Nonamedufus's Blog – September 2009 Archive (10)

In August of 1968 the Byrds released their sixth album, the seminal Sweetheart of the Rodeo. But this album went in a different direction from previous Byrds albums and was marked by a change in band membership. Singer/guitarist David Crosby and drummer Michael Clarke had departed after album #5, The Notorius Byrd Brothers, and had been replaced by drummer Kevin Kelley and multi-instrumentalist/singer Gram Parsons.



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I never saw the movie, but in 1971 I rushed out and bought the double album 200 Motels by Frank Zappa. Why? Because Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan were key fixtures with the Mothers of Invention. Perhaps you know them better as Phlorescent Leech and Eddie respectively. No? Ha ha, okay. Sit back and prepare yourself for a little rock and roll trivia.



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Formed in 1967 Spooky Tooth was one of the few English blues/prog groups of the time with double keyboards - piano and organ - which played a key role in their distinctive sound. The group disbanded in 1974 after several personnel changes with members going on to play with Mott The Hoople, Humble Pie and Stealers Wheel.



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For my money Paul Rodgers and Queen just aren't a good fit. No one can replace the flamboyant Freddie Mercury. But there was a time I really dug Paul Rodgers and that was the early 70s when he was lead singer of the British blues outfit Free.



When the band formed in 1968 Rodgers, at 18, was the oldest member in the band. Bass player Andy Fraser was all of 15 and had already spent some time playing with John Mayall's Blues… Continue

They served as an influence to the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Stephen Stills and John Fogerty, among others. When asked to name the most influential rock guitar solo, Joe Walsh said he would have to include the entire song "Walk Don't Run" because it changed so many guitar players' lives.



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In the early 70s a bunch of transplanted musicians from Arizona got together in San Fransisco to form an odd little collective called The Tubes. Their self-titled first album was produced by Al Kooper and contained the absurd anthem White Punks On Dope. The song and the album would set the stage for what was to come.



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In the summer of 1966, I was a 14 year-old Yohawk-wannabe wandering the streets of Ottawa with my skateboard in search of the perfect sloped roadway. The other youth "gang" in those days was the Squirrels. We were kinda like Ottawa's answer to Britain's Mods and Rockers - without the violence. One of the coolest songs from our summer of tight faded jeans and suede desert boots was Dirty Water, a shuffling bluesy tune about Boston.



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Where does one begin when one tries to highlight Eric Clapton? In the 60s Clapton played with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Yardbirds, Cream and Blind Faith. His solo career has carried him through the decades to the present day. I saw him in concert a couple of years ago and the man's still got it, although he was aided by two supporting lead-guitarists, including guitar phenom Derek Trucks.



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It's being reported today that Charlie Watts is packing it in as a Rolling Stone. If true, the departure of the 68 year-old "Wembley Whammer" will leave the remaining Stones shattered.



Watts is the original and only drummer for the Stones and together with original band mate and bass player Bill Wyman contributed to the greatest rhythm section in rock and roll.



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John Fogerty, Doug Clifford, and Stu Cook met in high school and formed a bar band called the Blue Velvets. Fogerty's brother Tom joined the band and they signed with Fantasy records as the Golliwogs. Lead singer Tom stepped aside for brother John and the group and it's swamp-rock style began to gain popularity. In 1968, the newly renamed band released it's first album, the self-titled Creedence Clearwater Revival.



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