Nostalgia Guy Music

Many of us in the New York Metropolitan area literally grew up listening to popular music on the super station we knew as Music radio WABC 770 AM.WABC essentially dominated the medium known as Top-40 radio from 1960 to 1982. While in its early days, it had its share of competition with stations such as WINS (1010 AM) and WMCA (570 AM), WABC soon became the standard (in New York as well as nationwide) by which all other Top 40 as well as music radio stations generally are (and were) judged.

Early 1960s disc jockeys included Herb Oscar Anderson, Charlie Greer, Scott Muni, Chuck Dunaway, and Bob Lewis, but the best known WABC DJs are the ones that followed them in the mid-1960s and beyond including: Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, Jim Nettleton, Jim Perry, Dan Ingram, “Cousin Brucie” Bruce Morrow, Chuck Leonard, Bob Cruz, Frank Kingston Smith, Roby Yonge, George Michael, and Johnny Donovan. Also heard on WABC at the time was sportscaster Howard Cosell who hosted a special segment in his own peculiar, nasally New York drawl, called ‘Speaking of Sports’.

Especially in the afternoons and evenings, WABC was the station that teenagers could be heard listening to on transistor radios all over the New York metropolitan area.  From the beaches of Long Island to the shores of New Jersey, from the Pocono’s to the Catskills, the station could be heard over 100 miles away from midtown New York City going as far outlying areas of Philadelphia during daytime hours, due to its strong signal. After sunset, it could also be heard well into Canada and even (reportedly) in mile high Denver, Colorado well into the night and early morning hours.  This was long before the global reaches of the Internet and satellite radio.

In the 1970s, WABC was either #1 or #2 consistently, often trading places with WOR 710 AM. A few times, a station attracting an older audience (like WOR or WPAT 930 AM) would move into the top spot, but these stations were not truly WABC’s competitors. Chief competitor WMCA stopped playing top 40 music in 1970 and WOR-FM (later99X) came and went from 1968 to 1978. Other FM competitors like oldies station WCBS-FM 101.1, and album-oriented rock (AOR) stations like WPLJ (95.5 FM) and WNEW-FM (102.7 FM) all did well in the ratings, but none rivaled WABC’s consistent success. AM competitor WNBC (660 AM) also   tried sounding younger, older, and somewhere in-between, WABC remained dominant.

By February 1982, however, things had changed.  WABC officially confirmed it would be going to an all-talk format that May. The airstaff began saying goodbye with a comment here and there from February into May. Finally, on April 30, it was announced that the switch to all-talk would occur on May 10 at noon. From May 7 to May 9, the station airstaff said their goodbyes one last time.  Music Fans were saddened and the shutdown was even referred to as, to quote Don McLean, “The Day the Music Died.”  On May 10, 1982, a 9 a.m.-noon farewell show was hosted by longtime WABC disc jockeys Dan Ingram and Ron Lundy. The very last note heard was the familiar WABC “Chime Time” jingle, then a moment of silence before the debut of the new talk format.  While TalkRadio 77 is a powerhouse and a station of great programming, the music format is greatly missed by many New Yorkers.

But as we all know, hard core rock and roll music fans do not give up without a fight.  With the rise of the Internet and lots of listeners pining for oldtime radio, fans put up tribute pages and started a groundswell lobby. Jingles, photos, radio playlists, interviews, memorabilia and logos were collected and soon a new website was born and a whole fanbase was ripe to bring back some aspect of the ‘old’ Musicradio WABC. (www.musicradio77.com)

As a result of this and, after many rumors, on a cold Saturday night in December 2005, Veteran DJ Mark Simone started to host Saturday Night Oldies (SNO) on TalkRadio WABC. Since then on each Saturday Night from 6 to 10 p.m. (pending some other interruption by a local sports team) Simone hosts the show and it sounds very much like the WABC Musicradio of old.   Simone plays old station airchecks, bumpers and station ids and even many of the old Musicradio WABC jingles. He talks about old commercials, New York history, pop culture and music.

For nostalgia fans (and for this nostalgia guy) (www.nostalgiaguymusic.com), in these tougher modern times, it is a show that I look forward to each weekend.  In my humble estimation, Mr. Simone (whom I have never met), has the World’s Greatest Job in (as DJ Ron Lundy would often say and Talk Show host Sean Hannity says today) the Greatest City in the World.   Kudos to Mark Simone and the management of WABC. Saturday Nights Oldies has some competitors, but Mark’s style, delivery, and program content win the day for great nostalgic music radio.

Listen in this Saturday night. If you are on the East Coast you are likely within the AM signal reach of the station’s 50,000 watts of power, or, thanks to modern technology, tune into your local Internet connection. You will thoroughly enjoy every minute.

 What’s in your music collection?  http://nostalgiaguymusic.com/?page_id=16

Boz Scaggs is A Rock and Roll Legend

I have known about Boz Scaggs and admired his music since the days of the Fillmore East back in the 1960’s. His style is very eclectic, ranging from hard rock to blues, pop and country. But his most interesting performance to my ear is the song
With it’s easy going zydeco style beat and instrumentation, the touching lyrics and Boz’s emotional yet laid back vocals, I can listen to “Fly Like a Bird” over and over again.

If you enjoy a great voice, with wonderful songs from a wide range of popular music, then Boz Scaggs is the performer for you. I know of him since back in the sixties, when he opened for many acts such as the Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, as well as his own headliner appearances.

Here’s a collection of some of his finest albums:

Click Here

Did you know that Boz Scaggs knew Steve Miller since the late 1950’s? They were classmates at a private school in Dallas, and Skaggs learned how to play guitar when he was twelve years old. After a while in 1959, he joined Steve Miller’s first band. They parted ways but remained friends, and hooked up again in the psychedlic era, wher Boz sang on Steve’s first two albums.

Boz has had his ups and downs over the years, but not due to the quality of his music or his musicianship. He has a very loyal group of fans (including me!), and he is still touring at least once a year. All in all he is one of the greatest vocalists of popular music.

Zydeco It’’s Origins and Influences

Zydeco is a style of music which originated with the African American people of Louisiana, who spoke Creole. It is accordion based, and really came to the fore in the late 1940’s. It is not Cajun music, but it was influenced by Cajun elements, and more recently, by rock n roll, rythym and blues and the blues. One of the earliest Zydeco hits was Clarence Garlow’s hit “Bon Ton Roula, which hit the air waves in 1949.

The size of private media players has shrunk to the point that you could at this time carry your  special movies or videos in your back pocket! There is no doubt about it the video mp3 players has transformed the media planet forever.

If you have seen for a video mp3 player, you have maybe been besieged at the possibilities. In most situation, it is hard to do the side by side assessment because they are truly apples plus oranges. There are two dissimilar sort of memory for video mp3 players, flash and hard drive, plus more than a few sizes for each. The greatest for portability is the flash memory as it has no running components hard drive kinds actually contain little
running hard disks inside.

Zune 16 GB Video Mp3 Player

To complete the requirements above and still have the optimum storage ability the Zune 16 GB video mp3 player is the fine choice. With this unit you shall own sufficient storage space, flash memory and assurance in  fine  purchaser  ratings. It doesn’t hurt that this player is valued minor than further related video mp3 players.

Features:   
•    16 Gb flash memory
•    1.8 LCD display
•    320×240 pixel display
•    FM radio
•    Audio book capabilities
•    Will keep 4,000 songs, 25,000 photos or 50-hours of video.

Good

A lot of memory for the price fine  sound characteristic  as well as  simple consumer interface. More than one buyer has deserted from IPod for this video mp3 player. One other  source selling detail whilst compared to the Nano is the glass screen over plastic.

Bad

The screen size  is a little little thinking several kinds are nowadays coming out with 2-3 inch displays.

Bottom Line

The Zune 16 GB video mp3 player is a enormous player for the charge. Purchasers are fine contented with look, sense and functionality of this part.

I thought you could be attracted in this article:  mp3 cd players

Time has proven that guitar is without any doubt the most versatile instrument ever played. It found its way in all music genres from jazz to heavy metal not to mention that many lead singers are usually guitar players also. If you want to learn how to play the guitar online, rest assure, there are many online guitar learning courses available.

Playing guitar is not that hard but it requires a lot of commitment and patience from you. On the other side, you will also have to take into consideration all the physical effects that come with guitar playing.

The strumming of the strings will cause calluses on your fingers, until you get accustomed with the chords. Your hands might experience some cramps and your shoulders will have to deal with the heaviness of the guitar.

No one was born knowing how to play the guitar, everyone started somewhere. If you think that your guitar idol didn´t had any finger calluses or shoulder fatigue you´re wrong. They all had it. Pain is part of the game but if you really want to play guitar then you´ll learn how to deal with all these problems.

The first step when learning how to play a guitar is to learn how to tune it because otherwise it will only produce bad sounds. You can do this manually or electronically because all music stores sell now electronic tuners.

At the bottom you find the lower E string and tune it. Next it comes the A string, the D string, the G string, the B string and the higher E string.

Also, you can pay one of the guys from the music store to tune your guitar at least until you learn how to do it yourself.

With a properly tuned guitar your can now learn the guitar tabs. The Internet is filled with online tutorials so you shouldn´t have a problem finding one.

Each of your fingers should stay in a string in order to learn faster and experience less pain. After your fingers are in the right place, you should try to strum the guitar. Practice makes it perfect. Try simple chords like C, G and A and you will see how easy it is.

If you do all the above you should learn how to play guitar in no time. Practice all the time and maybe someday you will be the next Jimmy Hendrix.

If you want to learn how to play a guitar online, check out the top 3 online guitar courses at my site. Check out my top recommendation, Ben Edwards Jamorama review.

Georg Neumann introduced the world’s first commercially available condenser microphone, the Neumann CMV, and officially put his new company Neumann on the map. The interchangeable capsules offered different directional patterns, and it was hard to miss at 40 cm tall and 9cm in diameter. Due its large profile it became known as the “Neumann bottle.” The easily recognizable CMV 3 is often seen in historical photographs of public events in Germany, many taken during World War II.

After the Neumann factory in Berlin was damaged by Allied bombing in November 1943, Georg Neumann moved his company to the town of Gefell and resumed production in the early months of 1944. After the close of World War II, Gefer was taken by the Soviets and Neumann became a state owned and operated “people’s corporation.After the reunification of Germany, the Neumann company now located in Gefell became known as Microtech Gefell.

Upon re-establishing Neumann in one of the Allied sectors of Berlin under the new name “Georg Neumann GmbH,” the famous U47 switchable pattern microphone was developed, based on the M7 capsule on the earlier CMV 3 microphones. One of the first condenser microphones to be widely accepted, the U47, was used in recording studios around the world. The Beatles vocals were recorded with Neumann condenser microphones which had better upper midrange response, sounded sharper, and contributed to their signature sound.

During the post-war period, Neumann developed the M49 and M50, both using the M7 capsule, and during the 50’s the KM 53, 54, and 56. In 1957 came the SM2, essentially a pair of KM56 microphones in one body, which claimed the title of the world’s first remotely controlled stereo microphone. The rock ‘n roll era was distinguished by recording up close vocals at high volume into the U47 and U48, producing a harsh, overdriven sound. Around the same time this trend was developing, Telefunken discontinued production of the VF 14 vacuum tube on which the U47 and U48 were based, and a new model was developed, the U67.

The first Neumann solid state microphones apeared in the mid-sixties with the KTM and U77, which were transistorized versions of previous Neumann microphones. In 1966 the Neumann U87 capacitor microphone employed the “phantom power” method which had been used for years by telephone systems, allowing Neumann tube, solid state and dynamic microphones to all e connected to the same power supplies.

In the 80’s Neumann introduced the TLM 170 microphone,  which featured balanced outputs and no output transformer. The transformerless microphone design was expanded to include the KM100 which featured seven different changeable active capsules, the TLM 193 which used the capsule of the U89 and TLM 170, the KM 180 series, the TLM 103 large diaphragm condenser, the variable pattern TLM 127 variable pattern condenser and the TLM 49 cardiod vocal microphone.

Neumann introduced the TLM 170 microphone in 1983 which featured balanced outputs and no output transformer. Eventually this “fet 100″ or “transformerless” series was expanded to include the KM 100 modular series of small microphones (with seven different “active capsules” for various directional patterns), the cardioid TLM 193 (using the capsule of the U 89 and TLM 170), the small-diaphragm KM 180 series, the large-diaphragm cardioid TLM 103, the variable-pattern TLM 127 and the TLM 49 cardioid vocal microphone.

During the 90’s, Neumann introduced a revolutionary series of vacuum tube microphones that featured transformerless output circuitry.Widely sought after still today, the Neumann M149 tube microphone, the M147 cardioid tube microphone and the M 150 tube microphone, are all based on the M 50 design that was developed with the pressure transducer mounted directly on the surface of the sphere inside the capsule head. The iconic Neumann company was bought by Sennheiser in 1991, and production was moved to a brand new level 100 clean factory in Wedermark, but official Neumann headquarters remained in Berlin.

In 2003 Neumann revolutionized the recording industry again with the Solution-D D-01, which features built-in analog-to-digital conversion. The D-01 was followed a few years later by a modular, small-diaphragm line of digital microphones, the KM D which was based on the earlier KM 100/180 series. It was during this time that Neumann also developed its first dynamic microphone, the BCM 705 broadcast microphone.

Since the beginning, Neumann microphones have remained synonymous with quality and signature models like the Neumann U87 have become unmistakable icons of the recording studio. For artists, producers and engineers alike, Neumann vocal microphones represent the highest level of sonic perfection and innovation.

Many of us in the New York Metropolitan area literally grew up listening to popular music on the superstation we knew as Musicradio WABC 770 AM.WABC essentially dominated the medium known as Top-40 radio from 1960 to 1982. While in its early days, it had its share of competition with stations such as WINS (1010 AM) and WMCA (570 AM), WABC soon became the standard (in New York as well as nationwide) by which all other Top 40 as well as music radio stations generally are (and were) judged.

Early 1960s disc jockeys included Herb Oscar Anderson, Charlie Greer, Scott Muni, Chuck Dunaway, and Bob Lewis, but the best known WABC DJs are the ones that followed them in the mid-1960s and beyond including: Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, Jim Nettleton, Jim Perry, Dan Ingram, “Cousin Brucie” Bruce Morrow, Chuck Leonard, Bob Cruz, Frank Kingston Smith, Roby Yonge, George Michael, and Johnny Donovan. Also heard on WABC at the time was sportscaster Howard Cosell who hosted a special segment in his own peculiar, nasally New York drawl, called ‘Speaking of Sports’.

Especially in the afternoons and evenings, WABC was the station that teenagers could be heard listening to on transistor radios all over the New York metropolitan area.  From the beaches of Long Island to the shores of New Jersey, from the Pocono’s to the Catskills, the station could be heard over 100 miles away from midtown New York City going as far outlying areas of Philadelphia during daytime hours, due to its strong signal. After sunset, it could also be heard well into Canada and even (reportedly) in mile high Denver, Colorado well into the night and early morning hours.  This was long before the global reaches of the Internet and satellite radio.

In the 1970s, WABC was either #1 or #2 consistently, often trading places with WOR 710 AM. A few times, a station attracting an older audience (like WOR or WPAT 930 AM) would move into the top spot, but these stations were not truly WABC’s competitors. Chief competitor WMCA stopped playing top 40 music in 1970 and WOR-FM (later99X) came and went from 1968 to 1978. Other FM competitors like oldies station WCBS-FM 101.1, and album-oriented rock (AOR) stations like WPLJ (95.5 FM) and WNEW-FM (102.7 FM) all did well in the ratings, but none rivaled WABC’s consistent success. AM competitor WNBC (660 AM) also   tried sounding younger, older, and somewhere in-between, WABC remained dominant.

By February 1982, however, things had changed.  WABC officially confirmed it would be going to an all-talk format that May. The airstaff began saying goodbye with a comment here and there from February into May. Finally, on April 30, it was announced that the switch to all-talk would occur on May 10 at noon. From May 7 to May 9, the station airstaff said their goodbyes one last time.  Music Fans were saddened and the shutdown was even referred to as, to quote Don McLean, “The Day the Music Died.”  On May 10, 1982, a 9 a.m.-noon farewell show was hosted by longtime WABC disc jockeys Dan Ingram and Ron Lundy. The very last note heard was the familiar WABC “Chime Time” jingle, then a moment of silence before the debut of the new talk format.  While TalkRadio 77 is a powerhouse and a station of great programming, the music format is greatly missed by many New Yorkers.

But as we all know, hard core rock and roll music fans do not give up without a fight.  With the rise of the Internet and lots of listeners pining for oldtime radio, fans put up tribute pages and started a groundswell lobby. Jingles, photos, radio playlists, interviews, memorabilia and logos were collected and soon a new website was born and a whole fanbase was ripe to bring back some aspect of the ‘old’ Musicradio WABC. (www.musicradio77.com)

As a result of this and, after many rumors, on a cold Saturday night in December 2005, Veteran DJ Mark Simone started to host Saturday Night Oldies (SNO) on TalkRadio WABC. Since then on each Saturday Night from 6 to 10 p.m. (pending some other interruption by a local sports team) Simone hosts the show and it sounds very much like the WABC Musicradio of old.   Simone plays old station airchecks, bumpers and station ids and even many of the old Musicradio WABC jingles. He talks about old commercials, New York history, pop culture and music.

For nostalgia fans (and for this nostalgia guy) (www.nostalgiaguymusic.com), in these tougher modern times, it is a show that I look forward to each weekend.  In my humble estimation, Mr. Simone (whom I have never met), has the World’s Greatest Job in (as DJ Ron Lundy would often say and Talk Show host Sean Hannity says today) the Greatest City in the World.   Kudos to Mark Simone and the management of WABC. Saturday Nights Oldies has some competitors, but Mark’s style, delivery, and program content win the day for great nostalgic music radio.

Listen in this Saturday night. If you are on the East Coast you are likely within the AM signal reach of the station’s 50,000 watts of power, or, thanks to modern technology, tune into your local Internet connection. You will thoroughly enjoy every minute.

 What’s in your music collection?  http://nostalgiaguymusic.com/?page_id=16

GUESTS: Johnny Rivers, Mark Lindsay

Author’s Note:  After a short hiatus and an even shorter vacation, the SNO Summary is back by popular demand.  Amid the rains and the swine flu scare, I am back to write a summary of this past week’s episode of Saturday Night Oldies (SNO) on WABC 770 AM New York. As a reminder,  while any listener will focus on different nostalgic aspects of the show each week that she or he finds interesting, I will try to capture at least the mood for each SNO show and hopefully convey a thorough enough summary to allow anyone who missed the show to get a sense of what last Saturday’s show entailed. Any and all comments are welcome.

Last Saturday’s SNO did not disappoint.  From the opening song of “Secret Agent Man” by Johnny Rivers to the closing with Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street,” the SNO audience was again treated to a great night of radio.  Like previous SNO shows, it interspersed music around two great interviews.

Mark’s dialogue started with a note that the current media has overplayed the swine flu and he reported that WABC Radio went so far as to buy special screens for the air personalities’ microphones, which Mark felt likely wouldn’t prevent the contagion anyway.  His second tune was Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” which sparked an interest by both Mark and the audience as to whom the song was really about.  Apparently some time ago, Simon held an auction at which she would whisper who the song was about to the winner.  Officially we don’t know.  Rumors include Warren Beatty as well as her own father.  Mark did remind all that while he was once rumored to be the subject of the song, Mick Jagger (who was a close friend of Carly at the time) can be heard on the background of the song. 

The next topic was which song writers and singers were overrated or underrated.  Mark mentioned that Bob Dylan may be overrated as a song ‘poet’ (although the message board had some Dylan supporters). He played “Lay Lady Lay” (released July 1969, peaked at #7 on national charts); it was among Dylan’s few songs that commercially made into the Top 40.  Next up was Little Anthony’s version of “Goin’ Out of My Head” (the original version of the song which peaked at #6 in 1965) is still the best, (although I can remember the medley version the Lettermen did in 1967).  Mark took a few calls on the overrated/underrated issue and Ringo Starr and Rick Nelson were mentioned as underrated.  Among those ‘arguably overrated’ callers mentioned Bruce Springsteen and the Grateful Dead, although they have great followings.  Others mentioned throughout the evening included underrated Petula Clark and the Dave Clark Five and possibly overrated was Barbara Streisand. 

The next tune was “Want Ads” by Honey Cone from 1971 followed by Barbara Streisand’s 1971 hit, “Stoney End” (written by Laura Nyro, it peaked at #6 and was previously recorded by Peggy Lipton of Mod Squad fame), which was one of Streisand’s most successful singles.

Next up, Mark presented an interview he had done with Dick Clark in 1991 concerning Buddy Holly. Clark remembered speaking to Holly and recalled at the time (before Holly’s untimely death) that Holly was just getting used to his fame and really wasn’t a big fan of flying.  He thought that Holly was a bright guy and good musician and had he lived, Buddy Holly would likely have been still contributing to music today. 

After the 7:00 news, Mark played the second Johnny Rivers’ single of the night, “Rockin’ Pneumonia” and “Boogie Woogie Flu” (#6 1972) (a ‘tribute’ to the swine flu ‘pandemic’) followed by Rivers’ “The Poor Side of Town,” a #1 hit for Rivers in 1966. Calling him one of the best voices in all of music, Mark started his interview with Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella in New York City) at about 7:15.  Rivers noted that he grew up with early blues influence in Baton Rouge and stated that he did a lot of demos. He said he mimicked a lot of other blues singers and his sound was a combination but he developed his own style. He eventually met Alan Freed who got him a recording deal with Gone Records.  He had been recording demos for writers who were trying to influence Elvis Presley.  He also noted that he had only a few formal music lessons, but that his father was a guitar and mandolin player, and that his father was a good teacher and taught him a lot about music.  He described how he wrote songs like sculpting a little piece at a time. 

They spoke about “Secret Agent Man;” Rivers noted that the song has really lived on into commercials and modern TV shows.  The original recording was at the Whiskey a Go Go, which Rivers called a musical birthplace where many acts such as War, Dobie Gray, and JJ Cale (the first opening act for Rivers) started.  He said that it is one of the only remaining original venues and was the best club in the world at one time.  There were many celebrities who frequented his shows including Steve McQueen and Jane Mansfield.  Mark talked about the song, “Summer Rain,” which was written by a writer named James Hendricks, who Rivers praised as a great songwriter.  “By The Time I Get to Phoenix” was written by songwriter Jimmy Webb and was the last song on a tape that was sent to Johnny.  Rivers later recorded it and thought that it was going to be a hit but that it sounded too much like his hit “Poor Side of Town.”  Johnny recalled driving to work one morning when he heard on his car radio “Gentle on My Mind,” a hit for Glenn Campbell. Being a friend of Campbell at the time, he suggested to his producer that Glenn pick up the song.  The rest is history.  About two weeks later, he heard Glenn singing it on the radio.  Rivers had his own publishing company at the time and owned the copyrights to the song, so everyone was successful.  Rivers noted that he had learned publishing after all the time that he spent while working at The Brill Building in New York. 

Also, Johnny wanted to speak about his current musical work.  He told Mark that he had just finished working on a new CD, which was in production for about a year and this had jazz musicians and unusual instruments. He mentioned that the new CD is called “Shadows on the Moon” and while it has not yet been released, there is an intro part of a song from the CD on his website www.johnnyrivers.com. Rivers mentioned that vinyl albums were the best medium and their appeal was the artwork and it was like having a book that people could study and read.  Rivers stated that, lately, he has been a big jazz fan.  The interview then ended and Mark played “Summer Rain” (1967) by Rivers. 

The next tune up was “ABC” by the Jackson Five (1970) followed by “Precious and Few” by Climax (1972) and a clip by Simon Cowell.  Just before the 8:00 hour, Mark played “Little Bit o’  Soul” from Music Explosion (1967).  (I remember the Ramones version from years later.)

After the 8:00 hour, Mark played “Slow Dancing” from Johnny Rivers (1977) followed by “Cold as Ice” by Foreigner (1977).  Also from 1977 was a live version of “Just the Way You Are” by Billy Joel from a Carnegie Hall show in June 1977.  (This show was recently a bonus part of the re-release of The Stranger anniversary edition CD.) 

Following a ‘fake break,’ Mark played the Mamas and Papas’ “California Dreamin’” (1966), which was then followed by Rufus’ “Tell Me Something Good” from 1974.  A theme from James Bond “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney & Wings from 1973 followed. 

Mark played a great Tonight Show clip featuring a Bob Hope monologue spoofing Johnny Carson, who was on vacation, so Hope was filling in for him.  The clip was followed up by the great disco hit, “I Believe in Miracles” by Hot Chocolate (1975). Just before the next interview with Mark Lindsay, Mark Simone played Mark Lindsay’s 1970 hit “Arizona.” 

At about 20 minutes after the 9:00 hour, Mark interviewed Lindsay. The interview started out talking about the tour Mark Lindsay was doing with Mickey Dolenz and Peter Noone. Lindsay said that, while they may have once been rivals and contemporaries, this was actually the first time that the three had ever toured together. Mark recalled the show, “Where the Action Is,” a Dick Clark show that was filmed on the beach.  Lindsay explained that one of Dick’s secretaries had seen Lindsay and his group perform at Long Beach (opening for the Rolling Stones) and she had found a new group for the show.  The beach show really took off.  Viewers who were landlocked looked forward to the beach show. Most of the show was shot in Malibu.  The show had been five days a week at one time. Lindsay thought that they were on about 1000 times. 

Mark noted that they were the first rock-and-roll group that was signed by Columbia, which started producing rock-and-roll albums late into the game.  Mark stated that he started singing as a four-year-old.  Lindsay even had his own radio for a long time in Portland.  He recalled that he wanted to be a DJ ever since his early days growing up in Idaho. He recalled opening for the Rolling Stones stating that was ‘quite a shock.’ Simone asked if The Who had copied the Raiders on some songs.  Lindsay mentioned that they were the first to smash their equipment but that there was some restraint and that Daltrey had used some of his vocalizations on some songs but that The Who maintained their own, concluding that imitation was the sincerest form of flattery. 

(Interestingly, on Lindsay’s website, www.marklindsay.com, he notes that The Raiders’ “Louie, Go Home” from  the Columbia
anthology “LEGEND OF PAUL REVERE” versus The Who’s “Lubie (Come Back Home)” (1965) from “WHO’S MISSING,”  you’ll hear an identical song… note for note, word for word, ad-lib for ad-lib, with Roger Daltrey’s vocal style an exact copy of Lindsay’s on the original song. By the way, “Louie, Go Home” was also covered by David Bowie.)

Mark later asked Lindsay what was his own favorite record or demo.  He thought that the production of “Indian Reservation” would be his favorite.  He concluded that he was glad to speak to Mark and that he hopes people will see the three (Lindsay, Noone and Dolenz) musicians as they tour the country together.

See http://www.paradiseartists.com/artists/teen_idols/index.html all having fun on stage.  After the interview, Mark played “Indian Reservation” (1971).

The last two songs of the evening were “The Way I Wanna Touch You” from the Captain and Tennille (1975) and finally “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty (1978).

Another great Saturday night thanks to Saturday Night Oldies, Mark Simone, and WABC!

Thanks to all for the privilege of letting me commit some words to paper here…See you  Saturday night from 6 until 10 pm and on the message boards at  www.musicradio77.com.

Regards.

Jim Allen

SNO Message Board Subscriber

www.nostalgiaguymusic.com

Is there really a Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band?  Country and folk music in America are still very popular.  They’ve been around for a long time.  Many famous country and folk bands made records, and toured the country.  Some less famous artists still perform in many places.  This article focuses on one of the best.

nitty gritty dirt band

It was 1966 when the Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band started.  The band has gone through a lot of musicians.  Two have always remained.  It’s the guitarist Jeff Hanna and the drummer Jimmy Fadden.  Their goal was to not have to work.

At the start the Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band was a jug group.   Jugs were added by jazz bands as a novelty.  Jug bands in Memphis played the blues.  A washboard was used for percussion.  A jug band made some appearances on the Andy Griffith Show.  They were portrayed as hillbillies who first had a run in with Ernest T. Bass.  Andy would generally perform with them playing his guitar.

nitty gritty dirt band lyrics

Buy for Me the Rain was the first single released by the Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band.  It became a top 40 hit and was even exposed on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  It was even performed at concerts with people such as Jack Benny and the Doors.  There couldn’t be any more different performers.

The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band was a big time novelty act in 1968.  They performed a song in the 1969 musical western Paint Your Wagon.  At Carnegie Hall they opened the house for Cosby.  Dizzy Gillespie performed with them.

In the 1970s they went country.  They earned two Grammy nominations.  They had a tour in Japan.  In 1974 they were the headline act at the Ozark Music Festival in front of nearly 350,000 people.

In the late 70’s through to the early 2000’s they appeared only occasionally.  They performed on Saturday Night Live and returned to Nashville to record other songs and albums.  One of their albums earned album of the year.

nitty gritty dirt band music

Even if you haven’t heard their work, and you probably have, The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band is part of country music and America.

http://dirtcrazy.com/

How do I record from vinyl records, cassette tapes, or minidiscs?
Next, plug one end of a stereo cable into the ?Line Out? or ?Headphone? connector on your tape deck, minidisc player, or stereo system. Plug the other end into your computer?s ?Line In? connector. If you do not have a cable that fits both of these connectors, you can find one at an electronics store. Choose ?Line In? as the input source on the Audacity toolbar, or in the Audio I/O tab of Preferences (Vista) or Apple Audio-MIDI Setup (OS X). Then press the Record button.There are a couple of models of preamp we can supply which in addition to having the normal analogue outputs for connection to a stereo system also have a USB output, which allows direct connection to a PC or Mac. This enables you to record your vinylto a PC or Mac, so that you can transfer the dgitised tracks to an iPod, MP3 player or to CD. See our Digitise Your Vinyl section for details of digitising preamps and turntable bundles which include digitising preamps.Next, plug one end of a stereo cable into the ?Line Out? or ?Headphone? connector on your tape deck, minidisc player, or stereo system. Plug the other end into your computer?s ?Line In? connector. If you do not have a cable that fits both of these connectors, you can find one at an electronics store.

I want to digitise my vinyl what sort of preamp do I need?
There are a couple of models of preamp we can supply which in addition to having the normal analogue outputs for connection to a stereo system also have a USB output, which allows direct connection to a PC or Mac. This enables you to record your vinylto a PC or Mac, so that you can transfer the dgitised tracks to an iPod, MP3 player or to CD. See our Digitise Your Vinyl section for details of digitising preamps and turntable bundles which include digitising preamps.There are a couple of models of preamp we can supply which in addition to having the normal analogue outputs for connection to a stereo system also have a USB output, which allows direct connection to a PC or Mac. This enables you to record your vinylto a PC or Mac, so that you can transfer the dgitised tracks to an iPod, MP3 player or to CD. See our Digitise Your Vinyl section for details of digitising preamps and turntable bundles which include digitising preamps.Not if you expect great results. Phono input on a stereo system adds a special EQ to the signal, as well as “Pre-Amping” the signal.

Can I plug a turntable into my Line-In?
Not if you expect great results. Phono input on a stereo system adds a special EQ to the signal, as well as “Pre-Amping” the signal. For good results youll want to plug the turntable into a regular stereo system, and then take a Line-Out from the stereo to the Line-In on your computer (for potentially better results you can use a USB or FireWire interface instead of the Line-In).Not if you expect great results. Phono input on a stereo system adds a special EQ to the signal, as well as “Pre-Amping” the signal. For good results youll want to plug the turntable into a regular stereo system, and then take a Line-Out from the stereo to the Line-In on your computer (for potentially better results you can use a USB or FireWire interface instead of the Line-In).There are a couple of models of preamp we can supply which in addition to having the normal analogue outputs for connection to a stereo system also have a USB output, which allows direct connection to a PC or Mac. This enables you to record your vinylto a PC or Mac, so that you can transfer the dgitised tracks to an iPod, MP3 player or to CD.

Click here for more information… USB Turntable

If you think that The Beatles only wrote love ballads or psychedelic songs, think again. They were really, totally car-savvy. OK, we could look at John Lennon’s Phantom Rolls-Royce for proof, but instead we will look at their songs that explicitly refer to driving a car. 

1. Penny Lane. Under the blue suburban skies there once was “a banker with a motorcar” and a fireman who liked “to keep his fire engine clean”. There were also a barber and a nurse, but those were too interested in shaving beards and selling poppies.

2. A Day in the Life. In the middle of the song John Lennon’s character “made the bus in seconds flat”. Before that, though, they read a story from the newspaper, a rather gruesome one. It was about a man who “blew his mind out in a car, he didn’t notice that the lights had changed”. Next time you decide to speed up, remember this song. 

3. Lovely Rita. Not sure Paul or John would be particularly impressed by the modern meter maids, especially since so many of them are guys and not really approachable either. But back in 1960s it was so much more different. Even though a girl looked “like a military man”, she agreed to a dinner, paid the bill (!), and even brought the guy home to sit on a sofa “with a sister or two”. This is when you begin to regret the passage of time. 

4. Taxman. The list of songs about driving and riding would be incomplete without the mention of the notorious taxman. “If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street… if you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet”. So far so true. 

5. Drive My Car. By far, the most car-related and car-focused Beatles song. A very humorous one, as well. Never mind your own prospects, baby, if you can drive my car, you are in for a fortune. OK, not before I am really famous and with a car, but “I found the driver, that’s a start!”