It's a brand new week and the first of a brand new month with lots to catch up on in "This Week in Rock." Everything from Oh No Wendy O, to Love + Marriage = Divorce, to "I Love You. You Love Me. We're A Great Big Fa-Muh-Lee."
2010 – Slash of GNR fame released his first solo album. He cleverly called it "Slash" and it cut through to number 3 on the charts.
1998 - Wendy O. Williams died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Her destructive stage antics with the Plasmatics during the late 70s New York punk scene were the stuff of legend. Have you ever seen a car chain-sawed in half on stage at a concert? You might have at a Plasmatic's show.
1979 - Rod Stewart married Alana Hamilton. They would have two kids, (Kimberly and Sean), but divorced five years later. She and Rod remain close and it's not uncommon for Rod, his exes, and current spouse to all hang out together. That's healthy. More power to them all.
1971 - Carly Simon met James Taylor after her show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Like Rod and Alana from above, it was marriage, two kids then divorce but I don't believe their relationship is as shall we say chummy.
1975 - Elton John's “Philadelphia Freedom” was the number one song in the USA. It had very little to do with our nation's approaching bicentennial a year later and everything to do with his affection for the sport of tennis and his dear friend Billie Jean King's affiliation with the Philadelphia Freedoms tennis team.
1974 - Long before "social distancing" was a thing, 200,000 fans attended The California Jam concert. The diverse line-up included The Eagles, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Earth, Wind & Fire, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Black Oak Arkansas and Seals & Crofts.
1968 – Syd Barrett officially left Pink Floyd due to his suffering from psychiatric disorders compounded by drug use. You've got to wonder what could have been had he stayed. Would there have been room for David Gilmour and would they have become the band we know today. I guess we will never know.
Happy Birthdays going to: PBS kids' show "Barney & Friends (1992), Broadway's Tony Awards (1947) Teflon (1938), and the first modern Olympic Games (1896). If you've made it all the way to here, you deserve a medal. Thanks for reading. Check back in a day or so for more of "This Week In Rock."
I was sad to see this news today that Bill Withers had passed away at the age of 81. It was not the Coronavirus but heart failure that claimed him. He made a lot of hit records in a short period of time around the time I was entering my teens and I dug him. "Lean On Me," "Ain't No Sunshine," "Use Me," (my favorite), "Lovely Day," "Just The Two Of Us" with Grover Washington, Jr. and others. The guy was cool and not affected by his stardom. He easily walked away from it and the hits stopped.
I got to attend the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions the year he went in. It was 2015. I took my brother Dave who himself a music lover had turned me on to great tunes growing up. That year's class had everything we could ask for: Green Day, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (with Miley Cyrus inducting), Lou Reed (Patti Smith doing the honors), Stevie Ray Vaughan with his brother Jimmy in attendance, Ringo "effing" Starr inducted by Paul "effing" McCartney for Pete's sake! This was extra cool because my brother got to see The Beatles at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1966. All that right there would have been a great show but Bill Withers was the icing on the cake for me.
Stevie Wonder inducted him and Bill gave an amusing and humble speech. Look it up sometime on the Rock Hall's website. It's thirteen minutes but totally worth it. You could tell he was happy to be included in such auspicious company and grateful to his idol Mr. Wonder who did him the honor. The two men sat down to play some of Bill's songs. Sadly, Withers felt he was not in good enough voice anymore to sing but sat next to Wonder and smiled the whole time while Stevie played. One light-hearted part you didn't see if you weren't there came pretty far into the first song when Stevie realized he was not in the right key. Start over!
Rest Easy, Bill. I'm glad I got to see you. I imagine you're in fine voice now and singing loud & proud in Rock & Roll Heaven.
I see my "This Week In Rock" blog is getting many views. This pleases me so I thank you. I hope you're enjoying my mind-musings over the things that helped shape and move this crazy little thing we call Rock! Now onto our newest edition.
2013 - Just hours before a Calgary concert date, Richie Sambora announced he was leaving Bon Jovi. He said he needed more family time but there was speculation it was over an issue of comensurate pay.
2006 - A schoolbook belonging to a 12-year-old John Lennon fetched nearly 240 thousand dollars at auction. Why so much, you ask? Well, it featured a drawing by young Lennon inspired by the Lewis Carroll poem “The Walrus and the Carpenter.” That same poem would later inspire a classic Beatles' song. Can you guess which one?
2003 - Sharon Osbourne successfully completes treatment for colon cancer. One year later...
2004 - Sharon and Ozzy go on Larry King to announce their daughter, Kelly, had entered rehab to treat an addiction to painkillers.
1999 - A concert-goer sues The Black Crowes for $385K over a show in Knoxville, TN. that was so loud, it damaged his hearing. I'm sorry for his loss but hey, ear-plugs...they're a thing!
1960 - A song not nearly as loud as a Black Crowes' concert sits atop the charts for nine weeks, thumbing its musical nose at the burgeoning rock & roll scene. Click to HEAR what it was. It won't matter if your volume it set to max.
Happy 4/2 B'days go out to: The U.S Mint (1792); The first White House Easter Egg Roll (1877); The soap operas As the World Turns and The Edge Of Night (1956); The first episode of Dallas (1978). (My Take; The whole "Who Shot JR" story line held our attention for a summer but the real face-slapper came when Bobby Ewing actually returned from the dead in 1986. I guess the first thing I'd do is take a shower after having been deceased for a year.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I remain your humble servant in weird trivia.
In "This week in Rock," Jimi went pyro, another Jimmy nearly gets knifed, fans of the Boss need a raise to afford two new albums, a music delivery system turns 71 and more so... here we go!
2004 - Ozzy Osbourne announced he was reforming Black Sabbath for a summer tour. It would land at Blossom Music Center on August 19th with a line-up that featured Rob Halford back with Judas Priest.
1995 - A crazed concert-goer was arrested for allegedly trying to stab Jimmy Page with a pocketknife backstage at a Page/Plant show in Detroit. He claimed the band was "satanic."
And in 1976 - Led Zeppelin released "Presence" on their own Swan Song label. I loved it and it still holds up well with many Zep fans. The critics didn't care for it so much but hey, that's Nobody's Fault But Theirs.
1992 - Bruce Springsteen made his fans open their wallets twice when he released two new albums simultaneously: "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town." OK, he didn't actually MAKE them do it. I guess they could've waited for another paycheck or record it from a friend like I did.
1967 - Jimi Hendrix kicked off his first British tour on a double-bill with Cat Stevens. It also marked the first time he set his guitar ablaze on stage.
1958 - "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry was released. It made it to only #8 on the U.S. singles chart.
Happy April First B'days go out to: The Eiffel Tower (1889), New York's LaGuardia Airport (1940), Sci-Fi classic "The Matrix" (1999), Gmail (2004), and finally the 45 RPM record, introduced by RCA Victor this week in 1949.
We've logged just about one week in our Stay-At-Home order. One more to go! Let's hope it's helping. I know it can be tough but as we're seeing everywhere; "we will get through this together!" If it's not been a good week, allow me to take you back to simpler times with another look back at...This Week In Rock!
2014 - After a break of sixteen years, Christine McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac. Could there still be hope for Lindsey Buckingham?
2000 - Ian Dury of the Blockheads died at 57. It was cancer and NOT Sex & Drugs & Rock n'Roll.
1998 - Alice Cooper broke ground for a baseball/rock & roll-themed restaurant called "Cooper's Town." It was built three blocks from the Arizona Diamondbacks' stadium in Phoenix. Later there'd be one in Cleveland near what we called "the Jake" back then, kids.
1986 - Sammy Hagar first stepped out in front of Van Halen as their new lead singer.
And in 1979 - Eric Clapton married his inspiration for the classic rock mainstay "Layla." She was Pattie Boyd, (the former Mrs. George Harrison). The inspiration lasted 10 years.
Let me close with a couple of "This Week In Non-Rock" examples: The United States acquired Alaska in 1867 but didn't make it a state for 92 years. And finally, in 1512 Spanish explorer Juan Ponce De Leon first sighted Florida and began a long tradition of "Florida Man..." stories, (i.e. "Florida Man thinks he's discovered the fountain of youth").
Stay strong, stay healthy and keep rockin'!
It's been a minute since I dropped a blog here. Like so many of us, I guess I've been distracted. I thought I'd write about what we're going through but the news changes so rapidly and we're all just trying to navigate the new normal. So in an effort to provide you with a diversion, I submit..."The Week In Rock."
2003 - U2 performed “The Hands That Built America” from the movie Gangs of New York at the Academy Awards. Theirs was an Oscar-nominated song but they lost out to Eminem. This week, six years before in 1997 - U2 had their fifth U.S. number-one album with Pop.
1985 - John Fogerty's career went through a Revival of sorts when he hit the top of the charts with "Centerfield." Also in '85, the unlikely pairing of Billy Joel and model Christie Brinkley came to be. The union lasted nine years and produced one child, a daughter, Alexa Ray, (named after Ray Charles).
1973 - John Lennon was given two months to leave the USA by an order of immigration authorities. He was allowed to remain stateside until he got his green card 3 years later. In another Lennon memory from this week in rock; 1999 - a set of postage stamps was released in Gibraltar commemorating what would have been the 30th wedding anniversary of John & Yoko.
That's some things that happened in "This Week in Rock." More later. Stay safe & calm, wash your hands and Rock On!!
A New Jersey-based brewery has come up with a novel way to honor Neil Peart, the Rush drummer who died in January after a three-year battle with brain cancer. They've come up with a beer and dubbed it "Pronounced Pier-T" which settles once and for all how Neil pronounced his last name. It's not Purt nor Pair-T like many mistakenly said over the years. The brewers are definitely Rush fanatics as evidenced by the press release. The beer is described as a "Lime-Lighted" Canadian Lager which sells for $21.12 per four-pack. Now that may seem a little steep for four beers but all proceeds will be donated toward glioblastoma research in Peart’s name. Let me know if you see it on local store shelves as I'd like to give it a try, not only because I enjoy a good beer but I too had a friend succumb to this dread disease. Read more about the brewers and their Rush-inspired beer by clicking this link and remember, it's "PRONOUNCED PIER-T."
(Photo Credit: Carton Brewing)
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Here is a follow up to my blog post from a few days ago. I've attached a link so you can read about the incredible feats of bravery everyday folks like you and me did to save another human being, (or beings in some cases). You can watch all the videos of the stories presented that night and you may want to have a box of tissues handy as these Acts of Courage are quite dramatic.
This Thursday night, I have the pleasure of once again emceeing the Red Cross annual Acts of Courage recognition ceremony. As in year's past, my wife Sue Wilson, (herself a Red Cross board member & volunteer), and I introduce the videos of ordinary people who stepped up and performed extraordinary heroic deeds to save another fellow human. These are people who risked their own lives to save someone from a burning house, a traffic accident, a near drowning incident, or performed CPR on someone befallen by a sudden heart attack. The stories are all very similar in that these people didn't know their day would put them into a life or death situation but when it did, they stepped up. Many of the stories involve first responders while others involve people who recognized a bad situation and did what needed to be done such as the student who knew enough to perform the Heimlich Maneuver when a classmate was choking in the school cafeteria. A common sentiment among these folks is that they don't feel like "heroes." They are just grateful they were able to help someone in dire need. Congratulations to you all and thank you for what you did. I've included a link so you can read about the program and to nominate a hero for future recognition.
The last couple of years have been tough on Ozzy Osbourne and it looks like his health will prevent him from ever touring again but Team Ozzy isn't letting these setbacks slow them down. His new album "Ordinary Man" features a host of guests including Elton John on the title track. "Aquaman's" Jason Mamoa gets his best Ozzy on in the video for Scary Little Green Men, and now they've launched a new computer game called Legend of Ozzy. In the game, you play as a 2-D, winged Ozzy avatar, as you try to collect coins, health and drops of blood while avoiding obstacles such as wolves, monsters and demons, all while music for the Prince of Darkness' new album Ordinary Man plays in the background.
You can play Legend of Ozzy now via LegendofOzzy.com/Game.
The creativity of people never ceases to amaze me. Perhaps you've seen this somewhere on your socials but someone has taken subjects depicted in classical paintings and edited them into everyday and current day settings. What results is clever and I hope it puts a smile on your face. Click here to see what I'm talking about.