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Today in Rock History – May 21

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who-anyway-anywhere-anyhow1965, The Who’s second single, “Anyway Anyhow Anywhere” backed with “Daddy Rolling Stone” is released in the UK on Brunswick. Derek Johnson in New Musical Express calls is “a wild racer, with just about every conceivable gimmick…it commands attention and should do well.”

1967, Jimi Hendrix signed with Reprise Records on the US Warner Brothers label. They released the guitarist’s three studio albums Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland.

1967, Pink Floyd was at Studio 3, EMI Studios, Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood in London to record songs for their debut album, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.

1968, The Monkees appeared at The Olympia Stadium, Salt Lake City.

1968, Rolling Stone Brian Jones appeared at Great Marlborough Street Magistrates court, London on a charge of possession of marijuana, Jones was released on £200 ($320) bail.

1969, Yes played at Harrods Way Inn, London.

1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded “Ohio.”

1970, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at Seabreeze High School Auditorium, Daytona Beach, Florida.

1971, UK rock group Free announced that they were splitting up.

1971, King Crimson played at Regal Cinema, Cambridge, England.

1971, Paul McCartney releases his solo album Ram.

1972, The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Faces, Family, Curved Air, Atomic Rooster, The Kinks, Rory Gallagher, Uriah Heep, Country Joe McDonald, Buddy Miles, Status Quo, Brinsley Schwarz, Spencer Davis, The Strawbs and Humble Pie all appeared at the Second British Rock Meeting, Insel Grun, Germersheim, West Germany. The festival was due to take place in Mannheim, West Germany, but after protests from the locals, the concert actually took place in nearby Germersheim.

1973, David Bowie performed at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, England.

1974, Two would-be concert promoters were arrested by police on fraud charges in connection with selling mail order tickets for a forthcoming “Elten John” show. The misspelling help detect their fraud. Police took away over $12,000 in checks.

1975, ZZ Top appeared at Boston’s Music Hall

1976, The Rolling Stones begin a six-night stand at London’s Earls Court. Reviews of the show are the first to describe the band as “dinosaurs.”

1977, Rod Stewart was at number one on the singles chart with the double A sided single “I Don’t Want To Talk About It / First Cut Is The Deepest.’

1977, Stevie Wonder started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with his tribute to Duke Ellington, “Sir Duke,” his sixth US chart topper. It made it to number two in the UK.

1977, Grateful Dead performed at Lakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida, a show that can be heard on Dick’s Picks #29.

1978, Black Sabbath played at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1979, Elton John started a tour of Russia, when he played the first of eight concerts making him the first Western star ever to do so.

1980, A thief broke into Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the recording studio built by Jimi Hendrix and stole five Hendrix gold records.

1982, The Hacienda Club was opened in Manchester, England. Madonna made her UK TV debut at the club when C4 music show The Tube was broadcast live. It was home to many Manchester acts and Oasis, Happy Mondays, U2, The Smiths, Charlatans, James, M People, who all played at the club.

1983, David Bowie went to number one on the US singles chart with “Let’s Dance,” featuring blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. It was Bowie’s first single to reach number one on both sides of the Atlantic. The music video was made by David Mallet on location in Australia including a bar in Carinda in New South Wales, featured Bowie playing with his band while impassively watching an Aboriginal couple’s struggles against metaphors of Western cultural imperialism.

1988, Prince scored his first UK number one album with Lovesexy. The cover, based on a photo by Jean Baptiste Mondino, caused some controversy upon release as it depicts Prince in the nude. Some record stores refused to stock it, or wrapped the album in black.

1994, The Manchester United Football Club, along with Status Quo, were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Come On You Reds.”

2001, Producer, arranger and keyboardist Tommy Eyre died of cancer aged 51. He worked with George Harrison, Wham!, Dusty Springfield, and BB King. Eyre played and arranged Joe Cocker’s hit “With A Little Help From My Friends” and Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street.”

2006, Madonna played the first of three sold out nights at The Los Angeles Forum in California, the first dates on her Confessions Tour. The 60-date tour grossed over $260 (£162.5) million, becoming the highest grossing tour ever for a female artist.

2011, Adele went to number one on the US singles chart with “Rolling In The Deep,” taken from her second studio album, 21. The video to the song was nominated for seven MTV Video Music Awards nominations, “Rolling in the Deep” was also the Billboard Year End Hot 100 Number One Single of 2011.  The song received three 2012 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video.

2013, Trevor Bolder, the bassist in David Bowie’s legendary 1970s backing band Spiders From Mars, died from cancer at the age of 62. Bolder appeared on the studio albums Hunky Dory (1971), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), and Pin Ups (1973). He joined Uriah Heep in 1976, replacing John Wetton.

Born on this day: Fats Waller (1904); Tony Sheridan (1940); Ronald Isley, The Isley Brothers (1941); Martin Carthy, English singer-songwriter, guitarist,  producer, Steeleye Span, The Watersons, Waterson:Carthy, Brass Monkey,  Blue Murder (1941); Vincent Crane, keyboards, The Crazy world of Arthur Brown (1943); Leo Sayer (1948);  Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter,  producer, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1955); Kevin Shields, American-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, My Bloody Valentine, The Complex, and Primal Scream (1963); Martin Blunt, bass, The Charlatans (1964); Christopher G. Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls, aka Notorious B.I.G. (1972); Adam Gontier, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, Three Days Grace, Big Dirty Band, and Saint Asonia (1978)

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Today in Rock History – March 11

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1965, Tom Jones was at number one on the singles chart with “It’s Not Unusual.”

1965, The Who go into IBC Studios, London to record their first album. Songs known to be recorded on this date are Pete Townshend’s “You’re Gonna Know Me” (later retitled “Out In The Street”), plus covers of James Brown’s “Please Please Please” and “I Don’t Mind,” Bo Diddley’s “I’m A Man,” Martha and the Vandella’s “Motoring” and “Heat Wave,” and Paul Revere and the Raiders’ “Louie Go Home” as “Lubie (Come Back Home.)” On the 16th, they meet again with producer Shel Talmy for “L.P. routining” and have another studio session at IBC on the 19th. The album is eventually rejected and some of the tracks are not released for over twenty years.

1966, This week’s ITV music show Ready Steady Go in the UK, was entirely devoted to the music of James Brown.

1966, Marianne Faithfull, Coltrane Union, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Rick & Us, plus Pink Floyd performed for the first of two nights billed as “The Tea Set.” The shows took place at the Rag Ball, on the Concourse Area of the University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, England. It was the first time a film was played on a screen behind the band as Pink Floyd performed their set.

1967, The Supremes had their ninth number one single with “Love Is Here And Now Your Gone.”

1967, Jimi Hendrix appears at the International Club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

1967, music publisher, Dick James, announced that 446 different versions of the Paul McCartney song “Yesterday” had been recorded so far.

1968, The Otis Redding single “Dock Of The Bay,” went gold in the US three months after the singer was killed in a plane crash.

1969, The Jackson 5 sign with Motown.

1970, Winners at the 12th annual Grammy awards included Joe South for song of the year with “Games People Play.” Crosby Stills and Nash won best new artist, and The Fifth Dimension won Record of the year with “Aquarius / Let The Sun Shine In.” Album of the Year went to producer James William Guercio and Blood, Sweat & Tears for Blood, Sweat & Tears.

ticket courtesy LedZeppelin.com

1970, Led Zeppelin perform at the Musikhalle, Hamburg, Germany. The set list: We’re Gonna Groove, I Can’t Quit You Baby, Dazed and Confused, Heartbreaker, White Summer / Black Mountainside, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Organ solo / Thank You, Moby Dick, How Many More Times (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, Bottle Up ‘n Go, Long Distance Call, Shake ’em On Down), Whole Lotta Love.

1970, The world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll movie, Jean-Luc Godard’s One Plus One, starring the Rolling Stones, opens in the US. The obtuse film features Godard’s trademark Marxist lecturing interspersed with scenes of the Stones composing “Sympathy for the Devil.” The producers later recut the footage to include more Mick and redub the movie Sympathy for the Devil. Critics remained baffled.

1970, Deja Vu, the first Crosby, Stills, Nash album to also feature Neil Young, was released. It topped the pop album chart for one week and spawned three US Top 40 singles, “Teach Your Children,” “Our House,” and “Woodstock.”

1971, Jim Morrison of The Doors arrived in Paris, where he checked  into The Hotel George’s.  The following week he moved into an apartment at 17 Rue Beautreillis. Morrison lived in Paris until his death on July 3rd 1971.

Harvest Young1972, Neil Young went to number one on the album chart with Harvest. The album featured the hit single “Heart Of Gold.”

1972, Harry Nilsson was at number one on the singles chart with his version of The Peter Ham and Tom Evans song “Without You.” It was first recorded by Badfinger in 1970. The song was also a number one for Mariah Carey in 1994.

1973,  Pink Floyd played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada on the North American leg of the Dark Side of the Moon tour.

1974, Deep Purple performed at the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Geor

1975,  Mick Jagger stops by Record Plant studios in Los Angeles, and ends up getting involved in a jam session with Wings and Ron Wood.

1976, The Who appeared at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1976, David Bowie performed at the Civic Arena, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1977, The Clash appeared at The Roxy Club, London, supported by The Slits, the first all-female punk group who were making their live debut.

1978, Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell, album began a 416-week run on the chart, going on to sell over 2 million copies.

1978, The debut single from Kate Bush, “Wuthering Heights,” a song inspired by the Emily Bronte novel, started a four-week run at number one on the UK singles chart. The record company, EMI, had originally chosen another track, “James and the Cold Gun” as the lead single, but Bush was determined that “Wuthering Heights” would be the first release from the album.

1979, Roxy Music played at the Olympia in Paris.

1981, Rush played at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1983, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Holiday Star Theatre, Merrillville, Indiana.

1986, Aerosmith appeared at the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts.

1992, The Grateful Dead performed at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

1993, Oasis recorded their first demos at The Real People’s studio in Liverpool. The set included “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” “Columbia,” and “Fade Away.”

1995, Van Halen kicked off their 131-date Balance World Tour, at the Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola Civic Center, Florida. It was dubbed the “Ambulance” Tour by Eddie Van Halen, due to his hip surgery, and his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, wearing a neck brace for most of the tour.

2006, The Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical was at number one on the US album chart. The album went on to break all records for a soundtrack selling over 7 million copies worldwide. A number one album in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

2008, Madonna was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a star-studded ceremony in New York City.  John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures, and The Dave Clark Five were also among the inductees.

2015, Jimmy Greenspoon, keyboardist with Three Dog Night, died in Potomac, Maryland after a year-long battle with metastatic melanoma at the age of 67. During the course of their career, Three Dog Knight had 21 top 40 hits, including three chart topping singles.

2015, A jury in the United States ruled that the writers of “Blurred Lines” copied a Marvin Gaye track. Jurors in Los Angeles decided that the 2013 single by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke breached the copyright of Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got To Give It Up.” The family of the late soul singer were awarded $7.3 million (£4.8m) in damages.

Born on March 11: Harvey Mandel, American guitarist, Pure Food and Drug Act, Canned Heat (1945); Mark Stein, Vanilla Fudge (1947); George Kooymans, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, Golden Earring (1948); Jan Schelhaas, keyboardist Caravan, Camel (1948); Bobby McFerrin (1950); Jimmy Iovine,  record producer,  co-founder Interscope Records (1953); Jimmy Fortune, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Statler Brothers (1955); Nina Hagen, German singer, actress (1955); Bruce Watson, guitar, Big Country (1961); Vinnie Paul,  drummer, songwriter, producer Pantera, Damageplan, Hellyeah, Gasoline (1964); Andy Sturmer, American singer-songwriter, drummer, producer, Beatnik Beatch, Jellyfish (1965); Benji and Joel Madden, singer-songwriters, Good Charlotte (1979)

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Today in Rock History – January 27

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Beatles-1962-B1962, The Beatles appeared at Aintree Institute in Aintree, Liverpool. The group had played here many times before but this was their last performance at the venue. Brian Epstein became infuriated when the promoter paid The Beatles’ fee of £15 ($24) with handfuls of loose change. Epstein took this as an insult to the group, and made sure that The Beatles never played for that promoter (Brian Kelly) again.

1965, John and Cynthia Lennon fly to the Alps for a ten-day-long skiing vacation.

1967, The Grateful Dead played at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco.

1967, Jimi Hendrix appeared at Chislehurst Caves in London, England.

1967, Pink Floyd played at the UFO, held at the Blarney Club, Tottenham Court Road in London. Also on the bill were AMM, Five Acre Light, Dave Brown, Plight of the Erogenius, and Chapter 1. The Floyd’s performance was filmed and clips of two songs were used in a Granada TV documentary program.

1968, The Bee Gees made their live debut in the United States when they played at the Anaheim Centre, Anaheim California.

1968, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye performed at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.

1968, Melody Maker became the first music publication to report that David Gilmour had become a member of Pink Floyd.

1969, The Who begin five days of rehearsals at the Whitehall Theatre working on a new set.

1970, John Lennon’s “Instant Karma!” was written, recorded and released within a period of ten days, making it one of the fastest-released songs in pop music history. The UK release was on February 6th, while the US release took place fourteen days later. The recording was produced by Phil Spector, marking a comeback for the American producer after his self-imposed retirement in 1966, and leading to him being offered the producer’s role on the Beatles’ Let It Be album (1970). The song was recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, “Instant Karma!” employs Spector’s signature Wall of Sound technique and features contributions from George Harrison, Klaus Voormann, Alan White and Billy Preston.

1970, The Who played at the Operettenhaus in Hamburg, Germany.

David Bowie in 1971

1971, David Bowie arrived in the US for the first time. He couldn’t play live because of work permit restrictions, but attracted publicity when he wore a dress at a promotion event.

1971, Neil Young performed at Macky Auditorium, at the University Of Colorado in Boulder.

1972, Pink Floyd performed Dark Side of the Moon at City Hall, in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England. Also in the performance was One of These Days / Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun / Echoes, and the encore was A Saucerful of Secrets.

1973, No Secrets by Carly Simon enters the third of five weeks atop the US album charts.

1973, Roxy Music won “the most promising new name,” section in the NME reader’s poll.

1973, “Superstition,” the lead single from Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book album gave him his second number one single in the US, 10 years after his first chart topper. Jeff Beck created the original drum beat while in the studio with Wonder. After writing the song, Wonder offered it to Beck to record, but at the insistence of Berry Gordy, Wonder himself recorded it first. Beck was instead offered “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers,” which he recorded on Blow by Blow in 1975.

1975, The J Geils Band appeared at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

1976, David Bowie filed a lawsuit against attorney Michael Lippman claiming that he had taken a 15% agents fee instead of the customary 10%.

1977, The Clash signed to CBS Records in the UK for £100,000 ($160,000.)

1977, AC/DC performed at The Haymarket, Sydney, Australia.

1979, Ian Dury And The Blockheads were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick,” their only UK chart topper, after it overtook “Y.M.C.A.”

1980, Def Leppard played the first of two nights at The Marquee, London. Tickets cost £2 ($3.40).

1980, Bob Dylan performed at the Uptown Theatre, Kansas City, Missouri.

1984, Blue Oyster Cult played at Ausstellungshalle, Sindelfingen, Stuttgart, Germany.

1984, Madonna made her first appearance in the UK when she appeared on C4 TV music program The Tube performing “Holiday.” The show was broadcast live from the Hacienda Club in Manchester.

1994, Oasis made their London live debut when the played at King’s Cross Water Rats.

1998, James Brown was charged with possession of marijuana and unlawful use of a firearm after police were called to his South Carolina home. Brown later claimed the drugs were used to help his eyesight.

2002, Enrique Iglesias scored his first UK number one single with “Hero.” His father, Julio Iglesias, had a UK number one hit in 1981.

2006, Gene McFadden, R&B vocalist and songwriter, best known as half of the Philly soul team McFadden & Whitehead, died of cancer at the age of 56. The duo had the 1979 hit “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” which sold more than 8 million copies and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

2014, American folk singer and activist Pete Seeger died at the age of 94. He had a string of hit records during the early 1950’s as a member of the Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight, Irene.” The song was a number one for 13 weeks in 1950. Members of the Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, counterculture and environmental causes.

2015, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne were given a song writing credit on Sam Smith’s hit “Stay With Me,” because of the similarities to his 1989 track “I Won’t Back Down.” “Stay With Me” had been nominated for three Grammy awards, including Song of the Year. The parties made an out of court settlement.

Born on January 27: Elmore James (1918); Bobby “Blue” Bland (1930); Nick Mason, drums, Pink Floyd (1944); Nedra Talley, singer, The Ronettes (1946); Kim Gardner, bass, Ashton Gardner & Dyke (1948); Brian Downey, Thin Lizzy (1951); Margo Timmins, vocals, Cowboy Junkies (1961); Gillian Gilbert,  keyboards,  singer, New Order, The Other Two (1961)

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Today in Rock History – December 22

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pink-floyd-19661966,  Pink Floyd played the first of of 11 gigs at The Marquee Club. They had appeared there earlier in the year, but only as a support act.

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, The Who, Keith West and Tomorrow, Eric Burdon & The Animals, 1984 (featuring future Queen guitarist Brian May) and Soft Machine all appeared at The Olympia, London at an all night festival Christmas On Earth Continued. Throughout their part of the  concert, Floyd singer Syd Barrett simply gives the audience a frozen stare.

1969, During their stay in Canada, John Lennon and Yoko Ono meet with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and discuss drug abuse with John Munro, the Minister of Health.

1970, Yes plays at the Music Hall, Shewsbury, England.

1971, Hawkwind appears at St.Thomas Hall, Canterbury, England.

1972, Led Zeppelin performs at London’s Alexandra Palace. Melody Maker describes the Zep as “about as perfect a band as you could hope to hear.”

1972, Blue Oyster Cult appears at Ford Auditorium in Detroit, Michigan.

1973, Elton John started a two-week run at number one on the UK album chart with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, it also had a eight week run attop the US charts. The album contains the Marilyn Monroe tribute.

1975, The Who plays at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

1977, Aerosmith performs at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1978, The Who announce that Kenny Jones from The Faces will serve as a replacement for their late drummer Keith Moon.

1978, The Grateful Dead perform at the Dallas County Convention Center Arena

mccartney-1979-kampuchea1979, Paul McCartney holds the first of three concerts for Kampuchea at London’s Hammersmith Odeon to benefit relief efforts in the war-torn country. The Clash, Elvis Costello, the Who and Rockpile appear on the bill.

1979, Rupert Holmes started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Escape (The Pina Colada Song.”) His only US number one solo hit, a number 23 hit in the UK.

1981, At a rock & roll memorabilia auction in London, a stage suit worn by John Lennon sold for $2,300 (£1,437.50,) a letter from Paul McCartney to a fan sold for $2,200 (£1,375,) and a Perspex sculpture of John & Yoko was bought by singer Kate Bush for $4,200 (£2,625.)

1984, Madonna started a six-week run at number one in the US charts with “Like A Virgin,” her first US chart topper. Produced by Nile Rodgers, family groups sought to ban the song as they believed that the song promoted sex without marriage.

1988, The Smiths played their farewell gig at Wolverhampton Civic Hall, (without guitarist Johnny Marr). To gain entrance to the gig fans had to wear a Smiths or Morrissey T- shirt.

2002, Former Clash singer and guitarist Joe Strummer died of a suspected heart attack. He was 50.

2003, The annual list of all-time music greats by the Guinness book of hit singles was again topped by Elvis Presley. The list based on the number of weeks spent on the UK singles chart looked like this; 1. Elvis Presley (1193) 2. Cliff Richard (1152,) 3. The Shadows (771,) 4. Elton John (623,) 5. Madonna (606,) 6. Diana Ross (560,) 7. Michael Jackson (509,) 8. Rod Stewart (477,) 9. Beatles (456,) and 10. David Bowie (452.)

2006, American songwriter Dennis Linde died aged 63 from a rare lung disease. Linde wrote one of Elvis Presley’s last major hits, “Burning Love,” and also wrote “Goodbye Earl” for the Dixie Chicks, and “Callin’ Baton Rouge” for Garth Brooks.

2008, A cassette tape of a drunk John Lennon recording a cover version of a rock ‘n’ roll song sold at auction in Los Angeles for $30,000 (£20,200.) The six-minute recording, made in autumn 1973, is of Lennon performing Lloyd Price’s “Just Because.” Lyrics” improvised by “a drunk Lennon” include “just a little cocaine will set me right,” and, “I wanna take all them new singers, Carol and the other one with the nipples, I wanna take ’em and hold ’em tight.”

2010, The Abbey Road zebra crossing in north London, made famous after appearing on a Beatles album cover was given Grade II listed status. The crossing, the first of its kind to be listed, was being recognised for its “cultural and historical importance” following advice from English Heritage. The Beatles were photographed on Abbey Road in Ian Macmillan’s iconic cover shot for the 1969 album Abbey Road.

Born on December 22: Barry Jenkins, drums, The Animals (1944); Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick (1946); Robin and Maurice Gibb (1949);  Frank Gambale,  guitarist, songwriter, and producer, Chick Corea Elektric Band, Return to Forever (1958); Luther Campbell, 2 Live Crew (1960); Richard James Edwards, guitar, vocals, Manic Street Preachers (1968)

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Song Of The Day – “Where Life Begins” by Madonna

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madonnaeroticaSong Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Where Life Begins” by Madonna

It’s a dirty little song…from a dirty little record!

“My name is Dita, I’ll be your mistress tonight…” so began Madonna’s fifth and most artistically accomplished record with this introduction from “Erotica,” its title track. In it, Madonna took on the alter ego of Dita which was inspired by 1930s actress Dita Parlo.

Erotica came out at a time when many people believe Madonna jumped the preverbal shark from overexposure, resulting from the simultaneous release of the record, an erotic picture book called Sex, a worldwide tour dubbed The Girlie Show and a role in the film Body of Evidence.

For me, Erotica signaled Madonna’s creative apex.

Much of the activity surrounding the release of Erotica stemmed from the formation of Madonna’s multi-media company which she based on Andy Warhol’s Factory. Maverick became her record label and dabbled in the world of book publishing, photography and film.

By the time of the record’s release, Madonna was an icon at the height of her popularity. It also appeared during the height of a full blown Aids outbreak that made sex dangerous. As a result the icon began to challenge her audience in ways it didn’t want to be challenged, by appearing in videos as a gold-toothed dominatrix (Dita) in various forms of bondage, foisting tales of pleasurable and deviant sex onto an unsuspecting audience, and appearing totally naked for the entire world to see in the Sex book.

Sure Madonna had titillated and challenged her audience before, specifically in the realm of religion with the video for “Like A Prayer,” but many believed the Erotica project took it a step too far. For instance, the album’s title track and biggest single takes on the topic of bondage and poses the question “If I take you from behind, push myself into your mind when you least expect it, will you try and reject it?”… “Like A Virgin” this wasn’t! The video for the song was pulled from most outlets when it came out, and MTV deemed it to racy to be aired during the daytime, choosing to air it only after midnight.

Most of the record was produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, however the two strongest tracks, “Secret Garden” and today’s Song Of The Day, were produced by Madonna and André Betts. Betts had worked with Madonna before on the single “Justify My Love,” while Pettibone had remixed many of Madge’s singles for several years and was fresh off helming the production duties for the single “Vogue.”

Erotica was Madonna’s most clubby record featuring frosty beats and a cold, remote sound throughout. Today’s sextastic Song Of The Day about the pleasures of cunnilingus features a sinuous bass line and the very clever lyrics “I’d like to direct your attention to something that needs directing to, A lot of people talk about dining in eating out, I guess that’s what this song is all about…” and “Colonel Sanders says it best, finger licking good. Let’s put what you learned to the test, can you make a fire without using wood. Are you still hungry; aren’t you glad we came, I’m glad you brought your raincoat, I think it’s beginning to rain…”

While I wouldn’t say the record creates the ultimate party atmosphere, it does have several audacious dance tracks including the clubby disco house of the single “Deeper And Deeper,” “Thief Of Hearts” and a cover of Little Willie John’s “Fever,” in which Madonna channels an even icier Peggy Lee than on the original hit version.

The songs “Bad Girl” and “Rain” come closest to the sound of Madonna’s earlier hits with Madonna singing in full on voice, and “Why’s It So Hard” offers a plea for peace and solidarity that is also a throwback to earlier triumphs. These songs provide some necessary relief from the somewhat steely, detached word speak of tracks like “Bye Bye Baby” (“This is not a love song…”) and “Words.”

Elsewhere Madonna get personal in the lounge jazz of the record’s best cut “Secret Garden” in which Madge ponders “You plant the seed and I’ll watch it grow, I wonder when I’ll start to show” and on “In This Life” that mourns the loss of artist Keith Haring and one of Madonna’s mentors from early in her career to the Aids epidemic.

Along with Bedtime Stories which was this record’s follow up, Madonna would never reach the creative heights she did here. While she managed to come close six years later with her album Ray Of Light, it was sadly all downhill from here.

Today in Rock History – August 16

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robert-johnson1938, American blues musician Robert Johnson died, likely poisoned by a jealous husband, at the age of 27 at a country crossroads near Greenwood, Mississippi. His recordings from 1936 -1937 have influenced generations of musicians including Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.

1962, Twelve -year old “Little” Stevie Wonder released his first single, “I Call It Pretty Music, (But The Old People Call It The Blues.)” The single featured Marvin Gaye on drums.

1962, Brian Epstein told Pete Best that the other Beatles wanted him out of the group, and that he was being replaced. Epstein then asked Best to perform with The Beatles that night at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester, Cheshire. Pete Best does not show up, drummer Johnny Hutchinson of The Big Three filled in the temporary vacancy.

1964, The Who played at the Opera House in Blackpool, Lancashire, England.

1965, David Jones’ official stage name became David Bowie.

1966, During a US tour, The Beatles appeared at the John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia playing their set during a huge electric storm.

1966, The Byrds played the first of two nights at the Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, California.

1967, Pink Floyd were in Studio 3 at EMI Studios on Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood, London recording material for Saucerful of Secrets.

1968, Jimi Hendrix appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

1968, The Jackson Five made their formal debut with Diana Ross and The Supremes at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California.

1968, Working at Abbey Road studios, The Beatles recorded 14 takes of the new George Harrison song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” taking the song from its early acoustic version into an electric version.

1968, Bruce Springsteen’s new band Earth made their live debut at the Off Broad Street Coffee House in Red Bank, New Jersey, admission was 75 cents (£0.47). The lineup of the group consisted of Springsteen on guitars and vocals, John Graham, bass, Michael Burke, drums and Flash Craig on the organ. The group lasted only six months.

1968, Pink Floyd play the first of two nights at Sound Factory in Sacramento, California. Also on the bill are Initial Shock and AB Skhy Blues Band.

1969, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young supported by Joni Mitchell appeared at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, Illinois.

1969, The Grateful Dead perform the following set at Woodstock: Saint Stephen-> Mama Tried, Dark Star-> High Time, Turn On Your Love Light. There were electrical problems, as well as rain, and possibly the band performing while having taken a lot of acid.  The Dead were not pleased with the performance, and have not allowed it to be published.  Nor was it in the concert film.

1969, During a North American tour Led Zeppelin appeared at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park with Joe Cocker as support. Zeppelin had been asked to perform at Woodstock but due to this gig commitment were unable to attend.

1969, Bruce Springsteen’s band Child played the first of two shows over two days at the Student Prince, Ashbury Park. Springsteen was also unable to attend Woodstock due to these gigs.

1969, Hippie leader Abbie Hoffman was knocked offstage by Pete Townshend while attempting to make a political statement during the Who’s set at Woodstock. Later, Townshend said he didn’t know it was Hoffman at the time.

1969, Blind Faith appear at the Earl Warren Fairgrounds, Santa Barbara, California.

1970, The final day of the three day UK Yorkshire Folk, Blues & Jazz Festival at Krumlin, Yorkshire took place featuring The Kinks, Mungo Jerry, Yes, Ginger Bakers Air Force and Edgar Winter.

1971, The Who and Wishbone Ash perform at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois.

1971, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1972, Hawkwind plays at Town Hall, Torquay, England.

1974, The Ramones make their CBGB debut on this date. They would go on to play seventy more shows that year as a regular attraction at the famous club in New York.

1975,  Peter Gabriel announced that he was leaving Genesis. Gabriel had informed the band back in late November 1974 of his decision, but agreed to stay through the conclusion of the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour. The group auditioned more than 400 singers during the next 18 months before deciding that Phil Collins, who had been the drummer for Genesis since 1970, could front the band.

1975, Eric Clapton performed at the Sports Arena, San Diego, California.

1976, AC/DC appeared at the Marquee Club, London.

1976, Yes plays at the Mecca Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1977, Elvis Presley was found dead lying on the floor in his bathroom by his girlfriend Ginger Alden. He had been seated on the toilet reading “The Scientific Search For Jesus.” He died of heart failure at the age of 42.  He starred in 31 films. Elvis holds the record for the most entries on the US Hot 100 chart with 154. Elvis became the first rock ‘n’ roll artist to be honored by the US Postal Service with a stamp.

1977, Manchester punk band The Buzzcocks signed to EMI’s United Artists label.

1979, The biggest single of the summer in the US, The Knack’s “My Sharona” was awarded a Gold record for selling one million copies. The Knack’s Doug Fieger wrote the song for his girlfriend, Sharona Alperin, whose picture appeared on the single’s cover.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band appeared at the Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

1981, Foreigner played at Zeppelinfeld, Nuremberg, Germany.

1982, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Blossom Music Center, Akron, Ohio.

1983, After dating for six years, Paul Simon married actress Carrie Fisher. The marriage would last less than two years, but the two continued to date off and on after they split. The title track to Simon’s Heart and Bones album references their romance.

1986, Madonna started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Papa Don’t Preach.” It was the singer’s fourth US chart topper and was also number one in the UK. Also on this day Madonna went to the top of the US album chart with True Blue.

1988, Kiss played at the Marquee Club in London, England on their current 129-date Crazy Nights world tour.

1997, Blur, Prodigy, Beck, Kula Shaker, Dodgy, Foo Fighters, Placebo, James, Ash, Dodgy and Gene all appeared at the two day V97 UK festival in Chelmsford and Leeds, weekend tickets, £50 ($80.)

2000, Alan Caddy guitarist with The Tornadoes died. He had the 1962 UK and US number one single “Telstar” which became the first major hit from a UK act on the American chart. Caddy also played on sessions and worked on arrangements for Spencer Davis Group, Kiki Dee, Pretty Things and Dusty Springfield.

2005, P Diddy appeared on the US TV Today Show and announced that he was altering his stage name again, dropping the “P” and referring to himself simply as “Diddy.” The name change to Diddy upset Richard “Diddy” Dearlove, a London based DJ who took out court proceedings against P Diddy over the use of the name. He won when an out of court settlement of £110,000 was agreed and as a result, Combs is no longer be able to use the name Diddy in the UK.

Born on August 16: Kevin Ayers, Soft Machine (1945); Gary Loizzo, American guitarist, singer, The American Breed (1945); Gordon Fleet, The Easybeats, (1946); Barry Hay, Golden Earring (1948); Bill Spooner, American guitarist, songwriter, The Tubes (1949); – James “JT” Taylor, American R&B singer-songwriter, Kool & the Gang (1953); Tim Farriss, guitar, INXS (1957); Madonna Ciccone, aka Madonna (1958); American  bassist,  Melvins, Mudhoney (1964); Emily Robison, American singer-songwriter, banjo player, Dixie Chicks, Court Yard Hounds (1972); Bob Hardy, Scottish bassist, Franz Ferdinand (1980)

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Today in Rock History – August 3

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1966, The Rolling Stones spend nine days recording for their next album at Los Angeles, RCA Studios, Hollywood, USA. Tracks recorded included: “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?” “Let’s Spend The Night Together,” “My Obsession,” “Yesterday’s Papers,” and “Back Street Girl.”

1967, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played the first of five nights at the Salvation Club in New York City.

1967, To promote Ravi Shankar’s Hollywood Bowl concert on August 4, George Harrison joins the sitar player at his news conference.

1967, The Who appeared at Dane County Memorial Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin.

1968, The Doors started a two-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Hello I Love You.” The song replaced “Grazing in the Grass”by Hugh Masakela at the top spot.  The Doors had eight top 40 hits from 1967-71.

1968, The two day Newport Pop Festival took place in Costa Mesa, California with Alice Cooper, Canned Heat, Chambers Brothers, Charles Lloyd Quartet, Country Joe and the Fish, Electric Flag, James Cotton Blues Band, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sonny & Cher, Steppenwolf, and Tiny Tim. Over 100,000 fans attended the festival.

1969, Janis Joplin sings with Little Richard at the Atlantic City Pop Festival.

1969, The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson is busted. He had agreed to serve civilian duty instead of being drafted into the Army, but when he arrived at Los Angeles County Hospital to do his bit, he taught music classes instead of acting as an institutional helper.

1971, Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new group Wings, with his wife Linda and former Moody Blues guitarist and singer Denny Laine.

1971, The Who play The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1973, Stevie Wonder released his sixteenth studio album Innervisions. Wonder played all or virtually all instruments on six of the album’s nine tracks.

1973, ABC’s In Concert, broadcast an Eagles show from UCLA.

1974, Anne Murray appeared at The Schaefer Festival in New York as the headlining act. The opening act was Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.

1974, Bad Company went to number one on the US album chart with their self-titled debut album. The supergroup was formed in Westminster, London in 1973 by two former members of Free, singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirk, as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell.

1974, KISS performed at the Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana.

1975, Black Sabbath appeared at the Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island.

1976, Eric Clapton played at the ABC Theatre, Plymouth, England.

1977, The Steve Miller Band headlined at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisconsin.

1979, The Knack album Get the Knack and the single “My Sharona” both go to number one.

1980, The Allman Brothers Band played at the Starlight Bowl, San Diego, California.

1985, Madonna scored her first UK number one single with “Into The Groove.” The track was taken from the movie Desperately Seeking Susan which featured Madonna and Rosanna Arquette.

1985, Tears For Fears started a three week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Shout,” the duo’s second US chart topper.

1987, Def Leppard released their fourth studio album Hysteria which became their best selling album to date, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. The album is the follow-up to the band’s 1983 breakthrough Pyromania. Hysteria’s creation took over three years and was plagued by delays, including the aftermath of the December 1984 car accident that cost drummer Rick Allen his left arm.

1996, Los Del Rio started a fourteen-week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Macarena.” The song which has sold 11 million copies world-wide was ranked the topGreatest One Hit Wonder of all Time by VH1 in 2002.

2001, Co-founder of the American group 5th Dimension, Ron Townson died of kidney failure aged 68.

2006, Arthur Lee, singer and guitarist of the influential 1960’s band Love died in Memphis at the age of 61 following a battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He called himself the “first black hippie” and formed Love in Los Angeles in 1965.

2007, Queen guitarist Brian May handed in his astronomy PhD thesis, 36 years after abandoning it to join the band. May had recently carried out observational work in Tenerife, where he studied the formation of “zodiacal dust clouds.”

2008, Kid Rock was at number one on the UK singles chart with “All Summer Long.” The song is based on Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London,” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” It reached number 23 in the Billboard Hot 100.

Born on August 3: Tony Bennett (1926); Beverly Lee, The Shirelles (1941);  John York,  bass player, songwriter, and producer, The Byrds, Sir Douglas Quintet (1943); B. B. Dickerson,  bass, War (1949); John Graham, Earth Wind & Fire (1951); Ian Bairnson,  sax, keyboards, The Alan Parsons Project, Pilot (1953); James Hetfield, guitar, vocals, Metallica (1963); Ed Roland,  singer, guitarist, Collective Soul (1963)

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Today in Rock History – July 25

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beatles-hard-days-night1964, The Beatles third album A Hard Day’s Night started a twenty-one week run at the top of the UK charts. This was the first Beatles album to be recorded entirely on four-track tape, allowing for good stereo mixes.

1965, Bob Dylan plugged in for his headlining set backed by the Butterfield Blues Band at The Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. Folk music purists try to boo him off the stage, while the rest of the audience give him an enthusiastic response.

1966, The Rolling Stones play San Francisco. The tour is their last with founding guitarist Brian Jones.

1967, Pink Floyd played at The Palladium Ballroom, Greenock, Scotland.

1969, Neil Young appeared with Crosby, Stills and Nash for the first time when they played at The Fillmore East in New York. Young was initially asked to help out with live material only, but ended up joining the group on and off for the next 30 years.

1969, Led Zeppelin play Milwaukee at the Midwest Rock Festival at State Fair Park, in West Allis, Wisconsin. Also on the bill were Buffy Saint Marie, First Edtion, Pacific Gas & Electric, and more. Former Yardbird Eric Clapton, who is playing with Blind Faith the next day, catches the set by fellow former Yardbird Jimmy Page’s new band. “They were very loud,” he later remembers. “I thought it was unnecessarily loud. I liked some of it; I really did like some of it. But a lot of it was just too much. They overemphasized whatever point they were making, I thought.”

1969, The Doors appeared at Cow Palace, San Francisco, California.

1969, The Seattle Pop Festival took place at the Gold Creek Park, Woodinville, Washington. Acts who appeared over three days included, Chuck Berry, Tim Buckley, The Byrds, Chicago Transit Authority, Albert Collins, Bo Diddley, The Doors, The Flock, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Guess Who, It’s A Beautiful Day, Led Zeppelin, Santana, Spirit, Ten Years After, Ike & Tina Turner, Vanilla Fudge, Alice Cooper and The Youngbloods.

1970, The Who appeared at Civic Hall, Dunstable, Bedfordshire England.

cosmos_factory1970, Creedence Clearwater Revival release their fifth album, Cosmo’s Factory, the same month as the single release of “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” b/w “Long As I Can See the Light.” The name of the album comes from the warehouse in Berkeley where the band rehearsed early in their career. It was dubbed “The Factory” by drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford, due to the fact that bandleader John Fogerty made them practice there almost every day.

1970, Jimi Hendrix performs at the Sports Arena in San Diego, California.

1970, The Carpenters started a four week run at number one on the US singles chart with “(They Long To Be) Close To You.” The first of three US chart toppers and seventeen other Top 40 hits. The song was written in 1963 by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, and was first offered to Herb Alpert, who said he didn’t feel comfortable singing the line “so they sprinkled moon dust in your hair.”

1971, T Rex were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Bang a Gong,” which spent four weeks at the top.

1971, The Beach Boys enjoy a commercial comeback of sorts with the release of Surf’s Up. The number 29 position is their highest chart placement since 1966’s Pet Sounds.

1972, Genesis plays at the Civic Hall, Solihull, England.

1972, Punk goddess Patti Smith goes to see the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder at Madison Square Garden and remembers it as, “My brain cracked like an egg. The gold liquid spurted all over the stage. Mick bathed in it. Keith got his feet wet.”

1973, Hawkwind played at Top Rank, Southampton, England.

1974, The Grateful Dead appear at Chicago’s International Amphitheatre.

1975, ZZ Top perform at the Civic Center in San Antonio, Texas.

1976, Yes play the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.

1978, Aerosmith appeared at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada.

1978, Kansas performed at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, Michigan.

1979, Van Halen headlined at the Civic Center, St. Paul, Minnesota.

1980, AC/DC released their sixth internationally released studio album Back In Black, the first AC/DC album recorded without former lead singer Bon Scott, who died on February 19, 1980 at the age of 33. The album has sold an estimated 49 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.

1981, Air Supply went to number one on the US singles chart with “The One That I Love,” the group’s only US chart topper, and the first Australian band to top the US singles chart.

1982, Queen appeared at the Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland.

1984, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton died at the age of 58 in Los Angeles of heart and liver complications. She had a number one R&B hit in 1953 with “Hound Dog,” later covered by Elvis Presley. She also wrote and recorded “Ball ‘n’ Chain,” which Janis Joplin recorded.

1987, Madonna had her fifth UK number one single with the title track from her 1987 film Who’s That Girl. Also a US number one hit.

1995, Grammy Award winning country singer, songwriter Charlie Rich died in his sleep at aged 62. Rich began as a Rockabilly artist for Sun Records in Memphis in 1958. He scored the 1974 US number one and UK number two single “The Most Beautiful Girl” and “Behind Closed Doors,” was a chart topping country hit.

2003, Erik Braunn, from American psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly, died of cardiac failure at the age of 52. Braunn was just 16 years old when he joined Iron Butterfly, who had the 1968 US number 14 single “In-A- Gadda-Da-Vida.”

2004, Jimmy Buffett went to number one on the US album chart with License To Chill, the singer songwriter’s first chart topping album.

2014, Pop star and parodist, Weird Al Yankovic, became the first comedy act to hit the top spot for more than 50 years. Mandatory Fun, Yankovic’s 14th album, and his best-selling since Straight Outta Lynwood, which was released in 1991, went to number one on the US album chart. The last comedy album to reach the top spot in the US was Allan Sherman’s My Son, the Nut in 1963.

Born on July 25: Bennie Benjamin, session drummer, Motown (1925); Manuel Charlton, Nazareth, (1941); Bruce Woodley, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, The Seekers (1942); Jim McCarty, Yardbirds, Renaissance (1943); Tom Dawes, Cyrkle (1944); Rita Marley, Cuban-Jamaican singer, Bob Marley and the Wailers (1946); Mark Clarke, Uriah Heep (1950);  Verdine White, bass, vocals, Earth Wind and Fire (1951); Ken Greer, Canadian guitarist, keyboard player, producer, Red Rider (1954); Thurston Moore, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, Sonic Youth, Ciccone Youth, The Coachmen, Dim Stars (1958); Brian Gibson, American bass player, Lightning Bolt (1975)

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Best and Worst of Super Bowl Halftime Shows

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Up With People at Super Bowl XIV

Most people don’t remember that the halftime show was not really a rock/pop/hip showcase until the early nineties, when producer The Walt Disney company trotted out New Kids on the Block.

Early incarnations of the halftime event consisted of marching bands, drill teams, and “Up WIth People,” a group of singer made of young adults from around the world. They graced the halftime stage on four occasions.

None of those performances provided anything you couldn’t see at a New Year’s Day bowl game.

That all changed in 1993 at the Rose Bowl when Michael Jackson made his Super Bowl debut, and turned the half time show into must see TV.

Since then audiences have been treated to the likes of Diana Ross, ZZ Top, the Blues Brothers, a Motown review, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Prince and the Who.

Also included there is the infamous wardrobe malfunction set with Janet Jackson and Justin Timerberlake.

For my money the best show ever was Prince in 2007, and the worst ever- don’t perform live period was The Who in 2010.  Pete and Roger were just flat out awful.

The 2012 show with Madonna and Cee Lo Green was eye-popping but hardly memorable.

On the other hand, and perhaps because I was there in person, his purple majesty put on a set for the ages.  Despite the rain that was definitely not purple, the show was electric, the dark stadium with the flashlights was dazzling, and  the atmosphere was flat out electric.

See for yourself.