The song rocked hard and was poignant with its call “got to revolution.” It seemed to be the polar opposite to the album’s opener “We Can Be Together,” but later on I realized that the songs indeed harbored the same sentiment.

Woodstock had happened by the time I got my copy of the album. It was an event I was keenly aware of even though my older sister (and by default) I wasn’t allowed to attend. I can remember watching footage of the festival on the news as it happened, as I sat pining to be there. The following year the movie and soundtrack album came out. It was where I finally got to see what the Airplane was like in concert, not to mention experiencing Santana, Joe Cocker, The Who and Jimi Hendrix in all their glory for the very first time.

Volunteers found the group at a commercial and cultural high point. The interplay between Grace Slick, Paul Kantner and Marty Balin’s vocals, coupled with Jorma Kaukonen’s acidic guitar playing and singing, Jack Casady’s bass and Spencer Dyrden’s drums made it the band’s most potent lineup. Add to that, the star power of a guest list that included Jerry Garcia, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Nicky Hopkins and Ace Of Cups, and you had a group at the peak performance.

All in all, Volunteers proved to be the last great Jefferson Airplane album. It was also the last album the group made before Marty Balin and Spencer Dryden left the fold.

Song Of The Day – “Midnight Moonlight” by Old & In The Way

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oldaninthewayWhen not playing with The Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia liked to dabble in side projects including stints with his own Jerry Garcia Band, The New Riders Of The Purple Sage, gigging with Merle Saunders, recording with John Wales and guesting on albums by the likes of Ornette Coleman, David Bromberg, Brewer And Shipley, Bob Dylan, CSN&Y, Jefferson Airplane and many others.

But Garcia was also a member of a bona-fide “supergroup.”

When most people hear the term “supergroup,” bands like Cream, Blind Faith, Derek & The Dominos, CSN&Y and The Traveling Wilbury’s come to mind.

Garcia’s supergroup was Old & In The Way, a bluegrass collective of great pedigree featuring Jerry Garcia on banjo and vocals, David Grisman on mandolin, Peter Rowan on guitar, Vassar Clements on fiddle and John Kahn on bass. (John Hartford sat in with the band before Clements came on board.)

Rowan and Grisman played together with ex-Byrd Clarence White in the bluegrass group Muleskinner, and also in the group Earth Opera.  Grisman also played with The Even Dozen Jug Band and guested on The Grateful Dead’s American Beauty album. Rowan and Clements were members of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, and John Kahn played with Muleskinner, Howard Wales and Garcia.

Garcia formed Old & In The Way in 1973 as a vehicle to play bluegrass banjo. The group grew out of living room jams between Garcia, Grisman and Rowan who all lived near each other in Marin County, California. Together they would gig around locally with John Kahn in tow and John Hartford on fiddle. After Hartford could not commit to a tour, the group called on Vassar Clements to take his place.

They were together for a total of nine months, and the Old & In The Way album was recorded in October of 1973 in front of an audience at The Boarding House in San Francisco, where most of the group’s discography was recorded.

Their one-off eponymously titled album was subsequently released on The Grateful Dead’s Round record label in 1975 featuring today’s Song Of the Day, which was penned by Peter Rowan. The album also included their bluegrass cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses,” a version of the Peter Rowan-penned New Riders’ tune “Panama Red,” and traditional tunes like the Delmore Brothers’ “Pig In A Pen” and Carter Stanley’s “White Dove.”

With great harmonies and instrumental interplay, Old & In The Way’s old timey, good-feeling vibe struck a chord with Grateful Dead heads, making it one of the best selling bluegrass albums of all time. And indeed, several songs from the album have gone on to become standards of the Bluegrass repertoire including today’s Song Of The Day, “Wild Horses” and the album’s title track, “Old & In The Way.”

Garcia continued to record numerous records with David Grisman, including Not For Kids Only, one of the greatest children’s albums of all time, and two Old & In The Way albums were subsequently released featuring live recordings from the same gigs after Jerry Garcia’s death.

Song Of The Day – “Bacchanal” by Gabor Szabo

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gaborszabobacchanalYesterday, I wrote about the Lena Horne/Gabor Szabo album Lena & Gabor. In doing so, I listened to that album, plus records by Lena Horne and Gabor Szabo while researching the piece.  As a result, I decided to feature one of Szabo’s great albums today, and to reuse some of the information that I used in yesterday’s post.

Gabor Szabo was one of the few guitarists whose stands comfortably beside Jerry Garcia when it comes to guitar sound, technique and improvisatory style. His use of Indian and Middle Eastern scales had a profound influence on the likes of John McLaughlin, Carlos Santana, Robbie Krieger of The Doors and Larry Coryell. In fact, he composed and originally recorded the song “Gypsy Queen,” that Santana took to the charts in 1970.

Szabo was born in Hungary and came to America to study at the Berklee School Of Music in Boston. He played guitar with the Chico Hamilton Quartet between 1961 and 1965, before recording a series of classic jazz albums for Impulse that melded his modal psychedelic guitar style with eastern influences on choice covers of contemporary hits. His 1966 Impulse album Sorcerer is one of the seminal jazz guitar recordings of the 1960s. Concurrent with his recording career, Szabo launched his own record label and also toured and played as a member of Lena Horne’s live performance band.

Szabo left Impulse Records in 1968 to form his own Skye Records label along with vibist Cal Tjader and composer/arranger Gary McFarland in 1968. The label was set up to feature recordings by its principals, and other artists who interested them. In the two years the label was active, they released 21 records, including albums by Lena Horne, Ruth Brown, Grady Tate, Chuck Rainey and Airto.

Szabo’s first release for the label was the album Bacchanal. The album was recorded at Western Recording Studios in Los Angeles in February of 1969 and included a band comprised of drummer Jim Keltner, classically trained guitarist Jim Stewart, bassist Louis Kabok, and percussionist Hal Gordon.

Szabo’s trademark fluid style of jazz-raga jamming is in full bloom on the Donovan tunes “The King Fisher Blues” and “Sunshine Superman,” as well as a lyrically beautiful reading of the “Theme from Valley Of The Dolls.” The album also includes funky Eastern-tinged takes of Lee Hazelwood’s “Some Velvet Morning,” Paul Mauriat’s “Love Is Blue” and Bacharach and David’s “The Look Of Love.” Rounding off the set are two psychedelic originals “Divided City” and today’s Song Of The Day and the album’s title track, “Bacchanal.”

Today in Rock History – August 9

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1967, The Small Faces entered the singles chart with “Itchycoo Park.” The song, written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, was released on August 4th, and peaked at number three in the UK and at number 16 in the US the following year.

1967, The Who play Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

1967, Scott McKenzie was at number one on the Record Retailer UK singles chart with “San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair.)” The singer’s only UK Top 40 charting hit was written by John Philips of Mamas & Papas.

1968, Janis Joplin performs at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri.

1968, At 2 o’ clock in the morning, after the other Beatles had gone home for the evening, Paul McCartney stayed behind and recorded “Mother Nature’s Son,” in 25 takes at Abbey Road studios. The song was included on the White Album.

1968, Pink Floyd played the first of three nights at Eagles Auditorium in Seattle, Washington. They were supported by Blue Cheer, with lights by the Retinea Circus Light Company.

1968, James Brown & the Famous Flames appeared at Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California.

1968, Jerry Lee Lewis, Marmalade, Taste, The Herd, and Timebox performed on the first day of the three-day National Jazz & Blues Festival, Kempton Park Racecourse, Sunbury On Thames, England. The festival was the precursor to the Reading Rock Festival and was the created by Harold Pendleton, the manager of the prestigious Marquee Club in Soho.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Jethro Tull, who opened for the band, were at number one on the UK album chart with their second release, Stand Up.

1970, New Musical Express prints Roger’s rebuttal to Pete’s remarks in his interview of May 31st. Roger doesn’t hold back: “I never read such a load of bullshit in all my life.” He also adds that Pete, “talked himself up his own ass.” To Pete’s charge that Roger thought rock ‘n roll was just “making records, pulling birds, getting pissed and having a good time,” Roger counters that the last few bad gigs The Who had done was because Pete, John and Keith had been “…out boozing and balling all night and by the time it got to the show at night they were physically incapable of doing a good show.” The interview later appears in Creem magazine in the US.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Drive-In Theater in Collinsville, Virginia. About 200 fans were in attendance on a rainy night.

1971, King Crimson performed at the Marquee Club, London.

1971, The Who play the War Memorial Auditorium in Rochester, New York.

1973, Guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell leave Wings.

1975, The Bee Gees started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Jive Talkin’,” the group’s second chart topper.

1975, Major Promoter Don Kirshner, holds the first Rock Music Award Show in Santa Monica, Calif.  Among the winners include the Eagles, Bad Company, and Stevie Wonder.

1976, Aerosmith appeared at the Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, Massachusetts.

1978, Bruce Springsteen played the Agora Theater in Cleveland on his Darkness tour. A well known show, and bootlegged extensively.

1980, Abba scored their eighth number one single with “The Winner Takes It All.” Taken from their Super Trouper album. By this time, both couples were divorced.

1980, AC/DC scored their first number one album with Back In Black. It was the first AC/DC album recorded without former lead singer Bon Scott, who died on February 19, 1980 at the age of 33, and was dedicated to him. Scott, passed out after a night of heavy drinking in a London and was left to sleep in a car owned by an acquaintance.  The album has sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide to date, making it the second highest selling album of all time, and the best selling hard rock or heavy metal album, as well as the best selling album ever released by a band.

1986, Queen ended their Magic European tour at Knebworth Park, Stevenage, England, with over 120,000 fans witnessing what would be Queen’s last ever live performance. On this, their final tour, Queen played to legions of established fans, plus many new ones gained as a result of their show-stealing performance at Live Aid the previous year. The support acts were Belouis Some, Big Country and Status Quo.

1995,  Jerry Garcia guitarist and singer from The Grateful Dead dies at the Serenity Knolls rehabilitation clinic in San Francisco aged 53. Garcia was found dead in his room at the clinic. The cause of death was a heart attack. Garcia had long struggled with drug addiction, weight problems, sleep apnea, heavy smoking, and diabetes, all of which took a toll on his physical condition.

2007, Amy Winehouse cancelled a series of European shows after being admitted to hospital suffering from “severe exhaustion.” The 23-year-old singer was taken to University College London Hospital and later discharged.

2007, Baltimore’s mayor Sheila Dixon proclaimed today as the city’s official Frank Zappa Day, citing Zappa’s musical accomplishments as well as his defense of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution

Born on August 9:  Billy Henderson, American singer, The Spinners (1939); Vic Prince, Pretty Things (1944); John Parry, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band (1946); Pete Thomas, English drummer, Elvis Costello and The Attractions (1954);  Whitney Houston (1963); Sam Fogarino, American drummer, Interpol and Magnetic Morning (1968); Yekaterina Samutsevich, Russian singer and activist, Pussy Riot (1982)

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Today in Rock History – July 9

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1967, On a tour supporting The Monkees, The Jimi Hendrix Experience appear at the Convention Hall, Miami, Florida. After it becomes plainly apparent that the group is not suited to teenybopper audiences, the tour’s promoter Dick Clark and Hendrix’s manager Chas Chandler concoct a story saying that the conservative Daughters of the American Revolution group had complained at Jimi’s act and so the Experience left the tour after just six shows.

1969, Working at Abbey Road studios in London The Beatles recorded “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” John Lennon returned to the studio after recovering from a car crash in Scotland, and a bed was installed in the Abbey Road studio for Yoko, who was pregnant, and who had been more seriously injured in the car accident.

1971, Jim Morrison is quietly buried in Paris’ Pere-Lachaise cemetery, making it a necessary stop on any rock fan’s European itinerary.

1972, Paul McCartney and Wings played their very first show in the small French town of Chateauvillon. The band included Denny Laine, Denny Seiwell, Henry McCullough, and Paul’s wife, Linda. It was McCartney’s first time on the road since the Beatles quit touring in 1966.

1974, Crosby Stills Nash & Young kicked off a reunion tour in Seattle in front of 15,000 fans.

1976, The Pretty Things, Supercharge, and third on the bill, The Sex Pistols, all appeared at The Lyceum, London, England, tickets £1.75 ($2.63.)

1977, Alan O’Day went to number one on the US singles chart with “Undercover Angel,” his only solo hit.

1977, Elvis Costello quit his day job at Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics to become a full time musician.

1978, The Rolling Stones drop in on Chicago’s Quiet Knight club to jam with hero Muddy Waters.

1979, The Pretenders kicked off a 23-date UK tour at Smatyz, Chester. The band’s single “Kid” was released that week.

1983, The Police started an eight week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Every Breath You Take” It was also a chart topper in the UK. Taken from the band’s album Synchronicity, Sting won Song of the Year and The Police won Best Pop Performance for the song at the 1984 Grammy Awards.

1983, Wham! went to number one on the UK album chart with their debut release Fantastic!, which went on to spend 116 weeks on the chart.

1988, Cheap Trick went to number one on the US singles chart with “The Flame,” the group’s only US chart topper.

1995, The Grateful Dead give their last concert with leader Jerry Garcia at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Jerry would die of a heart attack a month later while in drug rehab. The last song played at the concert – “Box of Rain.”

2006, Muse started a two week run at number one on the UK album chart with Black Holes & Revelations, the band’s fifth album release and second chart topper.

2006, Lily Allen scored her first UK number one single with “Smile.” The organ riff is a sample of Jackie Mittoo playing keyboards on “Free Soul” by The Soul Brothers. Lily’s actor dad, Keith Allen, was part of the Fat Les band who had a hit with “Vindaloo” in 1998.

2011, Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant joined three local musicians at a fundraising charity show in Monmouth Wales, where tickets cost £3 ($4.50.) The event was a tribute to his friend, former Led Zeppelin producer Pat Moran, who died of a rare dementia in January. Plant delighted the small crowd in the Monmouthshire town with songs from his Led Zeppelin days, as well as tunes from his solo career.

Born on July 9: Bon Scott, AC/DC (1946); Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix Experience (1947); Jim Kerr, Simple Minds (1959); Courtney Love (1965);  Jack White (1975)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Loser” by Grateful Dead

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The mammoth box from the Grateful Dead archives “Spring 1990” features 18 discs spanning six full shows between March and April 1990. If you believe the powers that be at Dead.net, the Spring 1990 tour was “consistently great, where every show is excellent, not a dud in the bunch.” Now I saw my share of Dead shows and have pretty much purchased everything Dead.net has foisted in my direction, including last year’s exceptional 73 CD “Europe ‘72” box set, but for this one, I didn’t even nibble. I saw them in 1990 and like most of the shows from the 1990s; Jerry was phoning it in from la-la land while Brent Mydland attempted to take up the slack, failing miserably. So when the archive decided to release a more manageably priced 2-CD retail edition called “Spring 1990 – So Glad You Made It,” I decided to give it a try, figuring that I’d get the best performances from the big box. If that is the case, the box set must be one dismal listening experience. Even at a modest two discs, this set exemplifies all that was wrong with the Dead circa 1990: Jerry’s ravaged voice is buried in the mix to cover its shortcomings, Mydland’s also ravaged vocals supporting Jerry’s and his endless noodling on an annoying electronic keyboard supposedly for that “spacey feel,” the dual drumming of Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman plodding away and dragging every song down to a crawl, Weir at his most annoying especially on the “ad lib” vocals that end many of his songs, Phil Lesh and his sub-sonic bass blasts strategically placed to stir the crowd, and a host of cover tunes rather than the material that made them legends in the first place. Sure, Jerry could still play guitar and he shines on a few of the tracks, including this one and “Bird Song,” but this sad state of affairs makes me feel sorry for those who parted with their hard-earned $200.00 to buy the full set…

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Someday Baby” by Merle Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn & Bill Vitt

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Last week I posted a deservedly less than positive Song Of The Day critiquing the music from the Dead’s 18-CD “Spring 1990” box set…and I heard plenty about my comments from lots of my Deadhead friends. So, I thought I’d make it up to them with some pre-Jerry Garcia Band, JGB from the Keystone in San Francisco. Back in 1973, Jerry Garcia and Merle Saunders could be found multiple nights at the club playing low-key gigs. It was an opportunity for Garcia to stretch out musically, playing mostly covers with musicians other than The Grateful Dead. On nights when he wasn’t on the road with The Dead or playing at The Keystone with Merle, he would also show up at the club with his other band, the equally great Bluegrass unit, “Old And In The Way.” Here we have the boys stretching out on a high-energy Lightning Hopkins original, from the newly released 4-CD box set called “Keystone Companions” featuring the complete 1973 Keystone recordings. If you want to hear a fully-engaged Jerry Garcia, look no further than these recordings!

Song of the Day – “Good Shepherd” by Jefferson Airplane

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Song of the Day by Eric Berman – “Good Shepherd” by Jefferson Airplane

The epiphany of an eight year old…

The backdrop of my childhood played out with images of the Vietnam war and the unrest that culminated in the protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention coming over the television screen. While I wasn’t privy to what it all meant, I did know that the world around me was changing and that my older sister and her peers were making it happen. And I also knew that I very badly wanted to be a part of it all.

I was eight years old in 1969 visiting my grandmother’s house when up the drive came the coolest MG convertible (if memory serves me right) I’d ever seen in my life. The car stopped right in front of granny’s house and out popped my groovy long-haired cousin Paul in full-on hippie regalia. (RIP Paul) Nothing was cooler than Cousin Paul at that moment, and then I spotted the record that he had laying on the front seat of the car.

It was called Volunteers by Jefferson Airplane. I had never heard of the group, although I already knew the song “Somebody To Love” from my older sister’s records. I just never made the connection that this was the same group.

I asked Cousin Paul if I could look at the record and he gladly obliged. The image on the front cover was a bit disturbing to me. I couldn’t tell if each band member was wearing a mask, or if they just looked that way. I just knew that the image was kind of creepy. Upon flipping the jacket over, I began reading the “Paz Chin-In Huge Success” story on the back cover. It didn’t make any sense to me. Then I opened the gatefold and saw the huge peanut butter and jelly sandwich inside which made me wonder what the sandwich had to do with everything else here.

Inside was a fold-out poster with the headings “Revolt!” on the front and “Feed And Water Your Flag” on the back. I was totally confused, and although I hadn’t heard a note of the music contained within, I knew was that I wanted to own this record.

Fortunately my ninth birthday was just around the corner, and as promised I received my very own copy of Volunteers from one of our neighbors with whom we exchanged birthday gifts.

A whole new world opened up to me upon putting the needle down on the vinyl.

First there was the opening tune with some of the most harmonious singing the Airplane ever committed to vinyl. “We Can Be Together” was a sentiment I could understand and sink my teeth into, and there was just enough novelty value in the lyric “Up against the wall motherfucker” for a nine year old who’d never heard the “f” word on a record before, to make it a track worth playing over and over again.

Next up was today’s Song of the Day. At the time, I didn’t know that it was a traditional song with biblical overtones, but I sure did like it. “Good Shepherd” is Jorma Kaukonen’s masterpiece on this record with some of his sweetest guitar fills.

“The Farm” came pouring out from the speakers next featuring the tasty pedal steel playing of Jerry Garcia. I didn’t know who he was back then, but I sure did like this song. The animal noises reminded me of The Beatles’ “Good Morning Good Morning” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Things turned sinister and a little disturbing with “Hey Frederick,” a centerpiece for Grace Slick’s vocal prowess. The song was long, over eight minutes. As a kid, I thought the longer the song, the more important it must be. And the imagery of the lyric “There you sit mouth wide open / Animals nipping at your sides” was enough to make me feel uneasy as the first side of the record came to a close.

Side two began with the buoyant “Turn My Life Down,” another Jorma tune featuring Marty Balin’s pure soulful voice. Then came the David Crosby/Paul Kantner masterpiece “Wooden Ships.” I already knew this song from my older sister’s copy of the Crosby, Stills & Nash album which was played around the house all the time. The Airplane version seemed so epic in comparison, especially during the fade when the band invited the listener to “Go ride the music.” I wasn’t sure at the time how to “ride the music,” but I did know that the band was taking my ears on a life-changing, mind-opening journey.

The next song was another featuring Grace Slick. Grace was the star of the band, so her songs on the record were the ones I initially gravitated to. With “Eskimo Blue Day,” she outdid herself as she wailed the lyric “doesn’t mean shit to a tree” over the course of the song, which proved more than novel to my young ears. At the time, I had no idea that she was singing about the environment.

The next two songs were the weakest (and still are) on the album. The country and western arrangement of Nicky Hopkins’ “A Song For All Seasons” never truly fit into the scheme of this record, and the organ dirge “Meadowlands” seemed to just be taking up space as I patiently waited for the album’s title track to come on.

Then came Volunteers! The song rocked hard and was poignant with its call “got to revolution.” It seemed to be the polar opposite to the album’s opener “We Can Be Together,” but later on I realized that the songs indeed harbored the same sentiment.

Woodstock had happened by the time I got my copy of the album. It was an event I was keenly aware of even though my older sister (and by default) I wasn’t allowed to attend. I can remember watching footage of the festival on the news as it happened, as I sat pining to be there. The following year the movie and soundtrack album came out. It was where I finally got to see what the Airplane was like in concert, not to mention experiencing Santana, Joe Cocker, The Who and Jimi Hendrix in all their glory for the very first time.

Volunteers found the group at a commercial and cultural high point. The interplay between Grace Slick, Paul Kantner and Marty Balin’s vocals, coupled with Jorma Kaukonen’s acidic guitar playing and singing, Jack Casady’s bass and Spencer Dyrden’s drums made it the band’s most potent lineup. Add to that, the star power of a guest list that included Jerry Garcia, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Nicky Hopkins and Ace Of Cups, and you had a group at the peak performance.

All in all, Volunteers proved to be the last great Jefferson Airplane album. It was also the last album the group made before Marty Balin and Spencer Dryden left the fold.