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(John Lennon - an anniversary of sorts)

Twenty-nine years ago this day, everything seemed to stop. It's still difficult to believe John Lennon is gone and it's always hard to explain the profound effect someone's life and art has had on you. I know I can't, so I won't even try.

Rather than focus on the maudlin aspect of this day, I thought I would play an interview conducted by the BBC in 1965, celebrating John's abilities as a fiction writer, much to the bafflement of the interviewer.

John Lennon: “The second book was more disciplined because it was starting from scratch and they said ‘oh, you’ve got so many months to write a book in’. The first book, a lot of it I’d written at odd times during me life.”

Further evidence he came along at exactly the right time in exactly the right place.

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(If they only had Mick - they would have out Rolling Stoned The Rolling Stones)

Of all the so-called "British Invasion" bands of the 1964-1965 period, the one that stands out as being criminally ignored by U.S. audiences would have to be The Pretty Things. They were without question one of the most raw, loud and rowdy bands of the period, which may have been the reason they weren't picked up by any labels in the States until the late 60s. Reading press reports from New Musical Express and Melody Maker, their concerts and club dates were near-riots and their personal exploits became stuff of rock n' roll legend. It was said The Rolling Stones, whom various members of The Pretty Things were associated with early on, paled by comparison. They were, above all, a huge influence on a number of blues-based bands of the period - not only The Rolling Stones, but The Yardbirds and several others.

This track, Can't Stand The Pain, epitomized who they were during those early days when I picked up one of their first eps on import "The Pretty Things On Film".

If you're not familiar with them - now's the time to get acquainted with a legend.

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(Seems to have a very long history)

The name C.W.Burpo rings no bells to speak of - other than the fact that he was a "radio minister" who was virulently anti-communist and died in 1982. One of the things I've noticed, in researching a lot of these "radio ministers" who preached a steady stream of right-wing extremist diatribe during their "messages to the children of God" is that not many of the recordings seem to exist. Certainly, the Library of Congress has a policy not to accept recordings of any of those broadcasts, with the possible exception of Father Coughlin, who was something of a pioneer of the form.

But C.W. Burpo hosted a daily program, heard over a large number of radio stations in middle and Southern America for a number of years, beginning in the late 1950's and going to the late 1960's. After the first few minutes of citing scripture and praying for God's guidance, he launched into a tirade over the perilous nature of our lives here in America.

As sampled by this 1965 broadcast dealing with the Civil Rights Movement.

C.W. Burpo: “I’m talking about real, red-blooded patriotic Americans, and I say there’s no doubt in the minds of those Americans that Nazism and Fascism are evil, and that we want no part of it. And yet with increasing intensity, we observe references in the press to Nazis and Fascist activities in our country. Now there’ve been no exposures of such activity, just references veiled insular references, as far as we’ve been able to learn there is no real Nazi or Fascist threat within America, but we have during the course of investigation learned something very revealing. And that is, that there is a Communist conspiracy against this nation, against the churches, against the homes, against the schools and against your very life. And as a major tactic of this conspiracy – well AS a major tactic of this conspiracy is to smear the opposition with a Nazi or Fascist label. But let’s look at the real trouble that we’re facing today. Communist infiltration into the Race Revolution is becoming evident as investigation exposes leaders and organizations. A partial list of organizations involved in the Civil Rights Movement, which reportedly has Communist or Communist fronters in its leadership are . . .now I have a copy of this so I’m going to give it and I want every station to hold steady because we’re not going to incriminate you.

Continue reading »

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(Fred Hughes - as real as it gets)

I don't know what became of Fred Hughes. He had a major hit on the R&B charts with this track, Oo Wee Baby, I Love You, which he recorded for Vee-Jay in 1965. Shortly after that, he went over to Checker and later Brunswick and had a string of singles which didn't do as well as expected. And by the 1970s he more or less dropped out of the picture.

Unfortunately, it's a story that happens way too often, and some with tragic results.

Regardless of his whereabouts now, what he did do is record one of the classics of the Soul idiom, one which has endured well over these 40+ years. A song which no one has duplicated, despite a few attempts.

Not bad.

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(Little Richard, with Jimi Hendrix in the foreground - yes, but it was brief)

By the time Little Richard made his way over to Vee-Jay Records (after leaving Specialty, the label with all his hits), Vee-Jay was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. True, they were the first American label to issue a Beatles album, and they rang up a string of hits with other artists such as Betty Everett, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed and a ton of others. Bad management, shaky financial footing and some errors in judgment finally forced the label into receivership in late 1965, pretty much putting an end to Vee-Jay as a force in the music business and leaving a number of artists without a label.

But before it came to a crashing halt, Little Richard managed to do two sessions in 1964. One session was a greatest hits rehash of his earlier Specialty material. But the second session featured new material including this track I Don't Know What You've Got, featuring a then-unknown Jimi Hendrix on guitar, during a brief tenure with the band.

Sadly, this track hardly made a dent in the charts when it was issued in 1965. Richard would head off to another label shortly after and Hendrix would head off to England and start another chapter in rock n' roll history.

It does make you wonder what would have happened if history had turned out different.

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(France Gall . . .mon dieu!)

It occurred to me today that I haven't really gotten into the "ye`-ye`" side of French pop music here at all. Ye`-Ye` was a style of female vocals that only the French could produce. Wildly popular on the continent and, to a lesser degree, in the U.K. and Canada. It more or less defied description and was the sole property of the 1960s. Unfortunately it never caught on here. A few artists tried to crack the U.S. market. Francoise Hardy, probably the name most people here recognize, recorded one album in English and various labels issued a few others sporadically - none of them sold very well. France Gall, along with Hardy, Sylvie Vartan and many others have been indelibly associated with the "ye`-ye`" style and there have been a flood of reissues by them in recent years. Something of a resurgence in popularity of a very infectious form of pop music.

France Gall is one of the most enduring artists coming out of this period. She stopped performing in 2001 although her catalogue of albums and singles is vast. This track, Poupee de cire, poupee de son from 1965 gives a pretty good idea of what she was like during the heyday of the "ye`-ye`" phase of French Pop.

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(James Brown - Fulfilling a fantasy)

Everyone knows the voice of James Brown; you can't forget it and you can't mistake it for anyone else - that's a given.

But James Brown the instrumentalist - that's another story. In 1964 he was finally able to fulfill a lifelong dream and was signed by Smash Records to do an instrumental album featuring Brown on keyboards, backed by some of the best Jazz/Blues musicians in the country. No vocals.

The results baffled the fans at first. The first track issued in 1965 from those sessions "Evil" didn't chart. But Smash persisted and this track, Try Me, an instrumental version of his hit on King Records some years earlier, was a follow up single and it was a pretty good sized hit.

Needless to say - it is another unforgettable side of James Brown.

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(LBJ at The UN - selling The Great Society was one thing - Selling Vietnam was something else)

When President Johnson addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the occasion of its 20th anniversary in June 1965, he had very little trouble selling his concept of The Great Society to the rest of the world. It was when the subject of Vietnam and Southeast Asia came up that ears suddenly turned deaf and support dwindled. Support for the war was rapidly fading in the U.S. and protests were mounting in intensity on an almost daily basis as the war escalated to no seeming end.

So it was with mixed results that President Johnson made his case to the world body.

LBJ: “ We in this country are committing ourselves to great tasks in our own Great Society. We’re committed to narrowing the gap between promise and performance. Between equality and law and equality in fact. Between opportunity for the numerous well to do and the still too numerous poor. Between education for the successful and education for all of the people. It is no longer a community or a nation or a continent. But a whole generation of mankind for whom our promises must be kept and kept within the next two decades. And if those promises are not kept, it will be less and less possible to keep them for any. And that is why, on this anniversary I would call upon all member nations to rededicate themselves to wage together an international war on poverty.

War on Poverty sounded good - War in Southeast Asia - not good.

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(The Brothers Four - riding the crest of the Folk Wave)

Over the past several weeks I've been adding the other acts that appeared on this Folk Concert in 1965. Bud & Travis, Ian & Sylvia, Judy Collins and now, The Brothers Four.

Probably one of the more commercially successful of the folk acts to come out of the late 1950's/early 1960's period, they cut a wide swath of popularity and enjoyed considerable chart success with pop single releases and a stream of hit albums.

They've undergone many personnel changes over the years, but are still actively performing today.

But here they are as they were in 1965 - headlining at The Hollywood Bowl.

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(Sen. Everett Dirksen - master juggler, sometimes referred to as "The Wizard of Ooze")

With the current state of "bi-partisanship" having something of a hollow ring to it, I thought I would drag out an episode of Meet The Press from January 24, 1965 to hear how adults used to do it. As a result of the sweep by the Democrats in the 1964 election, the Republicans were the minority party. Everett Dirksen became Senate minority leader - he embodied The Loyal Opposition while maintaining some form of unity within a fractured Republican party.

Lawrence Spivak: “Senator Dirksen, there’s been a good deal debate over a long period of time over what the role of the minority party in Congress should be. How do you see the role of the Republican Party in Congress today?”

Sen. Dirksen: “Well, the role of the Republican party or any minority party for that matter, would be one of constructive opposition, not blind opposition. And by constructive opposition, I mean you accept the things that are good for the country. You try to amend or modify proposals that, in your judgment and judgment of the party, are not good. And if they contain more of evil, shall I say, than of good, then you reject them. But always you try to follow a constructive line”.

Dirksen was masterful at the art of negotiation, as was evidenced by his popularity on both sides of the aisle as well as his gift for abundant oratory. He was a fervent supporter of the Civil Rights Act and subsequent Civil Rights legislation. He was also a vocal supporter of the Vietnam War which put him in a precarious place as our involvement increased with no end in sight.

I suspect Dirksen would be seriously dismayed by the current state of his party - as I think many Republicans of the past would.

Voices of reason appear to be in short supply of late.

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(LBJ Signing Medicare Bill - hysteria conspicuously absent)

On July 28, 1965, the Senate passed by large margin the Medicare bill. Despite grumblings from the right of "socialized medicine" and other fear-based rants, common sense prevailed and one of the milestones of 20th century social programs became law.

Dallas Townsend: “Now awaiting Presidential signature in Washington, is the milestone program of Social Security expansion and health care for the elderly, or Medicare. The Senate passed it yesterday, 70-24 thus completing Congressional action.”

Proof it can happen.

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(The Dells - Doo-Wop, R&B, Soul and opening for Dinah Washington)

With the recent passing of John E. Carter (August 21), whose wonderful tenor made every Dells record a memorable experience, I thought I would put up one of their biggest hits, a track they originally recorded for Vee-Jay as a tribute. "Stay In My Corner" was an example of how versatile they were - running the spectrum from Doo-Wop in the mid-1950's over to R&B, Soul and Jazz. They were an amazingly talented group and Carter had the distinction of being inducted in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame twice - once for his earlier efforts with another memorable group, The Flamingos and later with The Dells.

RIP - you made some beautiful music and the world is better for it.

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(Manfred Mann - Not your average grab-bag of pretty faces)

During the first couple of years of the British invasion (1964-1966), one of the consistent hit makers were Manfred Mann. They turned out some memorable music and were one of the first British bands to record Dylan material "With God On Our Side", and it served them very well. Their second Dylan track, "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" (the one we've got here), did great in the UK - hitting at #2 before some of the lyrics and their implications were discovered and promptly banned from radio airplay. It was released here in the States, but as a B side so there was little, if any controversy because radio never played B-sides.

Despite that, Manfred Mann did very well and weathered some personnel changes before the band split up and resurfaced as Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

But this is 1965 and none of that has happened yet.

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(Judy Collins (w/Bassist Bill Lee) - at the cusp of being a household name )

Going back to the 60s this week - Judy Collins in her return appearance at the Hollywood Bowl from 1965. The same concert I featured a few weeks ago with Ian & Sylvia's first Hollywood Bowl performance, and Bud & Travis' last Bowl appearance. This is Collins still steeped in Folk Music tradition, not quite the next step that would cement her place in the 1960s lexicon, but right at the cusp.

History as it evolved.

Here it is, the complete set.

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(Robert McNamara - Every time he opened his mouth, doom flew out)

To anyone of a certain generation, the name Robert S. McNamara will probably evoke the same (or very similar) reactions as this generations Donald Rumsfeld does.

Anger, bitterness, rage, betrayal - simmering arrogance, wrongheadedness and simple belligerence. All over a war that, like Iraq, should not have existed in the first place. And yet it was McNamara's insistence we wage it, even to the point of deceit.

I remember his "Mea Culpa tour" of the 1990's, begging forgiveness for his wrongdoings and his errors - saying in fact, The Gulf of Tonkin incident may not have happened. And some 60,000 casualties and untold wounded later . . . .

But as Joseph N.Welch once told Joseph McCarthy: "Your forgiveness sir, will have to come from a power other than myself".

And so here is a Press Conference, typical of the McNamara era during the Vietnam War, from February 7, 1965 - as the escalation and casualties mount. As we sighed and waited for our draft notices to appear.