LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 29, 2019… HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MELISSA ETHERIDGE. TODAY MELISSA TURNS 58 YEARS YOUNG. ETHERIDGE IS ONE OF ROCK’S GREAT FEMALE ICONS. SHE BURST ON THE SCENE WITH HER DEBUT ALBUM FOR WHICH SHE WON HER FIRST GRAMMY AWARD. IN THE PAST 30 YEARS MELISSA ETHERIDGE IS TIED WITH CELINE DION FOR THE 5TH MOST TOP 40 ALBUMS AMONG WOMEN. SHE'S SOLD OVER 16 MILLION RECORDS. SHE’S RECEIVED 15 GRAMMY NOMINATIONS OVER THE YEARS, WINNING TWO GRAMMY AWARDS, AN OSCAR FOR “BEST ORIGINAL SONG IN 2007, AND APPEARED ON BROADWAY IN GREEN DAY’S ROCK OPERA “AMERICAN IDIOT”.

IN 2016 SHE RELEASED THE SONG ‘PULSE’

SHE WROTE THE SONG IN REACTION TO THE MASS SHOOTINGS THAT TOOK PLACE IN ORLANDO JUNE 12, 2016. SHE TOLD ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE:

“We want to try to make sense. We want to try to heal. We want to bring some meaning, some purpose. We also want to put it down forever in history. That’s how I’m coping.”

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SONG ‘PULSE’ BENEFIT EQUALITY FLORIDA,

THE STATE’S LARGEST LGBT CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION.

IN 2004 ETHERIDGE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER, AND SHE UNDERWENT SURGERY AND CHEMOTHERAPY. SHE RETURNED TO THE STAGE IN 2005 AT THE GRAMMY AWARDS, AND DESPITE BEING BALD FROM THE CHEMO, SHE PERFORMED AN INCREDIBLE TRIBUTE TO JANIS JOPLIN.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MELISSA ETHERIDGE

HER TALENT IS SECOND TO NONE AND I LOVE EVERYTHING SHE STANDS FOR.

HERE’S HER GUTSY AND AWESOME TRIBUTE TO JANIS JOPLIN.

photo thanks-Dirk Haun

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 29, 2019…FORTY SEVEN YEARS AGO ALICE COOPER RELEASED AN ANTHEM, THE SINGLE ‘SCHOOL’S OUT.’

IT WAS THE FIRST SINGLE ISSUED FROM THE ALBUM OF THE SAME NAME. COOPER SAID HE WAS INSPIRED TO WRITE THE SONG WHEN ANSWERING THE QUESTION:

"What's the greatest three minutes of your life?". Cooper said: "There's two times during the year. One is Christmas morning, when you're just getting ready to open the presents. The greed factor is right there. The next one is the last three minutes of the last day of school when you're sitting there and it's like a slow fuse burning. I said, 'If we can catch that three minutes in a song, it's going to be so big.'"

IT WAS BIG. IT WENT TO NUMBER 7 ON THE BILLBOARD SINGLES CHARTS

AND IS EVERY KID’S THEME SONG WITH THE END OF SCHOOL YEAR.

ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE RANKED THE SONG ON THEIR LIST OF “THE 500 GREATEST SONGS OF ALL-TIME”, AND VH1 NAMED IT #35 ON THEIR LIST OF “THE BEST HARD ROCK SONGS OF ALL-TIME.”

HERE’S ALICE FROM A TV APPEARANCE IN 1972

HERE’S A LIVE VERSION OF ALICE COOPER FROM ALICE COOPER: TRASHES THE WORLD

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 29, 2019…TWENTY NINE YEARS AGO, DAVID BOWIE ROCKED THE SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE. THE DATE WAS MAY 29TH 1990. IT WAS PART OF BOWIE’S “SOUND AND VISION TOUR”. IT WAS A GREATEST HITS TOUR INTENDED TO RETIRE HIS BACK CATALOGUE OF HITS FROM LIVE PERFORMANCES. THE TOUR WAS 7 MONTHS LONG, SPANNED 27 COUNTRIES AND BOWIE PERFORMED 108 SHOWS. THE TOUR GROSSED 20 MILLION DOLLARS.

HERE’S WHAT WAS PLAYED AT SHORELINE, COURTESY OF SETLIST.COM:

Space Oddity

Changes

TVC15

Rebel Rebel

Ashes to Ashe

Fashion

Life on Mars?

Blue Jean

Let's Dance

Pretty Pink Rose

Stay

Sound and Vision

Ziggy Stardust

China Girl

Station to Station

Young Americans

Suffragette City

Fame

"Heroes"

Encore:

Panic in Detroit

The Jean Genie

HERE’S BOWIE LIVE IN 1990 WITH SUFFRAGETTE CITY

photo thanks-Rosana Prada

During Neil Young's headline set at this year's BottleRock in Napa, he went over curfew as he was playing his last song of the night. Unfortunately, this led to his power being cut off.

In the video below, at around the 8:00 mark, as you see Neil Young coming out of the breakdown during "Keep On Rocking In The Free World" you hear Neil and his band's instruments gradually go down in volume.

The crowd jumped in to singing along to help finish out the song.

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 28, 2019…IT WAS 1983 AND A HUGE 3 DAY MUSIC FESTIVAL TOOK PLACE JUST OUTSIDE OF SAN BERNARDINO.

IT WAS THE US FESTIVAL 1983. THE LINEUP WAS INCREDIBLE, AND INCLUDED

VAN HALEN, THE PRETENDERS, U2, THE CLASH, INXS, STEVIE NICKS, DAVID BOWIE, JOE WALSH, MOTLEY CRUE, THE SCORPIONS, OZZY OSBOURNE, TRIUMPH, JOHN COUGAR AND JUDAS PRIEST. WHAT’S INCREDIBLE TO ME IS TICKETS WERE ONLY 20 BUCKS A DAY TO GET IN !! TOTAL ATTENDANCE WAS 570,000 PAYING CUSTOMERS. THE FESTIVAL LOST 12 MILLION DOLLARS !! RUH ROH !! MAYBE THEY SHOULD HAVE CHARGED A FEW MORE BUCKS. PLUS THERE WERE 2 REPORTED DEATHS.

HERE’S THE ENTIRE SET FROM VAN HALEN

HERE’S MOTLEY CRUE (ENTIRE SET)

QUIET RIOT

JUDAS PRIEST

OZZY

STEVIE NICKS

SCORPIONS

JOE WALSH

TRIUMPH

THE CLASH

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 28, 2019…HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BAY AREA NATIVE JOHN FOGERTY. TODAY JOHN TURNS 74 YEARS OF AGE. FOGERTY WAS BORN IN BERKELEY AND GREW UP IN EL CERRITO AND CONSIDERS THE BAY AREA HOME. FOGERTY HIT IT BIG WITH HIS BAND CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL AND WAS ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC HIT MACHINES IN THE HISTORY OF MUSIC WITH 22 SONGS AT OR NEAR THE TOP OF THE CHARTS IN 5 YEARS ! THE GROUP BROKE UP IN 1971 AND HE RELEASED A

SOLO ALBUM IN 1975, BUT WAS FORCED INTO A LONG HIATUS BECAUSE HIS RECORD COMPANY (FANTASY RECORDS, WHICH HE DESPISED) OWNED THE RIGHTS TO ANY MUSIC HE MADE. IT WASN’T UNTIL 1985 HE SETTLED HIS DISPUTE WITH THE RECORD COMPANY AND WAS ABLE TO RELEASE THE SOLO ALBUM ‘CENTERFIELD’. THINK OF IT, THESE RECORD COMPANY WEASELS BASICALLY PREVENTED HIM FROM RELEASING MUSIC FOR 10 YEARS. THE ONLY BRIGHTSIDE ACCORDING TO FOGERTY, WAS IT ENABLED HIM TO AVOID THE WHOLE DISCO ERA ( FOGERTY’S STANCE IS “DISCO SUCKS” !!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY TO JOHN FOGERTY.

HERE’S THE BIRTHDAY BOY WITH CCR PERFORMING AT WOODSTOCK 1969 (THE QUALITY OF THE VIDEO HAS BEEN ENHANCED AND IT IS SPECTACULAR)

photo thanks-ceedub13

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 28, 2019…YOU CAN’T STOP ROCK N’ ROLL.

THE FOO FIGHTERS ALWAYS PUT ON A GREAT SHOW, AND WHEN THEY PLAYED AT THE BOTTLEROCK MUSIC FESTIVAL 2 YEARS AGO THE HAD A SET THAT WENT A FEW MINUTES LONGER THAN SCHEDULED. HOWEVER SOMETHING INCREDIBLE HAPPENED. THE FOO FIGHTERS HAD THE POWER TURNED OFF DURING THEIR LAST SONG @ 2017 BOTTLEROCK.

NOW WHAT DOUCHEBAG MAKES THAT CALL TO TURN THE POWER OFF WHEN THE GROUP IS IN THE LAST SONG OF THE SET ?

THEN SOMETHING MAGICAL HAPPENED. THEY JUST KEPT ON PLAYING !! WITHOUT THE POWER, AND THE CROWD SANG ALONG.

ONE OF THE MANY REASONS TO LOVE THE FOO FIGHTERS...HERE’S VIDEO.

PHOTO THANKS-THE GREAT JIMMY O’SHEEHAN Jimmy O'Sheehan Photography

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 27, 2019… THIRTY TWO YEARS AGO U2 RELEASED THE SINGLE ‘I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR’ FROM THE ALBUM ‘THE JOSHUA TREE.’

IT WAS THE SECOND SINGLE RELEASE FROM THE EPIC ALBUM (THE FIRST SINGLE WAS ‘WITH OR WITHOUT YOU’). IT BECAME THE GROUP’S SECOND CONSECUTIVE NUMBER ONE SINGLE. THE TRACK WAS INFLUENCED BY GOSPEL MUSIC. BONO WANTED THE JOSHUA TREE TO EXPLORE VARIOUS FORMS OF AMERICAN MUSIC THE GROUP EXPERIENCED WHEN IT WAS ON TOUR. I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR RECEIVED TWO NOMINATIONS FOR GRAMMY AWARDS IN 1988, FOR BOTH “RECORD OF THE YEAR” AND “SONG OF THE YEAR”

ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE ALSO RANKS IT AT # 93 ON IT’S LIST OF “THE 500 GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME.”

HERE’S THE OFFICIAL VIDEO

AND HERE’S THE GREATEST VERSION, A LIVE PERFORMANCE FROM THE CD ‘RATTLE AND HUM’ (THE VIDEO IS GRAINY, BUT THE GOSPEL CHOIR MAKES UP FOR THE VIDEO)

Amber

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 27, 2019…IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT 2 YEARS AGO TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS ROCKED NAPA @ THE 2017 BOTTLEROCK MUSIC FESTIVAL. WHO KNEW THAT CATCHING THAT SHOW WOULD BE ONE OF OUR LAST OPPORTUNITIES TO WATCH PETTY IN CONCERT, WITH PETTY PASSING AWAY ONLY 128 DAYS LATER ON OCTOBER 2ND OF AN ACCIDENTAL DRUG OVERDOSE.

HERE’S SOME GREAT CELL PHONE FOOTAGE OF PETTY AT BOTTLEROCK IN NAPA.

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 26, 2019…REASON NUMBER 5 MILLION TO LOVE THE FOO FIGHTERS. TWO YEARS AGO THE FOO FIGHTERS WERE GETTING READY FOR THEIR GIG AT BOTTLEROCK, AND PLAYED THE BLUE NOTE IN NAPA TO A CAPACITY CROWD OF 150 PEOPLE !!

HERE’S SOME CELL PHONE VIDEO FROM THAT SHOW

PHOTO CREDIT-THE GREAT JIMMY O’SHEEHAN Jimmy O'Sheehan Photography