Lamont

FORTY-THREE YEARS AGO HEART  RELEASED THEIR 3RD STUDIO ALBUM ‘LITTLE QUEEN’. IF THERE’S EVER ANY REASON, AND I MEAN ANY REASON TO BECOME A HEART FAN, IT’S THIS ALBUM. HERE’S MY REASONING. THE ALBUM PRODUCED A GREAT HEART SONG ‘BARRACUDA’. I LOVE THE SONG, BUT WHEN YOU HEAR THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG, YOU’LL HAVE A NEWFOUND RESPECT FOR THE WILSON SISTERS. THE SONG WAS WRITTEN BY ANN AND NANCY WILSON TOGETHER WITH GUITARIST ROGER FISHER AND DRUMMER MICHAEL DEROSIER. ACCORDING TO THE BAND, THE SONG IS ABOUT THE RECORD INDUSTRY IN GENERAL. IT WAS WRITTEN AT A TIME WHEN THERE WAS FRICTION BETWEEN THE BAND AND THEIR OLD RECORD LABEL. ‘LITTLE QUEEN’ WAS THE FIRST ALBUM HEART RELEASED FOR THE CBS-PORTRAIT LABEL. THEIR OLD LABEL, MUSHROOM RECORDS, SUED THE BAND, AND IN 1978 RELEASE ‘MAGAZINE’, AN ALBUM MADE UP OF MATERIAL HEART DID NOT WANT RELEASED.  THE WILSON SISTERS REVEALED THAT THEY WROTE BARRACUDA IN ANGER AFTER MUSHROOM RECORDS PLACED AN AD IN TRADE PUBLICATIONS IMPLYING THAT THE WILSON SISTERS WERE LESBIANS HAVING AN AFFAIR ! THE SONG FOCUSES ON ANN’S RAGE TOWARDS A PROMOTER WHO CAME UP TO HER AFTER A SHOW AND ASKED HER HOW HER “LOVER” WAS. SHE INITIALLY THOUGHT HE WAS REFERRING TO HER THEN IN-BAND BOYFRIEND MICHAEL FISHER. AFTER THE PROMOTER(TOOL) REVEALED IT WAS HER SISTER NANCY, ANN GOT PISSED AND WENT TO HER HOTEL ROOM AND WROTE ‘BARRACUDA.’ RUMOR HAS IT THE ORIGINAL TITLE WAS “MOTHER F***ERS” BUT THE NEW RECORD COMPANY ASKED FOR A BETTER TITLE. NANCY SUBSEQUENTLY CHANGED IT TO ‘BARRACUDA’ COMPARING THE SLEAZY SIDE OF MUSIC TO THE DANGEROUS FISH.  IT MAKES YOU WONDER, WHAT KIND OF PIECE OF SH** WOULD ACCUSE TWO SISTERS OF HAVING SEX TOGETHER TO GET EVEN IN A BUSINESS DEAL !?? GOOD ON YOU ANN AND NANCY WILSON. MAD PROPS ON GETTING EVEN AND WRITING A FANTASTIC ROCK SONG. I ONLY WISH I COULD HAVE HEARD THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF ‘MOTHER F****ER’

HERE’S HEART PERFORMING BARRACUDA IN 1977

ON THIS DATE 4 YEARS AGO, “THE KING OF BLUES” DIED IN HIS SLEEP AT THE AGE OF 89 FROM A SERIES OF SMALL STROKES CAUSED BY TYPE 2 DIABETES. WHEN KING PASSED AWAY IN 2015, IT CAN TRULY BE SAID HE INFLUENCED A GENERATION OF MUSICIANS. IN THE 1950’S KING WAS A MEMPHIS DJ AND STRUGGLING MUSICIAN. KING PLAYED A ROY HAWKINS ORIGINAL ON THE AIR. THE SONG IS ABOUT MOVING ON FROM A RELATIONSHIP. THE SONG WAS ‘THE THRILL IS GONE.’ KING HIMSELF RECORDED THE SONG SEVERAL TIMES, BUT DIDN’T LIKE ANY OF THE RESULTS. THE PRODUCER BILL SZYMCZYK (MOST FAMOUS FOR LATER PRODUCING THE EAGLES) CALLED KING AT 4 A.M. AND SUGGESTED ADDING STRINGS TO THE SONG. KING LATER SAID HE WOULD HAVE AGREED TO ALMOST ANYTHING AT THAT TIME OF THE NIGHT. THE ADDITION GAVE KING HIS FIRST MILLION SELLING RECORD (AND ENDED HIS RADIO CAREER).

THIS WAS KING’S BIGGEST SELLING HIT. COMMERCIALLY HE DIDN’T HAVE MUCH SUCCESS ON THE CHARTS, BUT HE DID BECOME A BLUES LEGEND THAT TOUCHED MILLIONS OF FANS.  HERE’S THE GREAT B.B. KING PERFORMING ‘THE THRILL IS GONE’ IN 1989.

HERE’S AN AWESOME VIDEO WITH BB KING, SLASH, AND AN ALL-STAR JAM.

bb king photo thanks-Aaron Warren

TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO VAN HALEN PLAYED OAKLAND ON “THE BALANCE TOUR.” IT WAS ALSO CALLED THE “AMBULANCE” TOUR BY EDDIE VAN HALEN BECAUSE EDDIE WAS HOBBLED FOR MOST OF THE TOUR DUE TO A HIP INJURY, AND HIS BROTHER ALEX WORE A NECK BRACE FOR MOST OF THE TOUR. THIS WOULD BE THE LAST TOUR WITH SAMMY HAGAR HANDLING LEAD VOCALS UNTIL A REUNION IN 2004. THE OPENING NIGHT IN FLORIDA AND 2 SHOWS FROM TORONTO CANADA WERE BROADCAST ON PAY PER VIEW. THERE WERE ALSO PLANS TO RELEASE FOOTAGE FROM THE TWO TORONTO SHOWS ON DVD, BUT IT WAS NEVER RELEASED. THE BALANCE TOUR LASTED 7 LEGS WITH 135 SHOWS, AND EARNED OVER $ 30 MILLION DOLLARS. HERE’S THE FULL SHOW PAY PER VIEW SPECIAL

TWENTY SEVEN YEARS AGO ‘PLUSH’ FROM STP WAS RELEASED AS A SINGLE IN THE UK AND EUROPE. IN AMERICA NO SINGLES FROM THE ALBUM ‘CORE’ WERE MADE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE, SINCE ATLANTIC RECORDS LIKED SELLING $16 ALBUMS MORE THAN $2 SINGLES. DESPITE NOT BEING RELEASED IN THE USA AS A SINGLE, THE SONG HIT # 1 ON THE ALBUM ROCK CHART. PLUSH ALSO WON THE GRAMMY IN 1994 IN THE CATEGORY OF “BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE” AND EARNED STP AN “MTV MUSIC AWARD” FOR “THE BEST NEW ARTIST” IN 1993.  THE LYRICS FOR ‘PLUSH’ WERE ACTUALLY INSPIRED BY AN UNFORTUNATE EVENT IN STP’S HOMETOWN OF SAN DIEGO ABOUT A MISSING WOMAN WHO WAS LATER DISCOVERED DEAD BY LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT (AND I FEEL, WHEN THE DOGS BEGIN TO SMELL HER…”) OTHER WEIRD FACTS ABOUT ‘PLUSH INCLUDE THE TITLE NEVER APPEARS IN THE LYRICS OF THE ACTUAL SONG. THIS IS ALSO TRUE OF THE ‘CORE’ TRACKS ‘SEX TYPE THING’ AND ‘NAKED SUNDAY’.  THE LINE “WHERE YOU GOING WITH THE MASK I FOUND” IS OFTEN MISHEARD AS “WHERE YOU GOING WITH THE MASTER PLAN?”

HERE’S THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR ‘PLUSH’ WITH STP

AND FINALLY, FILE THIS ONE UNDER WTF !!! ON THIS DATEIN 1971, ON HIS 21ST BIRTHDAY, STEVIE WONDER RECEIVED ALL OF HIS CHILDHOOD EARNINGS. DESPITE HAVING EARNED OVER $30 MILLION DOLLARS FROM RECORD SALES AND CONSTANT TOURING, HE RECEIVED ON $1 MILLION DOLLARS. ONE WOULD SAY THEY ROBBED HIM BLIND. I HOPE THIS YEAR HE’S HAVING A BETTER BIRTHDAY !! HAPPY 69TH BIRTHDAY STEVIE WONDER.

HERE’S SOME LIVE STEVIE WONDER.

AND ANOTHER…… JUST BECAUSE I LOVE STEVIE WONDER

stevie wonder photo thanks- Mary

van halen photo thanks-Rogelio A. Galaviz C.

TWENTY THREE YEARS AGO RUSH ROCKED SHORELINE AMPHITHEATER . IT WAS THE BAND’S ‘TEST FOR ECHO’ TOUR AND ACCORDING TO THE GROUP’S WEBSITE:  “The Test For Echo tour was the band’s first tour without an opening act, and was billed as “An Evening With Rush.” The tour kicked off October 19, 1996 at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York and culminated on July 4, 1997 at the Corel Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. This was the only concert tour in which Rush played the song “2112” in its entirety.”

HERE’S RUSH WITH THE ENTIRE SHOW IN THEIR HOMETOWN OF TORONTO, CANADA

AND ON THIS DATE IN 1987 BILLY IDOL PLAYED THE COW PALACE. HERE’S THE ENTIRE BILLY IDOL SET (AUDIO ONLY)

AND ON THIS DATE IN IN 1970 THE BEATLES RELEASED THEIR FINAL SINGLE TOGETHER AS A GROUP ‘THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD’ . THE SONG ACTUALLY STARTED OUT AS A SIMPLE MCCARTNEY BALLAD, WRITTEN AT A TIME WHEN THE CRACKS IN THE BEATLES WERE GETTING DEEP. A DEMO WAS RECORDED FOR THE ‘WHITE ALBUM’ SESSIONS BUT WAS TAKEN NO FURTHER. HOWEVER, BY 1970 THE GROUP WAS BREAKING UP AND PHIL SPECTOR WAS BROUGHT IN TO GO THROUGH THE TAPES AND PRODUCE AN ALBUM (AGAINST MCCARTNEY’S WISHES). ON THIS SONG, SPECTOR TOOK OUT MOST OF THE INSTRUMENTS FROM THE BAND, AND LAYERED IN INSTRUMENTS TO “FILL OUT THE SOUND”. AS A MATTER OF FACT, SPECTOR HAD THE HARRISON AND RINGO PARTS REMOVED FROM THE SONG, SO THEY DON’T APPEAR ON THE TRACK AT ALL. PLUS, THIS IS THE ONLY BEATLES SONG TO FEATURE JOHN LENNON ON BASS. HE NORMALLY PLAYED RHYTHM GUITAR. EVEN THOUGH MCCARTNEY WROTE THE SONG, HE WASN’T THERE WHEN SPECTOR PRODUCED IT. WHEN MACA HEARD THE RESULTS, HE MADE IT CLEAR HE HATED WHAT SPECTOR DID TO HIS SONG, AND TRIED TO GET THE ORIGINAL VERSION WHICH WAS MIXED BY ENGINEER GLYN JOHNS ON THE ALBUM. THE BAND WAS FALLING APART, AND HARRISON AND LENNON SUPPORTED SPECTOR. WTF !!! PAUL MCCARTNEY HAS NOT CHANGED HIS STANCE OVER THE YEARS, AND STILL BELIEVES SPECTOR BUTCHERED HIS SONG. MCCARTNEY ACTUALLY WAS ABLE TO BLOCK THE RELEASE OF THIS  SONG IN THE UK, BUT COULD NOT PREVENT IT’S RELEASE IN THE US WHERE IT TOPPED THE CHARTS FOR 2 WEEKS.  

THE SONG ACTUALLY TOOK 19 TAKES IN THE STUDIO TO GET THE FINAL VERSION. THIS IS A FASCINATING COMPILATION OF AUDIO OUTTAKES OF THE BEATLES WORKING ON THE SONG IN THE STUDIO   

HERE’S VIDEO OF MCCARTNEY  IN THE STUDIO WITH THE BEATLES

AND FINALLY HERE’S THE STRIPPED DOWN ‘NAKED’ VERSION MCCARTNEY HAD IN MIND WHEN HE RECORDED THE SONG

billy idol photo-best photo man ever Jim Sheehan https://www.facebook.com/jimmyosheehan/

rush photo-Mary

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 9, 2019…ON THIS DAY IN 1970, THE GUESS WHO (MY FAVORITE BAND GROWING UP, THEY ARE FROM MY HOMETOWN OF WINNIPEG CANADA) HIT # 1 ON THE CHARTS WITH AMERICAN WOMAN. THE ALBUM WAS A FREAKIN’ MONSTER OF A RECORD. THIS WAS THE 6TH STUDIO ALBUM FROM THE GROUP, AND WAS THE FINAL RECORD TO FEATURE GUITARIST RANDY BACHMAN. THE RECORD STAYED ON THE CHARTS FOR OVER A YEAR. THE ALBUM FEATURED 3 HIT SINGLES, AND SOLD OVER 20 MILLION COPIES.  AT THE TIME OF THE RELEASE IT WAS AVAILABLE AS AN ALBUM OR QUADRAPHONIC 8 TRACK. IT WASN’T RELEASED AS A CD UNTIL 1998 !!! WHY THE RUSH !

QUICK NOTE, IN 1970 THE GUESS WHO OUTSOLD BOTH THE BEATLES AND THE ROLLING STONES.

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MAY 8, 2020…ON THIS DATE 50 YEARS AGO IT WAS THE END OF AN ERA FOR THE BEATLES, WITH THE RELEASE OF THEIR FINAL STUDIO ALBUM ‘LET IT BE’. 

THE ALBUM WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO BE CALLED ‘GET BACK’ AND IT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE GROUP’S FINAL RECORD . THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT FOR THE ‘GET BACK ALBUM’ WAS THE BAND WAS GOING TO RECORD IT IN FRONT OF A LIVE TV AUDIENCE, WITH ANOTHER TV SPECIAL SHOWING THE GROUP PRACTICING THE SONGS IN A STUDIO. IT WAS GOING TO BE THE BEATLES GETTING BACK TO THEIR ROOTS PLAYING LIVE MUSIC INSTEAD OF BUSTING THEIR BALLS IN THE STUDIO LIKE THEY DID ON ‘THE WHITE ALBUM’. HOWEVER SOMETHING WENT HORRIBLY WRONG. WHEN THEY WERE PUTTING THE ALBUM TOGETHER, GEORGE HARRISON WALKED OUT OF THE SESSIONS.  WHEN HE RETURNED, THEY DROPPED THE LIVE ANGLE, AND DECIDED TO USE THE TV FOOTAGE AS THEIR LAST MOVIE. WHILE THE MOVIE WAS BEING EDITED, THE BEATLES RECORDED AND RELEASED ‘ABBEY ROAD’, AND THEN THEY BROKE UP !!

WHAT TO DO , THEY STILL HAD THIS ALBUM, AND EVENTUALLY PHIL SPECTOR WAS GIVEN THE TAPES AND ASKED TO PRODUCE THE PROJECT.  THE ALBUM WAS RELEASED MONTHS AFTER THE BEATLES BROKE UP, AND IT WAS DECIDED ‘LET IT BE’ WAS A MORE APPROPRIATE NAME FOR THE RECORD THAT ‘GET BACK’.  AT THE TIME OF ITS RELEASE, THE ALBUM ‘LET IT BE’ HAD THE LARGEST INITIAL SALES IN U.S. RECORD HISTORY WITH 3.7 MILLION ADVANCE ORDERS.  

HERE’S THE GROUP WORKING ON ‘LET IT BE’ IN THE STUDIO