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Song of the Day – “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine” by Country Joe & the Fish

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45-adapter-logo2CountryJoeMusic

Song of the Day by Eric Berman – “Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine” by Country Joe & the Fish

Today’s Song of the Day by Eric Berman is a splash of orange sunshine from the 1967 debut album by Country Joe & the Fish called Electric Music for the Mind and Body.

Country Joe McDonald, Barry “The Fish” Melton and company were already well established on their San Francisco home turf releasing several albums before their landmark appearance at Woodstock put them on the map. While many thought the band’s name was goofy, it actually carried political overtones for those in the know.

“Country Joe” was a nickname for Joseph Stalin in the 1940s while “the fish” is a reference to Mao Tse Tung’s famous statement that a true revolutionary must “swim among the people as fish.” For a time, the band considered going under the name “Country Mao & The Fish.”

While many consider the band to be just a footnote to the psychedelic era, their influence and their records still hold up today. I put this album by ol’ Country Joe & the Fish right up there with the best from Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.

Song Of The Day – “Theme From An Imaginary Western” by Mountain

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mountainclimbingOriginally posted on August 28, 2012

Every so often, you hear a song that you haven’t heard in a long time, and it blows you away as if you were hearing it for the very first time. I had this experience last night at our weekly “Vinyl Night” gathering at the Firkin bar Libertyville, IL where one of the gang brought the 1970 debut album by Mountain called “Climbing!.”

Now, I’ve had this album since I was a kid and I’ve heard it countless times, so many times in fact that it’s been years since I’ve even considered playing it again. But last night, the song revealed the perfection at its core: impassioned vocals, terrific power ballad melody and superb guitar work by “The Great Fatsby” himself, Leslie West. As a result, I am listening to and enjoying the albums “Climbing!” and “Nantucket Sleighride” today, as I write this entry.

Mountain was known as the “American Cream” because they were so heavily inspired by the British power trio, and their bassist, Felix Pappalardi, also produced the Cream albums “Disraeli Gears,” “Wheels Of Fire” and “Goodbye Cream.” The Cream connection goes even deeper on this track, since it was co-penned by Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce.

Mountain formed in 1969 in Long Island, NY, and after four concerts, they found themselves on the bill at the Woodstock festival where they made a big impression. When the” Climbing” album came out, the band consisted of Leslie West on guitar, Felix Pappalardi on bass, Steve Knight on organ and Corky Laing on drums.

After several albums, Pappalardi left the band due to hearing problems, although he would rejoin the band on several of their many reunions. Pappalardi died in 1983 after suffering a gunshot wound accidently inflicted upon him by his wife. Gail Pappalardi was charged with criminally negligent homicide and served 16 months of a four year jail sentence. The last version of Mountain featured West and Laing and recorded and toured in 2008.

Song Of The Day – “At The Hop” by Danny & The Juniors

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Three groups…three decades… three stories…one song!

danny+thejuniors1950s: Philadelphia school friends Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei and Joe Terranova formed a group called The Juvenairs in 1957.  They were discovered at a Record Hop by John Madara who changed their name to Danny & The Juniors and introduced them to local record label owner Artie Singer. Madara and Singer liked Dave White’s song “Do The Bop,” but suggested that the title be changed to “At The Hop.” They also took a writing credit on the song for their efforts. The song was released in late 1957 on Singer’s Singular Record label.

Singer brought the song to Dick Clark whose American Bandstand was a local Philadelphia TV show. Clark liked the song and added the group as a last minute booking after Little Anthony & The Imperials canceled their appearance on the show. Clark also took 50% of the publishing proceeds of the song in order to get it played on the radio. Such was the way the rock ‘n’ roll game was played back in the days before payola was illegal. The song topped the charts for seven weeks and became the biggest single of 1958.

1960s: Sha Na Na was a 1950s revival group that hailed from Columbia University in New York City. By a stroke of luck, they were booked to perform at the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair in Bethel, New York in August of 1969 by festival producer Michael Lang who saw them perform in a small club. They appeared at the festival on Monday morning after most people already left the grounds and came on right before Jimi Hendrix’s landmark closing set. Their blazing performance of “At The Hop” was included in the Woodstock film bringing them national attention. While their music was totally out of step with the times, they managed to cause a sensation with their greased back hair, gold lame suits and in-synch dance routines. The group went on to record numerous albums for Buddah Records, host their own variety show on TV and appear in the film version of the musical Grease.


1970s: Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids formed at the University Of Colorado in 1969 to play frat parties. After appearing on American Bandstand, they were offered the opportunity to perform today’s Song Of The Day as “Herbie & The Heartbeats” in the 1973 movie American Graffiti. (They also performed “She’s So Fine” and “Louie Louie” in the film.) They went on to score two chart hits in the 1970s and appeared on the TV show Happy Days, and in the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now. While many of the original members of the group have since past away, a version of Flash Cadillac still regularly plays gigs today.

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Evil Ways from Woodstock” by Santana

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This weekend we are celebrating the 43rd anniversary of “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music” which took place August 15-18th 1969 on Max Yasgur’s farm. While most people are familiar with Santana’s blazing performance of “Soul Sacrifice” that appeared in the movie and single handedly established the group to the American public, most people have never seen anything else from the group’s afternoon set on 8/16/69. At the time, not only were the band unknown out of their native San Francisco, but so was this Tito Puente standard, since it would be many months before Santana would release its studio version as a single and take it to the upper echelon of the charts. It’s amazing to watch Carlos Santana catch fire in front of the biggest audience he had ever played to at that point…especially since he has said that he was tripping his face off on acid. Santana’s appearance was part of a barter deal made by manager Bill Graham – if Woodstock wanted Graham’s premium acts Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead, they would have to take Santana and give them a good slot in the festival. Obviously, Graham already knew what the Woodstock Nation was soon to find out…that they were to be treated to a career-making performance for the ages!

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Soul Sacrifice” by Santana

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This blazing performance comes to you from the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair, the mother of all rock festivals. It’s amazing to watch a then, mostly unknown, Carlos Santana catch fire in front of the biggest audience he had ever played to at that point…not to mention that he was tripping his face off on acid while doing so. Santana’s appearance was part of a barter deal made by manager Bill Graham – if Woodstock wanted Graham’s premium acts Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead, they would have to take Santana and give them a good slot in the festival. Obviously, Graham already knew what the Woodstock Nation was soon to find out…that they were to be treated to a career-making performance for the ages!