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4.20.68 -- American singer/songwriter James Taylor, introduced to the Beatles by Peter Asher, was the first non-British act to be signed to their Apple music label; his debut album would be released on Apple in December 1968.
Taylor's debut single, "Carolina in My Mind" was recorded at London's Trident Studios during the July to October 1968 period, and was produced by Asher. The song's lyric "holy host of others standing around me" makes reference to the Beatles, who were recording "The Beatles" album in the same studio where Taylor was recording his album. "Carolina in My Mind" includes a credited appearance by Paul McCartney on bass guitar and an uncredited one by George Harrison on backing vocals.
James Taylor disappeared by the time his debut album was released....
he ended of in hospital in the US, being treated for heroin addiction, an addiction
that plagued him for years. Peter Asher thought so highly of Taylor's talent, that he quit Apple and hunted him down, becoming his manager.
James Taylor signed a new record deal with Warner Brothers in October and immediately
started working on his breakthrough album, "Sweet Baby James", released in early 1970.
I have a vinyl copy of that album from Warner Brothers France...I picked it up at a used record store for $1 ....can't beat that, the french pressing of the LP is good quality too.
A bit of trivia ...James Taylor's debut album has a song titled ....
"Something in the Way She Moves" ....it inspired George Harrision to write
his best song "Something"....written during the "White Album" ...later recorded for
"Abbey Road" ....everybody did a cover of that song....infamously, Frank Sinatra
mentioned before singing it that it was his favorite Lennon-McCartney song!
April 23, 1989 -- One of my top five favorite albums. 'Full Moon Fever,' Tom Petty’s first solo album, was released. It sells 3 million copies and yields the hit singles “I Won’t Back Down” (#12), “Runnin’ Down a Dream” (#23), “Free Fallin’” (#7) and “A Face in the Crowd” (#46). It was produced by fellow Willbury and ELO front man Jeff Lynne. It was technically a solo album, but Mike Campbell and other Heartbreakers contributed to it and they all toured as a band in support of it. Lots of good songs on t, but this one is on my mind today.
According to the Sammy Hagar (The Red Rocker) page, his first album with Van Halen, "56150," was the #1 album in the country this week in 1986.
I don't think that album has aged particularly well. The next Van Hagar album, "OU812," was much better. And though I am a fan of Sammy, I prefer the stuff they did with Roth. All that said, "Best of Both Worlds" is a great song.
May 4, 1970: Four students were killed and eleven were wounded at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio by the National Guard during an anti-Vietnam rally. Neil Young would be inspired to write the song "Ohio" after seeing photos of the massacre in Life Magazine, and record it with Crosby, Stills, and Nash. It would be released as a single in June and peak at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The official Traveling Wilbury's Facebook account sent this out today, a few days early, but I'll post it now because I will forget otherwise -
Quote:
34 years ago this month, on May 8th, 1988, Nelson, Lucky, Lefty, Charlie T., and Otis Wilbury were joined by Buster Sidebury to begin two weeks of recording at Dave Stewart’s LA studio. The result was ‘The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1’.
One of the all-time great records by the most super of all super groups! Favorite tracks were "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" and "End of the Line" Their second album a few years later was "Vol. 3."
The band members all took fictional names for the record with the surname Wilbury. Buster Sidebury was drummer Jim Keltner.
Nelson - George Harrison
Lucky - Bob Dylan
Charlie T. Jr. - Tom Petty
Otis - Jeff Lynne
Lefty - Roy Orbison
I read where Tom Petty said they took a name so they would not sound like Crosby, Stills and Nash, or a bunch of layers. Traveling Wilburys was apparently a name Jeff Lynne (of ELO) and George Harrison gave to "spooky goings on with studio equipment" while Lynne produced Harrison's "Cloud 9" record. The genesis of the Wilburys is interesting. Lynne and Harrison needed to pick up one of Harrison's guitars he had left at Tom Petty's house and George non-chalantly asked Petty if he wanted to go back to the studio with them.
This is the interesting part to me. It's 1987 and thirteen years prior, Tom Petty was just some kid making music with his band in Gainesville. Now here he is living in Los Angele hanging with the former Beatle, George Harrison, to the point where Harrison has left a guitar at his house! Too cool.
The Beatles "Let It Be" album was released in the UK on Apple Records, May 8th 1970.
It was released 10 days later in North America....I have an original copy with gatefold cover,
"Red Apple" label AR-3400 ...distributed by United Artists (not Capitol),
because "Let It Be" movie also was distributed by United Artists, also released May 1970.
The UK version of the "Let It Be" album was in a box and came with 164 page book,
with color photos taken by the official photographer for the sessions, Ethan Russell.
Original pressings of the UK boxed album fetch over $1000 today.
Let It Be was confusing for Beatles fans back then....Abbey Road album had already been released in
late september 1969 and was recorded AFTER Let It Be.
The Beatles pictured on the front cover of Let It Be look more like the "White Ablum" Beatles,
which is not surprising as Let It Be was recorded about 3 months after the White Album!
In october 1968, Paul had the idea of the Beatles getting back to playing live shows again,
The Roundhouse in London was booked by the Beatles for dececember 12-23 1968,
The Beatles had checked out "The Doors" when they played shows at The Roundhouse in september 1968,
some of which was filmed for a documentary, 'The Doors Are Open".
That idea fell through....George Harrison was still in the US, recording an album for Jackie Lomax,
hanging out and writing songs with Bob Dylan (some of which he would present at the Get Back/Let It Be
sessions, rejected by Paul and John and ending up on his "All Things Must Pass" album).
It was then decided to make a documentary, filming the Beatles rehearsing for a TV Special/Concert...
director Michael Lindsay-Hogg was brought in....The Beatles liked him...he directed their
Paperback Writer/Rain promo films, he also directed "The Rolling Stones Rock 'n Roll Circus",
as well as previously directing their Jumpin' Jack Flash/Child of the Moon promo films.
Early filming was done at Twickenham Studios....terrible atmosphere, John and Yoko were strung out
on heroin, George Harrison not happy after enjoying his extended american stay, he felt like Paul and John were not giving his songs the proper attention they derserved....it almost came to blows on january 10th 1969,
George walked out saying he quit the Beatles. A compromise was worked out on january 15th 1969,
filming moved to Apple Studios with Billy Preston, that was the game changer, Beatles having fun again,
feeding off the great keyboard playing by Billy Preston.
They decided to cap it off by playing on the roof of Apple on january 30th 1969,
not sure if they knew that Jefferson Airplane had already did that on december 7th 1968,
in New York City, filmed by french director Jean Luc Goddard, who had filmed the Rolling Stones in June 1968,
recording their song 'Sympathy for the Devil". Maybe it was just a coincidence....anyway,
the roof "concert" was magic...in fact some of the songs on Let It Be are from it.
Glyn Johns produced a version of the album entitled "Get Back" in the spring of 1969,
The Beatles rejected it as they were already busy working on Abbey Road.
By early 1970 The Beatles scrambled to record the song "I Me Mine" as it was to be featured in the movie and had not been recorded at the january 1969 sessions.
Phil Spector was brought in to produce a new version of the album and he used all his
over production techniques ....choirs....strings...you name it....for "Across the Universe",
Spector just used the old february 8th 1968 recording...slowed it down a bit ...added heavenly choirs and strings....John Lennon liked what he heard (John would use Spector for many of his solo albums),
Paul McCartney did not like what he did to "The Long and Winding Road" ...prefered it stripped down.
Let It Be, the movie was released to cinemas in May 1970,directly competing with movie version of "Woodstock" released that same month. None of The Beatles showed up to the premiere...kind of sad.
Last edited by GTB365; 05-08-2022 at 06:38 PM..
Reason: spelling
1981 - Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley died aged 36. In July 1977, Marley was found to have a type of malignant melanoma under the nail of a toe, Marley's health deteriorated as the cancer had spread throughout his body. Marley had the 1981 single 'No Woman No Cry', plus over ten other UK Top 40 singles. In 1990, the 6th February was proclaimed a national holiday in Jamaica to commemorate his birth. The compilation album, Legend, released in 1984, is the best-selling reggae album ever with sales of more than 20 million copies. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.
May 12, 1963 - Bob Dylan walked out of rehearsals for the US TV Ed Sullivan show after being told he couldn't perform his song 'Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues' due to it mocking the US military and segregation. CBS officials asked Dylan to substitute it for another song, but the singer reportedly said: 'No, this is what I want to do. If I can't play my song, I'd rather not appear on the show'.
Jimi Hendrix Experience album "Are You Experienced?" released in UK on May 12, 1967.
55 years ago today!
A groundbreaking album...every song memorable...
In the UK singles were not included on albums....
Track listing is...
Foxy Lady
Manic Depression
Red House
Can You See Me ?
Love or Confusion
I Don't Live Today
May This Be Love
Fire
3rd Stone From the Sun
Remember
Are You Experienced ?
The US version was released a couple months later and it includes the hits...
Hey Joe
Purple Haze
The Wind Cries Mary
Deleting some songs like "Can You See Me?" and "Remember"
Jimi Hendrix was a game changer...Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend went to see
him play small London Clubs in late 66 / early 67.
The Beatles were intrigued...they went to see Jimi play too.
Stephen Stills and Peter Tork both became instant huge fans....
Stills immediately went out and bought a Marshall stack.
Peter Tork insisted that Jimi Hendrix open for the Monkees on their summer 67 Tour.
Hendrix was that good.....imo the best electric guitarist ever.
I know there are a ton of people who can play faster and smoother,
but no one had his feel ....his was at one with the guitar ...it was a part of his soul,
studio recordings were good but he really shone playing live...some nights were better than others ,
but sometimes pure magic ....and fortunately there are so many live bootleg recordings.
I Don't Live to Today....love the intro riff and drumming by Mitch Mitchell.
Live versions Jimi would mumble something like "Existing...nothing but existing,
misunderstood" ...then would go into extreme whammy bar feedback...love it!
Foxy Lady....a real classic ...playing a similar "Hendrix chord" as Purple Haze (E7add5) but
this time in F# ...starting about mid 1968 Hendrix tuned his guitar down to E flat...
and played Foxy Lady in E (really E flat)...youtube has a super version filmed at the
Miami Pop festival in 1968.
3rd Stone from the Sun ....mostly an instrumental ...except for some slowed down vocals...
features some Wes Montgomery style jazz octave chording...it really swings...
Manic Depression....wow ...a real burner in a odd time signature changes...
if you listen to it closely with headphones during the guitar solo, Jimi says "I know guitar".
Fire....another classic ..."move over rover and let Jimi take over"....
aparently Hendrix was at a Christmas party in London and the room was cold...
and Jimi stood next to the fireplace to get warm...hence the lyric "can I stand next to your fire".
Hey Joe ...one of my personal faves...it was written by Billy Roberts circa 1961...you can hear his version
on youtube...he plays it on a 12 string...the chord progression is great C G D A to E ...
and has a very cool bass riff progression thing that jimi came up with...
I read that it is a circle of "fifths"....fun to play and fantastic to solo over it...the song was played
by many bands in the mid 60s....The Leaves...The Byrds...Love....all playing it fast...
Tim Rose played it real slow and Hendrix copied that...with a neat little Hendrix intro.
Purple Haze ...ground breaking classic of all time....starting with that octave thing
in B flat which is strange as the song is in E...the solo is a strange one ...certainly not blues scale,
Jimi playing it through an "octavia" custom built for Hendrix by Roger Mayer.
The fade out is odd too...again with headphones you can hear Jimi saying things like "acid"...
I've read that the song is about acid ..."excuse me while I kiss the sky"...also read that
the song was written on "Boxing Day", december 26th 1966 ...."purple haze" meaning that
Hendrix was barely seeing the sun in his early days in London....playing gigs into the wee hours,
clubing, burning the candle on both ends...waking up mid afternoon only to see the sun setting
on those short english winter days...only seeing a brief "purple haze"....
The Wind Cries Mary....love this gentle song...fantastic Stratocaster tone....
when Jimi Hendrix died on september 18th 1970 ...Eric Clapton was recording his
classic "Derek and the Dominos" album....devasted by the news ...Eric and his group
which included Duane Allman...recorded their version ...almost as good as the original.
Sadly, Duane would die only one year later in a motorcyle accident.
Last edited by GTB365; 05-12-2022 at 02:26 PM..
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