I think I’ve let it slip, from time to time, under certain conditions and to certain people, that my dad, Robert E. Brockway, was President of PolyGram here in the US in the early 70’s.

I trust you believed me, but for those who were skeptical or those who never heard the stories, here is proof ]]>

I think I’ve let it slip, from time to time, under certain conditions and to certain people, that my dad, Robert E. Brockway, was President of PolyGram here in the US in the early 70’s.

I trust you believed me, but for those who were skeptical or those who never heard the stories, here is proof positive courtesy of my brother, who unearthed this shot from the family photo archives: James Brown signing to Polydor.

My dad is immediately to James Brown’s left, and however uncomfortable my dad may look, we can all take comfort in the fact that he had no idea who James Brown was. Dad was hired not for his musical experience and knowledge, but for his business expertise and, perhaps, because he didn’t know or care who these people were.

He once asked me if I had ever heard of “Eric Clampton and the Creams.” Clapton was also on the Polydor label at the time.

Just a wild guess, but the gentleman at extreme left is probably an associate of Mr. Brown’a… and the gentleman at right one of the European PolyGram overlords.

Wikipedia reports that Saint, who turned 86 last month, has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – one for motion pictures and another for television.

The all-time Walk of Fame record for ]]> From Bryan Olson: Eva Marie Saint reminisces about working on Hitchcock’s North By Northwest as well as her work in theatre and radio.

Wikipedia reports that Saint, who turned 86 last month, has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – one for motion pictures and another for television.

The all-time Walk of Fame record for multiple stars is held by Gene Autry, who has five – for motion pictures, radio, recording, television and live theater.

I’m happy for Gene, but somebody needs to tell me why Dudley Moore has only one star, awarded for motion pictures. Moore did live theater on Broadway (Beyond The Fringe and Good Evening with Peter Cook). Moore played piano in The Dudley Moore Trio, which recorded quite a few albums.  His television series with Peter Cook, Not Only But Also, was hugely successful in England. Gene Autry gets five stars? Dudley Moore certainly deserves four.

That means Peter Cook deserves three stars; and he has exactly zero at present, which makes him tied with Tom Snyder, who is also yet to be recognized for his television and radio work.

When they rip up Hollywood Boulevard or Vine Street to correct these egregious omissions, they should use the opportunity to add a radio star and theater star for  Eva Marie Saint. Then she’d be tied with Dudley Moore.

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The guest is Herb Alpert. It’s a short excerpt – about 10 minutes.

The program comes from Bryan Olson.

This post missed Sunday by 5 minutes here on the East Coast.

Thank God it’s still Sunday out West.

Interesting talk about the format change from vinyl to CD.  Also- whatever happened to Abba?

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Nearly every story written about a band called Railbird - and there have been more than a few – has intimated that the brilliance and originality of their sound places them either on the brink, verge, or cusp of huge success. They have been anointed The Next Indie Band Deserving a Huge ]]>

Nearly every story written about a band called Railbird - and there have been more than a few – has intimated that the brilliance and originality of their sound places them either on the brink, verge, or cusp of huge success. They have been anointed The Next Indie Band Deserving a Huge Mainstream Following.

There’s no mistaking the band’s beautiful thunder – it’s always only been a question of how far away their lightning transition to wider success might lie.

The band’s every-Wednesday-in-June residency at The Living Room (which ends June 30th) narrowed the gap to nil.

Simultaneous thunder and lightning, like clockwork, every Wednesday at 9. If you were there, you witnessed it. If not, don’t be surprised by how quickly their sound reaches you. (A matter of seconds, if you open this new window, scroll down, hit the play button, and let Sarah Pedinotti’s voice reel you in. The current page stays open in a tab.)

Railbird’s music can be as insistent and hard-edged as Limousine, their high-adrenaline closer last Wednesday… or as vulnerable and fragile as Sarah Pedinotti’s whispered opening to Not Alone, a song that skips consciousness and heads directly for the spine.

These tracks – great as they are – only give you an approximation of Railbird’s current sound.

If you want to hear what Railbird sounds like, you’ve got to go see them live. It’s not that their recordings don’t do the band justice; they do. It’s just that Railbird, as a band, moves forward and changes things up at the speed of light. Immediately after a CD or EP is recorded and released, it fossilizes. It freezes the band at a precise moment in time, but in no way represents what you’ll hear at the next show. By the time their recorded sound reaches you, Railbird has moved a few more miles down their musical road.

Neither you nor I nor the band knows where that road leads. Railbird’s historic challenge is to define the genre of their music – or perhaps the genres spanned. They’ve settled, for the moment, on calling themselves a “Psychedelic Roots” band. That works, because no one knows what a “Psychedelic Roots” band is, let alone what it should sound like. But – in approach, rather than specifics – Railbird live evokes Jefferson Airplane’s extended jam shows of the late 60’s: if you can manage to tear your eyes away from the charismatic singer at the center of it all, you’ll discover remarkable, inventive musicians doing far more than merely backing the vocals.

It’s worth noting that once upon a time, Railbird was known as The Sarah Pedinotti Band.

Partly in recognition of the talent which surrounds her on stage, partly in recognition that some of those players had changed, and partly in recognition of the inability of the average person to retain – let alone spell – Pedinotti, the band became Railbird after a brief flirtation with the idea of calling themselves The Raptors.

The current lineup, which has been in place for quite some time:

• Chris Carey is, bar none, the most amazingly musical drummer one could ever hope to hear. In performance, his arms arc gracefully on their way to the beat; his fills and phrasing are an endless source of surprise. He provides a solid layer of textured foundation for Railbird’s sound.

• Lead guitarist Chris Kyle is one of Railbird’s prime movers, changing and advancing the band’s sound every show. The new riffs and rhythms the intense guitarist brings to established Railbird songs are transformative. Chris is locked in mortal battle with his guitar, constantly coaxing it for something more, something different, something new.

• If you’re going to call yourself a psychedelic roots band, you’re going to need someone who personifies the concept. That would be the occasionally top-hatted Ben Davis, the world’s first and only psychedelic roots bassist. Ben is incredible, diving deeply into his bass line, accenting and expanding each note through body language. He could easily be mistaken for an audience cutaway shot from “Woodstock” or “Monterey Pop.”

• To Ben’s left, disguised as a normal person, is James Gascoyne, whose rhythm guitar knits the Railbird players together. Previously, James played drums and bass in a jazz and electronica musical collaboration known as le RUBB. The electronic effects evoking psychedelia in current Railbird music may have been smuggled in by James. In any case, he’s hardly as innocent as he looks.

• Jeremy Gustin produced and mixed the most recent Railbird EP and is co-producing the band’s next full length album. He’s a brave guy who dares add percussion to a band that already has the spectacular Chris Carey behind the drums. Jeremy surely understands the serious risk of becoming the band’s Linda McCartney, but the odd thing is… the dual percussion works, and works well.

• Then there’s that voice. There are no words to describe it, and anyway, the last thing Sarah Pedinotti needs at the moment is another laudatory review. She has fistfuls of them already from every newspaper, music blog, and amateur or professional critic within a seventy-five-mile radius of her hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York. She is the darling of Albany’s listener-supported radio station. She has fans within the music industry, fans from other bands, and fans in New York City who run clubs. In addition to The Living Room, Railbird has played The Bowery Ballroom, Rockwood Music Hall, and, back when they were still The Sarah Pedinotti Band, Joe’s Pub. The unanimous consensus at the end of every review, article, blog post, and live performance, on radio, on the internet, or in a club: Sarah is one of a kind.

We expect to see the lightning before we hear the thunder.

We expect our bands to tour “behind” new albums to introduce and support new music as it is released. But – as noted previously, Railbird is moving far too fast to honor that tradition. Their debut CD and two follow-up EP’s of new material are exceptional – but, strictly speaking, already out of date. When Railbird performs a classic Sarah Pedinotti song like “Empty House” or “Rain-Colored Highway” from Sarah’s “City Bird” CD (2007), long-time listeners are twice startled: first when they recognize the old song in its new incarnation, then again by the band’s willingness and ability to re-imagine, reshape, restructure, and experiment.

The Living Room was pretty crowded on June 2nd. On June 9th, it was tough to find a seat. By the 16th, it bordered on the claustrophobic. On the 23rd, the house was packed and wildly enthusiastic.

Lucky you: this year, June has five Wednesdays. You’ve got two choices: stay where you are and count the time till the sound of Railbird reaches you… or head for the source – The Living Room this Wednesday at 9. If you miss the final Living Room “residency” show, you might be able to catch up to the band as it bolts for Rockwood Music Hall on July 8. After that… no guarantees. You may have to make do with the sound of distant thunder until Railbird returns.

Or hope that the excellent DreamBig Media Group creates more videos like this one:

A comment on Tom Snyder No. 30 sent me looking for airchecks… and boy, did I bump into a Beaut! From www.NotheastAirchecks.com:

Top 40 WCCC  jock locks himself in the studio, plays the same record over and over and states he won’t leave the studio until he’s promised a full time job.  It’s one of those ]]>

A comment on Tom Snyder No. 30 sent me looking for airchecks… and boy, did I bump into a Beaut! From www.NotheastAirchecks.com:

Top 40 WCCC  jock locks himself in the studio, plays the same record over and over and states he won’t leave the studio until he’s promised a full time job.  It’s one of those stunts that is supposed to get the public talking.  I have no idea whether this worked for WCCC – but the next I knew, WCCC was AOR.  Toward the end of this aircheck then Program Director Rusty Potz comes in and negotiates with Bill. The aircheck just leaves me – speechless!

Go to http://northeastairchecks.com/ and Search for WCCC on that page. It’s a great site! Or if you’re lazy, just click here.

[2021 note: This isn't necessarily the recording of "You Are the One I Love" originally shared by Don.]

If you like Melanie.

Sometimes, it’s coincidence. One song just happens to sound like another. I refer you to ]]> “Wow, this song reminds me so much of some other song, only I can’t think of what that other song is while this song is playing, but if I turn off this song, I’ll forget what the other one sounds like.”

Sometimes, it’s coincidence. One song just happens to sound like another. I refer you to the words of Mr. Andy Breckman, who wants this phrase on his tombstone: These Things Happen.

Sometimes, it’s carefully plotted strategy (Gary Puckett and the Union Gap always made sure that their next hit contained roughly the same notes in roughly the same order as their previous hit).

Sometimes, it’s an honest mistake. The late George Harrison didn’t consciously elevate He’s So Fine into the realm of the sacred as My Sweet Lord. (When Paul McCartney was convinced that he had stolen the melody of Yesterday unconsciously, he hummed the tune to dozens of friends who failed to identify it, leading Paul to eventually conclude that he did, in fact, write it in his sleep).

Sometimes, egregious thievery is involved. That’s the subject of this post, although some of these amazing sound-alikes may not have resulted from conscious lifts.

The first one did, though:

The Song You Know is Venus by Shocking Blue (1970)

Why was Dutch group Shocking Blue a one-hit wonder? Maybe because they stole their hit song from The Big Three featuring Cass Elliot (before she became a Momma). Oh, and you’ll notice, in the opening notes, that Shocking Blue also “borrowed” Pete Townsend’s signature guitar riff from Pinball Wizard, released the previous year.

The song Shocking Blue wishes would disappear is Banjo Song by The Big Three (1963). (OK, The Big Three “borrowed” some lyrics from Stephen Foster, but still…)

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Another song: Ernie’s Tune by the Tony DeSimone Trio. The instantly recognizable song was actually titled Oriental Blues and is credited to Jack Newton. It accompanied some of the best comedy ever to appear on TV.

What a great song it is – worthy of a George Gershwin. Very worthy.
Rialto Ripples by George Gershwin.

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Last but not least, one that I’ve been thinking about for a couple of months. It is The Theme to National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

When you’re pledging to your local public radio station to support Melissa Block, you might want to send a couple of bucks to the poor devil (Randy Newman)who wrote Just One Smile by Dusty Springfield. (Wait for the chorus).

And in the picture above, Dusty Springfield looks strangely similar to Paula Poundstone in a blonde wig.

The place: 8218 Sunset Boulevard. The time: long, long ago. The Store: Dudley Do-Right’s Emporium. The purchase: the lovely production cel image of Snidely Whiplash (above), and The Jay Ward Music Cassette, (12m) with best excerpts presented here for your listening or downloading pleasure. There are two things you cannot help but do while listening: ]]>

The place: 8218 Sunset Boulevard. The time: long, long ago. The Store: Dudley Do-Right’s Emporium. The purchase: the lovely production cel image of Snidely Whiplash (above), and The Jay Ward Music Cassette, (12m) with best excerpts presented here for your listening or downloading pleasure. There are two things you cannot help but do while listening: 1) mentally insert all missing sound effects, and 2) Do your best impression of the narrations that accompanied some of these tunes.

[2021 note: Since we don't know which songs Don chose as highlights, the link leads to a zip file of the entire cassette.