WINGS AND BOND, DOOBIES , RON WOOD AND THE TALKING HEADS

IN 1986 THE LOS ANGELES TIMES DID A READERS POLL AND THE DOOBIE BROTHERS WERE THE BAND THE READERS WANTED TO SEE REUNITED, BEHIND LED ZEPPELIN. ON THIS DATE IN 1991 THE DOOBIE BROTHERS PLAYED THE SHORELINE AMPHITHEATER TO A SRO CROWD. HERE’S TE SETLIST FROM THAT MAGICAL NIGHT AT THE SHORELINE: Dangerous, Showdown, Rockin’ Down the Highway,Jesus Is Just Alright, The Doctor, Need a Little Taste of Love, Rollin’ On, Is Love Enough, Divided Highway, South of the Border, Excited, Neal’s Fandango, South City Midnight Lady, Black Water, Something You Said, Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While), Long Train Runnin’, China Grove, Without You, Listen to the Music

HERE ARE THE DOOBIES WITH A LIVE VERSION OF CHINA GROVE

IN EARLY 1973 PAUL MCCARTNEY WAS ASKED BY THE PRODUCERS OF THE JAMES BOND MOVIE FRANCHISE TO WRITE A SONG FOR THE UPCOMING JAMES BOND MOVIE AND HAVE SOMEONE ELSE PERFORM IT. HE AGREED TO WRITE IT, ONLY IF HE AND HIS BAND THE WINGS COULD PERFORM THE SONG. HE WROTE THE SONG ‘LIVE AND LET DIE’. IT WAS ACTUALLY A PLAY ON THE PHRASE “LIVE AND LET LIVE”. IT WAS THE FIRST BOND MOVIE TO STAR ROGER MOORE IN THE LEAD ROLE. WINGS CO-FOUNDER AND ORIGINAL DRUMMER DENNY SEIWELL SAID THIS OF THE SONG:

“Everybody thought it was cool that we were doing something for James Bond. I remember what Paul told us – he said a couple weeks before we did the actual recording, he said they wanted him to write the theme to the next James Bond movie, and they sent him the book to read. And we were up at the house one day and he had just read the book the night before, and he sat down at the piano and said, ‘James Bond… James Bond… da-da-dum!’, and he started screwing around at the piano. Within 10 minutes, he had that song written. It was awesome, really. Just to watch him get in there and write the song was really something I’ll remember the rest of my life.” 

THE SONG WAS A HUGE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS FOR MCCARTNEY AND THE WINGS, INSTANTLY SELLING OVER A MILLION COPIES IN 1973. IT WAS ALSO NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY AWARD. IN 2012, MCCARTNEY WAS AWARDED THE MILLION-AIR AWARD FROM BMI ( BROADCAST MUSIC,INC. AN INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION) FOR MORE THAN 4 MILLION PERFORMANCES OF THE SONG IN THE USA. HERE’S A VIDEO THAT AIRED IN 1973 THAT DEBUTED THE SONG IN AMERICA JUST BEFORE THE PREMIERE OF THE MOVIE 

THIRTY SEVEN YEARS AGO THE TALKING HEADS RELEASED THEIR 5TH STUDIO ALBUM ‘SPEAKING IN TONGUES.’ THE RECORD BECAME THE GROUP’S COMMERCIAL BREAKTHROUGH, AND PRODUCED THE TALKING HEADS FIRST (AND ONLY) TOP TEN HIT, ‘ BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE’. ONE THING ABOUT THE TALKING HEADS, THE BAND ALWAYS HAD GREAT VIDEOS. THIS SONG WAS ALL OVER MTV IN 1983 AND WAS NOMINATED FOR A “MOONMAN” AWARD AT THE 1984 MTV MUSIC AWARDS.  HERE’S ‘BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE’

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ROLLING STONE  RON WOOD -TODAY HE’S 73 ! WOOD BEST KNOWN FOR BEING A GUITARIST IN THE ROLLING STONES. HE JOINED THE BAND IN 1975. PRIOR TO JOINING THE STONES HE HAD WORKED WITH THE BYRDS, THE FACES AND THE JEFF BECK GROUP.  HE HAD ALSO DONE WORK WITH KEITH RICHARDS ON RICHARDS’ SOLO PROJECTS AND HAD A SUCH A GREAT RAPPORT WITH KEITH THAT RICHARDS INVITED HIM TO WORK WITH THE STONES AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF GUITARIST MICK TAYLOR. WOOD HAS BEEN A MEMBER EVER SINCE.   

HERE’S RON WOOD JAMMING WITH ROD STEWART PRIOR TO JOINING THE STONES, PERFORMING ‘STAY WITH ME’ WITH THE FACES ON THE BBC CIRCA 1971.   

wood photo thanksEva Rinaldi

doobies-photo thanks-JIMMY O’SHEEHAN PHOTO  Jimmy O’Sheehan Photography