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Hey all, fans of garage and early psyche are going to feel right at home on this one. Rock orphan stars reach all level of intensity and so much emphasis focus on bank accounts. But a record, any record, is a product of blood, sweat, and fears. So much captive sound lies trapped in the grooves of storage basement dungeons where the sun refuses to shine.

But this show is hardly a bummer. Think of it as 30 miles of weird road, where anyone can have an ego and talent always come rocking through.

Blah blah about That THing you DO and one hit wonders but then dive into those that didn’t even attain that status. And it’s all okay, you know?/////😎///What a romp that was, partly because we all have favorite songs that seemed like they had immortality stamped all over them and then...time passed...other records came out...things happened...enthusiasm waned.

Welcome to a collection of songs that were, well, FamOus Somewhere. In the imagination of the artists who recorded them, and the parents of the would be rock stars who handed out copies to friends and family right and left.

So here’s some sweet spots from an endless trail of lost possibilities. They could have been contenders, great tunes that came out on the same day as , oh I don’t know, 150-200 other 60s singles released on the same day. Sure the odds were terrible, but nothing like today when we are getting about 100,000 new songs uploaded every day. The episode of Old School gives them the airtime they never received back in the day. Chunks of creative real estate that lacked a swimming pool or a third bedroom.

Here in the classroom of forgotten flip sides, they get another shot, to make it as an impossibly obscure oldie, a boat that most everyone missed, trends that stayed a mystery. For the next hour, we give them love they never received. Welcome to Episode 95 of Professor Mikey’s Old School, the killer podcast that is…

Famous Somewhere.

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I Don’t Want a Lover TEXAS (1989)

Love Trip TONY CHURCH AND THE CRUSADE (1968)

Dancing Madly Backwards CAPTAIN BEYOND (1972)🕺

So Mystifying THE SHAPES OF THINGS (1966)

Like a Tear WORLD OF OZ (1969)

I’ll Leave You Crying THE US TOO GROUP (1968)💧

Mark Time ECLECTION (1968)

Subconscious Train of Thought AARDVARKS (1968)

Mystery Man THE BLUES INVENTION ( 1967)

Pass Me By THE HELLO PEOPLE (1968)

Skillet GALLIARD (1967)

I’m Coming Home THE DEVIANTS (1966)

10,000 Words Inside a Cardboard Box THE AQUARIAN AGE (1969)

Get It While You Can THE CHECKMATES (1969)

Professor Mikey back with the usual heartfelt closing. There is no telling what draws a person into listening to music, much less deciding to create it. This episode of Old School explored some of those decisions, and failed to explain any of them. We are so lucky to have these fountains of inspiration. Many of the bands we just listened to went on to various levels of success in the music business, most of them will be freaking surprised if they just heard themselves coming out of their phones or computers. I didn’t hear a bad song in the bunch. There were no failures, no misguided investments, no door dashed dreams. Just a lot of music from people who chose to rock their own personal paths regardless of what came next. Here to take us out is a band with some real wisdom from the class of 1967 in a Cincinnati high school. It’s some true advice from The Checkmates, Get It While You Can.

I hope you join me for another episode after listening to this one, Old School Number 95, Famous Somewhere.

4

“The past is a blast.”

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Most people remember 1976 as the time of America’’s 200th Birthday, the Bicentennial. The Vietnam War was over, Nixon was banned from the White House, and Pet Rocks were going the way of the Hula Hoop.

it was a brand new day all the way from New York to LA and everyone was squeezed into denim so tight they had to use a coat-hanger and lie down to zip up.

What many have forgotten for obvious reasons is how loud and crazy it got wherever you celebrated the annual rite of spring. Spring Break ‘76 was the time to get the party started, on the dance floor, on the beaches, in the bars and in the streets, and for some in a glamorous overnight lock box.

Musically it was a wild time as well. People were listening to a great mish mosh of different kinds of music, split right down the middle between those who wanted to hustle and those who wanted to head bang. The air smelled like a 50/50 blend of Coppertone oil and exhaust fumes from a van with a wizard painted on the side.

Disco and heavy metal was like mixing a Cuervo Sunrise with a Coors Rocky Mountain Sundance). KC and the Sunshine Band hooked up with Bad Company and things got very loud and very wet, all in the name of the red white and boogie down blue.

Fort Lauderdale became Fort Liquordale when local bars began selling all you can drink beer for $1.50. But you didn’t have to get smashed to enjoy this Rock and Rip soundtrack that we are about to dive into headfirst while we hope there is water in the pool.

I’m Professor Mikey and Old School is out of bounds! I just spent a brand new two-dollar bill, got my all night beer wrist band, and have enough left to hit the jukebox and never fear the reaper. Come on baby, we’ll be able to fly. It’s Spring Break 1976, the Bicentennial Boogie!

The Sylvers make it big on the Midnight Special:

SPRING BREAK 76 PLAYLIST

Don’t Fear the Reaper Blue Oyster Cult

Cherry Bomb The Runaways

Blitzkrieg Bop The Ramones

Double Trouble Lynrd Skynrd

Fool for the City Foghat

Jailbreak Thin Lizzy

Nobody’s Fault Led Zeppelin

Running with the Pack Bad Company

You Make Me Feel LIke Dancing Leo Sayer

Boogie Fever The Sylvers

You Sexy Thing Hot Chocolate

Play That Funky Music Wild Cherry

Golden Years David Bowie

In Zaire James Wakelin

Kid Charlemagne Steely Dan

Nightrider ELO

It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll) AC/DC

Live is a Minestrone 10cc

So It Goes Nick Lowe

Bohemian Rhapsody Queen

Listening to all this great music from 1976 is more than a little jarring. I mean 50 years have gone by and these songs sound as fresh as the day that they cut them into viny. Having been around in 1976. I can guarantee you that nobody gave much of a wit about the music that had come out in 1926. It was long gone like Babe Ruth in the great Gatsby.

Many things struck me about the Bicentennials who birthed the Mllennials. One was the length of so many careers in this mix. Steely Dan was around for a long time and people are still amazed at the sound they put out… Blue Öyster Cult became a model for so many bands while they were originating a lot of darkness on their ow The disco darlings were doomed to be pigeon holed in an era of predictable music that had been helped out by the fact that so many hippies who had listened so closely to their Woodstock notions usually sat and grooved… for around 10 or 15 years. After that much sitting on their fannies music fans were ready to move it. They were ready to shake their booties.

New music comes and goes, and if you’re lucky, it takes its place in the culture and then your heart and you’re able to go back to the spring break of 1976 with the flip of a switch. We are going to close with the biggest song of Spring Break 76, perhaps more popular today than it was a half century ago. On schedule to be around in 2076 and probably 2126 I’m Professor Mikey. Enjoy this podcast in anytime you feel like taking the trip back and staying out of jail Spring Break 1976. –Bicentennial Boogie!

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It’s been just about a year since Professor Mikey pulled out an Old School podcast entitled Brave New World. You can dial it up anytime anywhere you get your podcasts. I bring this up only because there are those who may think this particular episode is flying just a little too close to the 21st Century sunshine in tone and manner. Like Icarus singing “Here Comes the Sun” after a long cold lonely winter, this particular theme may indeed get singed wings and a quick trip down to terra firma.

Enough similes and beatitudes. The theme for Old School episode 93 is MEAN OLD WORLD.

Most of us need no convincing that there is a lot of meanness afoot. Not rudeness, not antipathy, just plain old rotten meanness. The kind you get from a portion of the population made up of jerks, tightwads, miscreants, lost loves, and bill collectors.

So how can a set of music temper the ill effects of a Mean Old World. It ain’t easy, but this Old School lesson plan will try.

Exhibit A.

Humans are wired with what psychologists call negativity bias. Bad news grabs our attention faster than good news because, evolutionarily, ignoring danger could get you eaten by a tiger.

So the brain remembers insults, losses, and dangers much more vividly than pleasant moments.

Which leads to the famous newsroom rule:

“If it bleeds, it leads.”

Turn on the news from commercial radio, a source that fears for it’s FCC license. Or from public radio, an outlet that can no longer rely on government funding to supplement the truth.

Media coverage amplifies that paranoid instinct we all share, focusing on disasters, war, and the price of eggs, rather than slow improvements. Over time that creates the feeling that everything is going to shit—even when many long-term indicators are improving.

Then there is declinism–the belief that society is going to hell in a handbasket. For a long time now, at least ever since we began receiving instant news, we feel everything used to be better. So nostalgia and the love of old time rock and roll becomes even more important.

Another weird fact. Where most people feel the world as a whole is getting worse, they feel their own lives will improve.

Today we are going to spin tunes much older than that. Cautionary hits and deep cuts from more hopeful times. Are times better now than when these joints dropped. It is too heavy for me, that’s why I hide in an imaginary radio school with the curtains drawn and the volume cranked. We begin with a little show and tell from two honor students.

Duane Allman plays a 1930s Dobro/Regal wooden-body resonator guitar using a Coricidin bottle for a slide. Eric Clapton accompanies him on acoustic guitar, with both playing in open G tuning.

Welcome to Professor Mikey’s Old School, this is episode 93. Mean Old World.

Mean Old World - Little Walter

King Heroin (Inst) - James Brown

Mean Old World - Duane Allman & Eric Clapton

Mean Woman Blues - Roy Orbison

Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean - Ruth Brown

Mean and Evil - Elmore James

Me and the Devil - Gil Scott-Heron

Evil - Howlin’ Wolf

Mean to Me - Dean Martin

Mean Mr. Mustard - The Beatles

Killing Floor - Electric Flag

Lonesome, On’ry, and Mean - Waylon Jennings

World of Trouble - Big Joe Turner

Mean When I’m Mad - Eddie Cochran

The Unknown Soldier - The Doors

War - Edwin Starr

Mean Old World - Sam Cooke

Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode

Cruel to be Kind - Nick Lowe

Professor Mikey here, getting ready to put a cap on the nasty and draw the shades temporarily on Episode 93 of Old School, Mean Old World. It gets really mean out there, but the music can smooth those cosmic rough edges, especially with songs like our closer from Nick Lowe. A true cure for a world gone mean.

If you are curious about the songs you just heard, you can listen to this podcast again anywhere you get your podcasts. The playlist is actually written down on the Old School newsletter which you can ready or subscribe to for free anytime at professormikey.substack.com.

This episode had its share of samples and easter eggs along the way, including clips from the movie Devils Advocate with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves, the instrumental background to James Brown’s “King Heroin,” Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men,” a real Coca Cola commercial with Roy Orbison, Kevin Spacey in “The Usual Suspects,” James Spader in the TV Series The Blacklist now available on Netflix, HBO’s series The Sopranos, The David Letterman Show with guest star Eminem, and US Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. Any and all music heard resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976.

I’m Professor Mikey, join me next time on Old School. It gets really mean out there, but the music can smooth those cosmic rough edges, especially with songs like our closer from Nick Lowe. A true cure for a world gone mean.

Here’s the link from our most recent world view:

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About once a year when Professor Mikey gets overloaded by projects and time tripping (human flight is possible, you must focus on the negative spaces) we revisit the early sessions of Old School when each episode included around four songs and ran about 15 min. Now that I’m told by the experts that podcast attention spans run about 45 secs I should be seeing the errors of my ways. Still, I hang on to the fantasy that listeners and audio explorers alike enjoy hearing whole songs, even though every Top 40 hit or Underground classic may hit the three minute mark, or even stretch into the unknown that comes with 7-minute tunes. Remember Alan Shepard’s first space flight was just 15 minutes, 22 seconds, two minutes shorter than Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.”

The original texts that accompanied these early episodes are included below and you can find those shows online at professormikey.substack.com. I think you will enjoy this foursome that includes LA garage, London prog rock, Memphis soul, original blues that inspired Led Zeppelin, excursions into the unknown, and the banshee bop from a St. Patrick’s Day jukebox.

That’s the long and short of Professor Mikey’s preschool in the Old School episodes Eleven through Fourteen, where the Past is a Blast!

SOMETIMES GOOD GUYS DON’T WEAR WHITE The Standells

The Standells from Los Angeles will always be remembered for taking their garage sound all the way to number 11 on the pop charts with their ode to Boston “Dirty Water.” Lead singer/drummer Dick Dodd had been a Mousketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club. Larry Tamblyn, on the keyboards, was the brother of Russ Tamblyn who had starred in West Side Story. Tony Valentino had left Italy to go to Hollywood, and Gary Leeds eventually found himself in the Walker Brothers. They are caught on film in “Get Yourself a College Girl,” and “Riot on Sunset Strip” and even appeared in the TV sitcom The Munsters. As far as bands go, they have a great gritty sound and they really capture the summer of ’66, in that precious time after the British Invasion and before psychedelics. Here’s the Standells from their first album and Some Times Good Guys Don’t Wear White…

BACK STREET LUV Curved Air

Curved Air emerged on the prog rock scene in London in 1969 when members of the band Sisyphus added female singer Sonja Kristina Linwood. They took their name from a Terry Riley composition, “A Rainbow in Curved Air.” The vocals were the last step in their puzzle, but a very big part of their sounds were the sonic violin antics of Darryl Way. The band lasted from 1970 to 76, but time has not been particularly kind to this band. One of the reasons could be sloppy remasters of their CDs. With that in mind, we go back to the original vinyl and hear a forgotten masterpiece.

SON OF SHAFT The Bar-Kays

The Bar-Kays were a Memphis soul ensemble that began life as an instrumental group, then faced the solemn task of rebuilding after major tragedy. Four members of the original group died in the plane crash that also claimed the life of Otis Redding in December of 1967. Trumpeter Ben Cauley survived the crash, bassist James Alexander had missed the flight. The group they assembled would back Isaac Hayes on his album Hot Buttered Soul. Cauley and his new guitarist Michael Toles also played on the Shaft soundtrack, which brings us to this cut, recorded Christmas Day 1971 with singer Larry Dodson.

OLD SCHOOL #12 Led Zeppelin Uncovered

The Plebs 1964, Otis Rush 1956, Muddy Waters 1962

Led Zeppelin is one of the most litigated bands in history. Like The Beatles, it is a big payday for any artist when a jury of their peers finds even a snippet of a song may originated elsewhere. Forget that Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones (the bassist who stole his name from a famous navy admiral), might have improved the original. Bottom line, when an artist sells nearly 300 million albums, there is a significant bottom line.

The band maintains all titles were researched for proper accreditations. Memphis Minnie was listed as a songwriter for “When the Levee Breaks,” updated by Led Zep 1971, and received healthy residuals. Randy California of Spirit sued over “Stairway to Heaven,” claiming the opening notes were way to close to his instrumental composition “Taurus” from 1968. His heirs were still in court when California passed in 1997. The dispute ended in Zeppelin’s favor in 2020.

For a good legal brief on Led Zeppelin in court, check out this testimonial from Rolling Stone.

Today we hear three tunes from the first Zeppelin LP that were mostly controversy free. “Babe I’m Going to Leave You” came from a Joan Baez recording of a song written in the Fifties by Anne Breton. Here we get it from the pop prep rambling Plebs. Willie Dixon was correctly identified as the composer of the other two songs, as we hear pre-Zep versions of “I Can’t Quit You’ from Otis Rush and Muddy Waters on “You Shook Me.”

The Retrofit Old School podcast is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, most anywhere you get your podcasts.

BABE I’M GONNA LEAVE YOU The Plebs

One of the amazing things when you spend a lot of time in the Old School detention hall is that songs you always assumed were originals were really covers. That’s right, the walkin’ in the park every day knock out punch from Robert Plant was also the only release by The Plebs back in 1964. Stranger still, it’s a traditional folk song recorded two years before that by Joan Baez. But today we get it post-Joanie and pre-Robert Plant. The Plebs and “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You…”

I CAN’T QUIT YOU Otis Rush

Left-handed blues guitarist Otis Rush left his hometown of Philadelphia Mississippi when he was 14 years old. He headed straight for the South Side of Chicago, where he began playing in small clubs and working on the legend. In 1956 he was all of 21 when he signed with the Cobra label, where he stayed for three years until the label went bankrupt. Rush’s career went strong until a stroke sidelined him in 2004. British blues took a major page from the Otis Rush book. You can hear him in Eric Clapton and certainly in Led Zeppelin. Here he is from that first Cobra album in 1956, with a song that went to number 5 on the R & B Charts.

YOU SHOOK ME Muddy Waters

Willie Dixon’s song “You Shook Me” got covered twice in 1969. Once by the Jeff Beck Group featuring Rod Stewart, and another time on the debut album from Led Zeppelin. Dixon was 54 at the time and enjoyed the royalties, which were much more than he received when it was covered in 1962. Here’s that version, featuring Muddy Waters.

OLD SCHOOL #13 St. Patrick’s Day Jukebox

Belfast Gypsies 1967, Van Morrison 1973, John Lennon & Yoko Ono 1972, The Byrds 1966, Johnny Cash 2002

It’s a great time for the St. Patrick’s Day Jukebox! There it is, up against a green wall in a green tavern, blasting out the tunes that made the holiday bubble like the Guinness Stout. Everybody wants an Irish song, so the jukebox is loaded. With quarters.

The Old School Podcast begins with The Belfast Gypsies who sound like the Irish group Them with good reason. Brothers Jackie (the organist) and Pat (the drummer) McAuley had been along for that band’s string of successes that spotlighted lead singer Van Morrison. Somehow they hooked up with LA producer Kim Fowley in London in 1966, and formed a band that would produce one album, with the confusing title “Them Belfast Gypsies.”

Since we heard Them without Van, it’s fitting we hear something from Van without Them. A lesson in recent Irish history comes next from John and Yoko. The “Mr. Tambourine Man”-era Byrds offer a Scottish/Irish ballad. The closer is from Johnny Cash. What’s a good memory filled holiday traditionally celebrated with alcohol without a cry in your beer tear jerker?

Stick around for the videos. Ole Bing himself solves a holiday mystery centered around fashion and Irish cuisine. Roger Daltry and Sinead O’Connor rock steady with the Chieftains, the Pogues reminisce, the Irish Rovers and Dr. Dog sing about The Unicorn. Then get out the green handkerchiefs as Sinead returns to bid farewell to Molly Malone and St. Patrick’s Day.

This is a free newsletter so share with your holiday wishes! Also download this episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts! Faith and begorrah y’all!

GLORIAS‘S DREAM Belfast Gypsies

LINDEN ARDEN STOLE THE HIGHLIGHTS Van Morrison

SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY John Lennon, Yoko Ono

WILD MOUNTAIN THYME The Byrds

DANNY BOY Johnny Cash

OLD SCHOOL #14 Muddy Rock Stars and the Rainbow Vigilante

Elliot Murphy 1973, Judee Sill 1973, Pete Seeger 1967, Gene Chandler 1963

From that title you can probably guess it’s a mixed bag of beloved obscurities. Elliot Murphy released Aquashow in 1973 with a blowtorch of a rock roll onslaught appropriately titled “Last of the Rock Stars.” You are in the song, so don’t miss that.

Judee Sill made it to 35. The music she left behind is haunting, beautiful, and full of the life mysterious. Someday somebody will make a movie about her, and it will have a sad ending.

Pete Seeger was a lifelong folksinger who walked the walk in addition to singing the talk. He was belligerent and aggressive against anyone who wanted to ruin the earth, deny the human rights of human beings, screw the working man or woman, or send their children off to war. He popularized a song called “We Shall Overcome.” On this episode we have Pete, in trouble with the networks, for singing a tune that felt critical of President Johnson’s handling of the Vietnam War.

Finally we get to Gene Chandler, loosening his tie, falling to his knees, and bringing an audience back alive, all by rocking a Rainbow.

Thanks for tuning in! Whoever you get your podcasts from, click their equivalent of a 👍! Here are some visuals while you listen!

LAST OF THE ROCK STARS Elliott Murphy (1949- )

THE VIGILANTE Judee Sill (1944-1979)

WAIST DEEP IN THE BIG MUDDY Pete Seeger (1919-2014)

RAINBOW Gene Chandler (1939- )

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Professor Mikey here, going through boxes of forgotten psychedelic gems. There’s a little bit of everything: RUBIES, diamonds, sapphires.

No sooner had the garage phase of rock and roll kicked in when it was joined in an electrical romance by the sounds of psychedelia. Mind bending songs of fever dreams and mutated fairy tales took up their own hallucinogenic airspace. Artists expanded their horizons with kaleidoscopic under the counter pharmaceuticals.

The mind blowing effects of LSD, mescaline, magic mushrooms, and what ever else might bend reality altered normal brainwaves into fountains of color and memory. The stars became a dot to dot puzzle and the consciousness expanding less than legal substances connected the dots.

Before we overdose on the introduction, self realize that this is not a history of psychedelics, its just a walk in the wobbly woods. From late 1966 until half past Woodstock, music in general got a synthetic kick in these very personal moonlight serenades.

Author Michael Hicks explained :

“To understand what makes music stylistically “psychedelic,” one should consider three fundamental effects of LSD: dechronicization, depersonalization, and dynamization.

Dechronicization permits the drug user to move outside of conventional perceptions of time. Depersonalization allows the user to lose the self and gain an “awareness of undifferentiated unity.” Dynamization, as [Timothy] Leary wrote, makes everything from floors to lamps seem to bend, as “familiar forms dissolve into moving, dancing structures”... Music that is truly “psychedelic” mimics these three effects.

pSYCHEDELIC cEREMONY pLaYLiSt

is everybody in? the doors with william burroughs

my crystal spider sweetwater

LSD / midnight to six man the pretty things

No silver bird the hooterville trolley

Valleys of neptune jimi hendrix

Magic colors teddy robin and the playboys

My mirage iron butterfly

Matilda Mother pink floyd

parallelograms linda perhacs

the red telephone love

two heads jefferson airplane

the sounds ten years after

a thousand shadows the seeds

psychedelic shack the temptations

itchycoo park small faces

Music created under the influence of LSD and other psychedelic drugs—primarily known as psychedelic rock or acid rock—is designed to replicate, enhance, and mirror the altered states of consciousness induced by these substances.

Technically and stylistically, this music is described by several core characteristics:

1. Sound and Studio Techniques

Musicians used cutting-edge production to mimic the sensory effects of a “trip,” such as depersonalization and dechronicization (the bending of time).

Layered Audio Effects: Frequent use of extreme reverb, phasing, flanging, and echo to create swirling, disorienting soundscapes.

Tape Manipulation: Use of backward tape loops and reverse recording to create surreal, dreamlike atmospheres (notably in The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”).

Panning: Moving sound aggressively from one side of the stereo track to the other to create an immersive, moving “soundstage”.

1. Instrumentation

Psychedelic music often incorporates non-traditional or electronic instruments to expand the listener’s sonic reality.

Electric Guitar Effects: Heavy use of feedback, fuzzboxes, and wah-wah pedals.

Exotic Influences: Integration of Indian classical instruments like the sitar and tabla to provide “Eastern flavors” and drone-like textures.

Early Synthesis: Use of keyboard instruments like the Mellotron (an early sampler), the theremin, and electronic organs to provide haunting or “trippy” textures.

1. Compositional Structure

The music often departs from standard 3-minute pop formulas.

Fluid Structures: Abandonment of traditional verse-chorus-bridge formats in favor of disjunctive or free-form arrangements.

Extended Improvisation: Lengthy, “rambling” instrumental jams and solos (central to bands like the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd) that allow for musical exploration.

Tempo and Key Changes: Sudden shifts in rhythm and unconventional time signatures meant to create a sense of instability or “vibrant textures”.

1. Lyrical Themes

Lyrics often diverge from straightforward narratives to explore the internal landscape.

Abstract and Surreal: Use of whimsical, esoteric, or dreamlike imagery that often alludes to the drug experience itself.

Literary Inspiration: Many songs drew from authors like Aldous Huxley or Timothy Leary (whose The Psychedelic Experience manual heavily influenced The Beatles).

Philosophical Focus: Exploration of inner consciousness, social transformation, and a sense of “unity” or “interconnectedness”

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Psychedelic Ceremony on Old School. The previous hour or whatever it eventually ended up being was not intended to endorse or condemn hallucinogenic drugs, but rather to explore some of songs that were heavily influenced by this mystery trend, mostly of the late 60s. I find the edgy, weird, and a lot of fun so if you have some favorites you would like to hear on a sequel sometime, interact. Like Old School wherever it is coming to you from, that’s always a big help, costs nothing, and it won’t jam your inbox. The original podcast can always be heard on my Substack that can be found at professormikey.substack.com, where you can subscribe for free or whatever seems reasonable. From there it branches out like a little bottle on an electronic ocean and can usually be found on YouTube unless there is a copyright strike, Substack, Apple, and many of the other excellent platforms that are out there. Your interaction is always appreciated, thanks for digging on the music with me. We are going to close this particular ceremony with a song different from many that we just heard in that it was a bonafide Top 40 Hit and you never get tired of a romp in Itchycoo Park with the Small Faces. Take care, beware and we will be talking at you next time from Professor Mikey’s Old School.

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Welcome to a Retro New Year’s celebration from the before times! Professor Mikey, a firm believer in the healing and hopeful aspects of music, takes off on another holiday musical expedition, this time to discover the heart of everybody's favorite midnight party.

What is a Lang Syne? And how Auld is it? What do Bing Crosby, Spike Jones, and Blind Lemon Jefferson have in common? Do New Year's Resolutions really work? Is the best New Year's duet of all time sung by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas? And what's Carl Sagan doing in here? Don’t say he is back to tell us not to look up!

These and other timely questions are answered in this full hour celebration of New Year's music. Plug in and buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy year. Get ready for Blues classics like Smokey Hogg's "New Year's Eve Blues" from 1948, a New Year's Eve 1970 appearance by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, an absolute wacko resolution romp with the City Slickers and many, many more. The genres melt into each other, the human condition gets a good going over, and we all resolve to be better next year!

Happy New Year, push play, and be sure to click and download New Year’s Revolution to your podcast player!

Playlist

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? King Curtis

Happy New Year Spike Jones and His City Slickers

Let's Start the New Year Right Bing Crosby

Happy New Year Blues Blind Lemon Jefferson

Auld Lang Syne John Fahey

Auld Lang Syne Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin

Auld Lang Syne The Beach Boys

Auld Lang Syne The Cucumbers

New Year's Resolution Otis Redding/Carla Thomas

What a Year for a New Year Dan Wilson

A Glorious Dawn Carl Sagan

Happy New Year Lightnin' Hopkins

New Year's Eve Blues Smokey Hogg

New Year's Resolution Blues Roy Milton Solid Senders

New Year's Resolutions Scary Gary Alan

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve Nancy Wilson

The Closing of the Year The Musical Cast of Toys feat. Wendy & Lisa

Auld Lang Syne Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians

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There is something about true lounge music that is slightly radical. It’s not another kind of rock n roll. I haven’t had that much egg nog. But still it is a departure for most of these artists because of the audiences they were used to playing to.

You’ve seen them, smoking and knocking down martinis two at a time. Hanging out in the clubs and hotel hideaways on Mad Men. Providing seductive and mysterious backgrounds in old movies. Everybody dressed to the nines, our parents and grandparent’s generations, looking for a late night don’t kiss don’t tell hookup.

But when the biggies of that era of music switch to Christmas music, there’s a bit of a warm and wacky disconnect. Somewhere, deep down, the singer knows he or she shouldn’t be singing in a swanky saloon. The old suave crooner know they should be home with the first wife and her children on Christmas, not showing up sometime before New Years with a limo full of toys.

It’s for the kids, you know? And that damn cowboy Gene Autry made a mint right next to the old corral when he had 15 minutes left in a recording session and relented to his wife’s wishes and recorded “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

All that aside, here is a glimpse at that diamond ring and Cadillac world from a place way in the future. It’s a Marshmallow World of White Russians and Hot Buttered Rums, and baby, it’s cold outside.

The Old School format is slightly different here. I took some mixer’s liberties that this music usually doesn’t experience. It has a more presentational form because it was created for public radio stations around the company to use over the holidays and perhaps move some Santa in the snow to make a small donation to an industry that has received nothing but coal lumps all year long.

So hop on for the ride. It’s slick, its hot, its ritzy and glitzy and downright weird at points. Perfect for a celebration, for background while you are ripping into presets, for whatever floats your Deville. Think of it as mink seatcovers from another time.

Merry Christmas Baby, you sure did treat me nice.

—Professor Mikey

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Ever since I was a tot with a tape recorder, I attempted to make annual mixtapes as others might try to fashion handmade Christmas gifts. As my studios got better the quality of the tapes got better. They progressed from cassettes to CDs to digital on and on into the future.

This year, to avoid too much extra work during the holidays, I’m, posting the 2010 offering “Professor Mikey’s Chill Christmas” basically in it’s original version. It’s been offered to public radio stations via the Public Radio Exchange for 15 years.

CHILL Fact #1 — The Coldest Planet“Quick chill check: the coldest planet in our solar system isn’t Pluto — it’s Uranus. Temperatures there dip to nearly minus 370 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s cold enough to make a snowman reconsider his life choices.”

The format is similar to the semi-regular Old School offering save for a particular detail. For the original Christmas tapes I did most of not all of my talking in the opening couple of minutes, leaving the rest of the hour (sometimes longer) as one long set. None of this “that was here come” radio jive. Huh-uh! My take was people might like to hear me saying Merry Christmas ya’ll for a bit, then they would prefer I shut up and give them a nice long stretch of hits, misses, quirky unknowns, comedy, lost commercials, and anyything else that might seem needed to complete an audio fruit cake.

CHILL Fact #2 — Coldest Temperature on Earth“The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was minus 128.6 degrees Fahrenheit, measured in Antarctica in 1983. At that temperature, exposed skin freezes in seconds — which is why nobody hosts Christmas there.”

So journey with me now back to 2010. It’s not all oldies, there are a lot of 2008 and 2009 Indie Yule offerings in there. Obama was in his second year in the White House, as the snow gently fell upon the Rose Garden.

CHILL Fact #3 — Coldest Drink on Record“The coldest drink ever served? A martini chilled with liquid nitrogen can hit temperatures below minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s technically drinkable… briefly… and best enjoyed by people with very good dental insurance.”

Key Issues for Americans in 2010:

Economy & Jobs: The top concern, with widespread worry about unemployment (nearly 10% nationally, higher for youth/minorities) and creating jobs after the recession.

National Security: Defending against future terrorist attacks remained a high priority.

Budget Deficit: Growing concern about the national debt and government spending.

Energy: Dealing with the nation’s energy problems was a key concern, though slightly less than the year before.

Financial Stress: Money, work, and the economy were major sources of stress for individuals.

CHILL Fact #4 — Why Winter Sounds Quieter“Snow absorbs sound. That’s why winter nights feel hushed and intimate — like the world put down its phone and leaned closer to the music.”

CHILL Fact #5 — Chill Before the Fridge“Before refrigerators, people cut blocks of ice from frozen lakes and stored them in sawdust. In some places, that ice lasted all summer. Which explains why old-time cocktails were so serious about their chill.”

Major Events Shaping Concerns 2010:

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A major environmental and political disaster that dominated headlines, leading to criticism of the government’s response.

Affordable Care Act (Obamacare): Passed in 2010, it sparked national debate and division over the government’s role in healthcare.

Political Polarization: The rise of the Tea Party movement reflected deep partisan divides, particularly around economic issues and government’s size.

Here is some of the original CHILL language:

The word “chill,” as it relates to weather, was first used in England sometime before the 12th century. Thomas Beckett himself might have said the word CHILL to describe a sensation of cold accompanied by shivering. Chill, as in to chill out, took another 800 years to properly evolve. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Modern slang, it was first used in the Reagan era, around 1982. As an intransitive verb, used mainly in the United States, the modern definition of CHILL means “to become less tense, relax.”

A little later in linguistic history, the Urban Dictionary reports an expanded version of the term “chillin’ like a villain.” To wit, to relax in such an overtly leisurely manner that one mimics the actions of a criminal who is so removed from society because of his evil deeds that he has no choice but to surrender and retreat into a state of absolute serenity. Example: “I’m so chillin like a villain I’m just illin.” To rest like one has no care in the world. To unwind and relax as though a major burden has been lifted.

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The new meaning of chill puts a whole other twist on this year’s seasonal soundtrack. Become less tense? Relax? Absolute serenity? Can you think about that kind of stuff at the craziest, coldest time of the year? Perhaps. That would be the true meaning of this year’s mix tape. Put the lunacy on hold. Replace the nerves with some no guilt serenity. It’s going to be a cool Christmas. That’s what the next 700 megabytes are all about. Lay back and have a hang out attack. Musically it’s a mixed bag of a mix tape, no specific genres, no heavy messages. No pressure, no worries, just rest assured, as we take the world off 78 and drop it down to 33. We’ll start off with the Eels followed by the Department of Eagles. It’s time for Professor Mikey’s CHILL Christmas.

MUSIC NOTESAlex Gimeno owned an underground comic book store in Miami before he made a career decision to make money off his massive record collection. He became the DJ Ursula 1000, and that was his remix of Julie London’s classic “I’d Like You for Christmas.” Long before the advent of mix tapes and the theme of a Chill Christmas, the idea of a little holiday quiet was conveyed quite well by Franz Gruber, when he was asked to put a poem by Father Josef Mohr. The idea was to play the song on Christmas Eve in 1818 at the appropriately named Church of St Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria. They needed something they could play on guitar, the story goes, because little Austrian mice had nibbled holes in the pipes of the church organ. Silent Night has been recorded over 300 times. This version I’m pulling off a 1990 collection of jazzy holiday favorites from the Blue Note Label called Yule Struttin. It’s by Stanley Jordan

That’s MY CHRISTMAS PRAYER, offered up in the early 90s by the British trio St Etienne. Led by singer Sarah Cracknell, they formed in search of a sound that echoed that of swinging London, with a dreamy twist. Moving a little east from London, we find the East Hertfordshire district, which includes a tiny hamlet that would be a great place from where to mail your Chill Christmas cards. Imagine a postmark from “Cold Christmas.” Our next song could be put in the nostalgia category, if it wasn’t such a downer. You know what they say, nostalgia is when you remember the good parts, history is when you remember the bad. Decide for yourself and Sufjan Stevens takes us back …That was the worst Christmas ever

CHILL Fact #7 — The Chill Sweet Spot“Psychologists say the temperature most people find ‘comfortably cool’ is around 65 degrees Fahrenheit — cool enough to feel alert, warm enough to stay cozy. In other words, perfect listening weather.”

Catching you up on the playlist, the group Pilate did a fabulous cover of the Pogue’s signature song, Fairytale of New York. The bit about wishing your dog talks on Christmas eve came from the Alakan DJ on Northern Exposure. The traditional O Come O Come Emanuel received an update from Belle and Sebastian. One of the original Split Enz, Neil Finn, sang about a Sweet Secret Peace, and In the Bleak Midwinter was done by Lauren Laverne. Still to come, Teenage Fanclub and The Apples in Stereo, but as far as breaks go, my holiday is about to begin. Professor Mikey here, hoping you’ve enjoyed this Chill Christmas, and wishing you a calm quiet holiday and reminding you that things will go better in the new year, you just have to find the right music. Support your local artists, your local record stores, and your favorite independent radio station. Peace out on earth…

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Hello and happy holidays from the war zone! This edition is mostly about the audio which you can click on above. Subscribers can download it as a podcast. This show was originally aired in 2023, but it is evergreen to go every December from here on out. If you are a member of the Greatest Generation, or have one as friend or family, you will get a kick out of V for Victory and X for Xmas. Compiled from archival sources, it rolls like a tank into Berlin, blaring radio broadcasts, big bands, commentators, celebrities, and many more memories that bring you home for Christmas.

As we get further away in time from the second World War, we tend to lose track of what life felt like during wartime.

America’s entry into World War Two began 17 days before Christmas on Dec 8, 1941. For the next five holiday seasons “peace on earth” went on hiatus.

What you’ll hear is not a history of World War Two, or a sugar plum romp through precarious yuletides. Most of this originated at Christmas time and was constantly by interrupted by breaking bulletins. It is a sound montage that features the newscasters and entertainers of the time communicating with their vast unseen audiences.

It is a dark time. For much of the world, 1941 marks the third year of a war that has seen the German occupation of many European countries. War does not take a holiday.

On the radio, it’s bombs and jingle all the way, starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, Abbot and Costello, Fats Waller, Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, Francis Langford, Dinah Shore, Glenn Miller, and the men and women of the greatest generation.

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Professor Mikey here in the Old School, with a podcast that celebrates Freedom of the Press, the true buzz you get when you are kept aware of the world going on around you by true professionals who have no fear about job security because they have been hired to tell the truth.

You got it. A rock and roll Old School episode that shouts out the greatest of newspapers like the New York Times , Mother Jones, and Rolling Stone. The best news reporters, like Walter Cronkite, John Chancellor, Clark Kent, and Kaitlin Collins. The best journalists like Lester Bangs, Anderson Cooper, Lillian Hellman, and Hunter S. Thompson. The list goes on. But this is a cautionary tale because we really only think about Freedom of the Press when it is under attack.

Before we rock, take note that in 2005 American newspapers reached 50 million readers. Today that number is down to below 20 million. Newspapers are shutting down at the rate of about ten a month. Over the last 20 years 2,866 newspapers have vanished.

Being aware of the news was always on the minds of rock stars. Like Elvis said:“I heard the news, I heard the news, I heard the news. There’s good rocking tonight.) John and Paul read the news today, oh boy. Bob Dylan knew you didn’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

Any relationship between the news of the past and what’s happening today is strictly intentional. I’m just waiting for Rachel Maddow to quote Janis Joplin: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”

The number of newspapers are down, but great news coverage is available on your phone. If you ever hear anyone publicly bashing news and truth, justice and the American way be suspicious. Be very suspicious.

Coming up we drop the needle on REM from their 1987 album Document. Joe McCarthy, the junior senator from Wisconsin made a lot of headlines in the early 50s as he carried out an honest to witch witch hunt across government and military lines in an attempt to out alleged communists. Finding Communists in the State Department was McCarthy’s generations weapons of mass destruction. What tripped him up was the Freedom of the Press, as championed by Edward R Murrow. Here’s the story behind the song Exhuming McCarthy from REM:

The First Amendment is always #1 on the charts and it should be in our hearts and minds.

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🇺🇸Freedom of the Playlist🏴‍☠️📻

Extra ExtraTommy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1975)/Sunday PapersJoe Jackson (1979)/Yesterday’s PapersThe Rollling Stones (1967)/News of the WorldThe Cure (1978)/Newspaper MamaPeter Combe (1988)/Get Your PaperEddie Fisher (1953)/You Haven’t Done NothingStevie Wonder (1974)/Don’t Believe the HypePublic Enemy (1988)/The Revolution Will Not Be TelevisedGil-Scott Heron (1971)/TV WeathermanLothar and the Hand People (1968)/Exhuming Joe McCarthyREM (1987)/ Pledging My LoveJohnny Ace/The Late Great Johnny AcePaul Simon/A Day in the Life ()The Beatles (1967)/7:00 News-Silent Night*Simon and Garfunkel (1966)

Amendment 1️⃣

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Most of what you have just heard was inspired by the news of the day, something that has been protected by our revolutionary forefathers since 1789 when it was ratified in the original Bill of Rights. Much of this has referred to the importance as well as the commonality of a free press. Our closing set however is a bit more personal. Songs about how we remember where we were or what we were doing when we heard disturbing news.

It begins with Johnny Ace, a 25 year old singing star who accidentally took his own life backstage in Houston Texas on December 25, 1954.Early reports suggested a game of Russian Roulette. Later eyewitness reports said that Ace had been drinking, and was merely playing with his pistol. As for “Pledging My Love” it hit #1 on the R&B chart on February 12, 1955 and stayed there for 10 weeks. Sad but true Johnny Ace became the first act to reach the Billboard pop charts only after death.

Nearly 30 years later, Paul Simon wrote about the event in the second song in the set.” In that one he mentions another artist, who sings in the following song about the demise of a 21 year old Irish socialite. Because this song is so famous, Old School decided to air a lesser known version of various outtakes recorded in January and February of 1967, about a month after the fatal car accident that inspired the work in the first place.

As we near the 60th anniversary of the recording of the last song, Paul Simon returns with partner Art Garfunkel to perform a Christmas song that was first recorded in 1905. The duo recorded it over a series of 1966 headlines, giving it an eerie sense of an ironic Christmas past.

Thanks again for listening to this 88th episode of Professor Mikey’s Old School: “Freedom of the Press” (I Heard the News).

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Apologies for your inbox getting this twice, but there was a bit of a glitch yesterday when I so carefully posted this episode a 6:07 am. I have a series of little boxes to check on this end, and missed the free/paid section kaboom. Paid subscribers were fine, those you who have received free subscriptions from me are the same as paid (I’m always happy to deal those out, just ask), but for many there was this insidious paywall. That in turn screwed up Spotify to whom I have made a solemn promise never to touch their money so they can play the artists we all love to hear and rake in the bank. Other podcast carriers who carry Old School kind of got broadsided also. SO! Here is the show, sent as free, that will fix all that chain of Old School distribution and get the show out there for all the people who have time to hear 6-7 minute songs, return to the glorious past of rock and roll and blunt the effects of the current future where we are caught like in the really cold part of Frozen. Enjoy, share and Cher alike. (Yes, Cher appears in this newsletter. See if you can find her. Answer to the mystery in the next episode with the working title “Freedom of the Press (I Heard the News)” come soon, free and in living color to a screen near you. Rock on.

I knew nothing about the South Park/TikTok thing about 6 7 when I first saw that episode, but I thought hey, I feel a podcast coming on. Now the world has had about 40 crises since that was a thing for a day or two, but I think you will like the show that it inspire.,

Put bluntly this is a simple show made up of six 7-minute songs. Back in the day of free form FM Underground the long song became a thing along with long sets with lots of segues and minimum chatter. Focus groups found out listeners tune in to music stations to hear music. Pay them and send they home.

These six seven minute songs were fun to listen to for the most part, and if you were pulling a 6 or 7 hour shift, it meant you might get a little break. Hell Inna Gadda Da Vida was 17 minutes of Iron Butterfly flight, long enough for the DJ to go outside and have some fresh open air. Or it might make for a reasonable bio break, or a trip across the street to the convenience store to grab a 67 cent hot dog and a quarter soda, and be back just in time for the song to end.

But I digress. Here we are in a worse future than anyone ever imagined. It’s like we are in the in between times that come after the good Old School days and the New Hope that starts off all the Star Wars Movies.

Here is a quick unguided detour to 1971, ‘77, ‘71’ ‘85, ‘84’ and ‘85. It is a flow set and not a subject set, a lot of these were war horses on classic rock stations and now they have completely disappeared from the airwaves, just like all the good times. Can you dig it? I knew that you could. The newsletter has a coded playlist. But no spoilers means no front announces, no backsells, no rock critics, but maybe a few 18 year olds listening to these songs for the first time and putting their reactions up for 3 million viewers on YouTube. Hear are Six Seven Minute songs with no interruptions. Memories, discovery, and a rocking trip to anywhere you want to go. Old School # 87: “Six Seven Minute Songs.”

Quick explanation courtesy of NBC’s “The Today Show”

What Do Kids Mean When They Say 67?

It doesn’t mean anything, which means that it can mean everything. Know what we mean?

Oct. 21, 2025, 9:15 AM MDT

Rachel Askinasi

Is your child walking around the house answering all questions with the words “six seven”? Are you deeply confused as to what it means? The TODAY.com team is here to help.

You may be seeing it written out on social media as “67,” implying a pronunciation of “sixty-seven,” but it’s actually being said as “six seven” and often is accompanied by a double hand gesture you would use to tell someone that you’re weighing two options. The term flooded TikTok — the app currently shows 1.1 million related videos — and made its way into everyday text-speak and slang. Despite its prevalence, many people don’t actually know what it means. One TikTok user made an explainer video essentially saying that the phrase has so little meaning that it can be used in a wide variety of ways that, ultimately, do make sense to the user.

Got it?

Back announce:

“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” – The Rolling Stones → 1971 (from Sticky Fingers

We started with the Rolling Stones and they’re 1971 album Sticky Fingers, the one with the zipper cover that caused so many problems when they tried to ship it in normal album boxes were ripping into the backside of the other albums. After the main part of the song, the band continued playing, thinking the tape had stopped. One of the more famous accidental jams of rock ‘n’ roll happened because they thought the tape and stopped, rolling the subterfuge was orchestrated by saxophone the sax Bobby Keys, Mick Taylor playing guitar on his first complete album with the stones and 5yh Beatle Billy Preston on organ beside conga player Rocky Dejon.

“Paradise by the Dashboard Light” – Meat Loaf → 1977 (from Bat Out of Hell)

The studio wizard a true star Todd Rundgren, whose production layered up to 70 vocal tracks at a time. From the 1977 Bat Out of Hell, with passionate vocals from Ellen Foley Her singing was lip synced in a hot rotation Mtv classic by Karla DaVito. The baseball narrator earned the nickname scooter although everybody knew it was New York Yankee Hall of Famer who wasn’t sure what he was describing, Phil Rizzotto. Meat Loaf was never better, not even with okra and mashed potatoes.

“L.A. Woman” – The Doors → 1971 (from L.A. Woman)

LA woman was the title song for the last doors album to feature Jim Morrison an album they recorded in their personal studio at 8512 Santa Monica Blvd and witnessed the exit of their first and only producer, Bobby Rothschild. Bobby thought Riders on the Storm was cocktail music. Part of the production scenario including Elvis Presley bass player Jerry Scheff, fresh from the biggest cocktail party, Las Vegas.

“Shout” – Tears for Fears → (from Songs from the Big Chair) this is the version known as the UK Mix from 1984 recorded at The Wool Hall in Bath, England. Producer Chris Hughes from Adam and the Ants called this a “drum manifesto, built from rhythmup instead of chord down.

“Two Tribes” – Frankie Goes to Hollywood → 1984 (single from Welcome to the Pleasuredome). Producer Trevor Horn got over 90 take tracks going in this pre digital era and called it “the most complex piece of production I ever did.

“How Soon Is Now?” – The Smiths → 1985 (initially released as a B-side in 1984, popular album version on Meat Is Murder compilation came later) Johnny Marr plays a 1959 Gibson ES-355 through four Fender Twin Reverbs with desynced tremolo circuits. It took three days to nail the guitar bed.

More of the technical magic that went into this is in the playlist you can find on ProfessorMikey.Substack.Com. You could take out a free subscription, you could take out a paid subscription. At very least share this with a friend for 6 or 7 minutes.

Professor Mikey’s Old School Number 87 was produced strictly for educational purposes. Any long dance or run in the park remains the property of the listener. All this mostly forgotten music resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the CopyRight act of nineteen seven six. Thanks for listening to this episode, “6 7-Minute Songs” and join me next time for Old School!

🎧 Technical Playlist: Heavy-Handed Liner Notes

🎸 Can’t You Hear Me Knocking – Rolling Stones (1971)

• Producer: Jimmy Miller

• Engineer: Glyn Johns

• Studio: Olympic Studios, London

• Gear: 16-track tape, Gibson Les Paul → Ampeg SVT, Mick Taylor jam outro, Bobby Keys sax solo 🎷

— One of rock’s most famous “accidental” jams

🎤 Paradise by the Dashboard Light – Meat Loaf (1977)

• Producer: Todd Rundgren

• Engineer: Neil Dorfsman

• Studio: Bearsville, Woodstock, NY

• Gear: 24-track Studer, 70+ stacked vocals, Fender Twins 🎸, Phil Rizzuto commentary ⚾, Ellen Foley duet

— Steinman called it “a rock ’n’ roll West Side Story”

🎸 L.A. Woman – The Doors (1971)

• Producer: The Doors & Bruce Botnick

• Engineer: Bruce Botnick

• Studio: The Doors’ rehearsal space, Santa Monica Blvd.

• Gear: Live 8-track recording, Morrison vocals in bathroom 🚿, Krieger SG → Fender Twin 🎸, Ray Manzarek Rhodes bass 🎹

— “Mr. Mojo Risin’” = Jim Morrison anagram

🎹 Shout – Tears for Fears (UK Mix, 1984)

• Producer: Chris Hughes

• Engineer: Dave Bascombe

• Studio: The Wool Hall, Bath, England

• Gear: LinnDrum LM-1 🥁, Roland Jupiter-8 & Fairlight CMI 🎛, SSL 4000E, AMS Digital Delay

— Hughes called it a “drum manifesto”

🎛 Two Tribes – Frankie Goes to Hollywood (Carnage Mix, 1984)

• Producer: Trevor Horn

• Engineers: Stephen Lipson, Julian Mendelsohn

• Studios: Sarm West & East, London

• Gear: Fairlight CMI IIx 🎹, Synclavier II, Oberheim OB-Xa & Prophet-5, SSL E-Series automation

— Horn: “the most complex piece of production I ever did”

🎸 How Soon Is Now? – The Smiths (1984)

• Producer: John Porter w/ Johnny Marr

• Engineers: Stephen Street, Tim Young

• Studio: Trident Studios, London

• Gear: ’59 Gibson ES-355 🎸, 4 Fender Twins w/ desynced tremolo, Eventide H910, Lexicon 224, tape echo on snare 🥁

— Porter: “We accidentally invented its pulse”

*Thanks to Michael Bloomfield’s collection “From His Head to His Heart To His Hands” that featured the instrumental version of Like a Rolling Stone heard under the openings that was produced by Tom Wilson that featured the musicians Bob Dylan, Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, Paul Griffin, Joe Mack, Bobby Gregg and Mr. Tambourine Man Bruce Langhorne.*

The closing music was Section 43 (EP Version) by Country Joe and the Fish as it was featured on the Rhino box set Love Is th Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970.)

Here is a list of 6 or 7 curiosities:

Octopuses have three hearts. Two of the hearts pump blood to the gills, while the third pumps it to the rest of the body.

The tip of a shoelace is called an aglet. It is the plastic or metal part that prevents the shoelace from fraying.

Q

The letter “Q” is the only letter not found in any U.S. state name.

The world’s oldest cat, Creme Puff, lived to be 38 years and 3 days old .

The Sun makes a sound, but we can’t hear it: because sound waves cannot travel through the vacuum of space.

Before alarm clocks, some people were paid to wake others up. They would knock on their windows to ensure they were awake for the day.

The TIMES of Their LIVES : Lived until 67

(((Secret preview from Professor Mikey’s upcoming book The Times of Their Lives. Publishers and agents take heed.)))

People who made it to 67…

Around 67

Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor

c.747 – Jan 28, 814

“To have another language is to possess a second soul.”

Jethro Tull Farmer, writer The Horse-hoeing Husbandry

c. 1674 – Feb 21, 1741

67 years, 1 day (24,473 days)

Ingrid Bergman Actress

Aug 29, 1915 – Aug 29, 1982

Breast cancer

“A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.”

67 years, 10 days (24,482 days)

Ava Gardner Actress

Dec 24, 1922 – Jan 25, 1990

Pneumonia

“I have only one rule in acting - trust the director and give him heart and soul.”

67 years, 5 months, 1 day (24,624 days)

Lon Chaney, Jr. Actor

Feb 10, 1906 – July 12, 1973

Unspecified

“Of course I believe that The Wolf Man is the best of my horror films—because he is mine!”

67 years, 6 months, 17 days (24,662 days)

Catherine the Great Tsarina of Russia

May 1, 1729 – Nov 17, 1796

Stroke

“I praise loudly. I blame softly.”

67 years, 6 months, 23 days (24,676 days)

Benjamin Harrison 23rd U. S. President

Aug 20, 1833 – Mar 13, 1901

Pneumonia

“I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process.”

67 years, 7 months, 3 days (24,690 days)

Hunter S. Thompson Journalist Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Jul 18, 1937 – Feb 20, 2005

Suicide

“I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.”

67 years, 8 months, 22 days (24,736 days)

Liberace Pianist

May 16, 1919 – Feb 4, 1987

AIDS

“You know that bank I used to cry all the way to? I bought it.”

“I love my work but do not know how I write it.”

67 years, 9 months, 15 days (24,760 days)

Alan Jay Lerner Lyricist, librettist An American in Paris

Aug 31, 1918 – Jun 14, 1986

Lung cancer

“Men die but an idea does not.”

67 years, 10 months, 4 days (24,768 days)

George Washington 1st U. S. President (1789-1797)

Feb 11, 1732 – Dec 14, 1799

Pneumonia

“Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.”

67 years, 10 months, 21 days (24,796 days)

e e cummings Poet

Oct 14, 1894 – Sept 3, 1962

Cerebral Hemorrhage

“Listen; there’s a hell of a good universe next door: let’s go.”

67 years, 10 months, 23 days (24,801 days)

Josef Mengele Nazi SS physician “The Angel of Death”

Mar 16, 1911 – Feb 7, 1979

Drowning

67 years, 11 months, 10 days (24,817 days)

Sugar Ray Robinson Boxer, Welterweight and Middleweight champion

May 3, 1921 – Apr 12, 1989

Alzheimer’s

“To be a champ, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will.”

Professor Mikey’s OLD SCHOOL is powered by fans like you. Take a spin from casual listener to certified groove archivist — keep the songs of the forgotten past alive and your playlist dangerously cool.

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The Witches of Eastwick. Ronald Dahl ‘s Witches. The witch of Blackbird Pond pond. Wendy the good witch. Sabrina the teenage witch. Marvel’s Scarlet Witch.

No matter how many buckets of water you empty, how many stakes you ignite, how many houses you drop on them, the wonderful witches of pop culture never fly completely away. They cast spells, ring bells, read books, and light candles. Samantha Stevens used to wiggle her nose to tidy up her 1962 living room.

With all their hocus pocus, they hardly have time to put down the broom, to kick back and relax. Where do they go to bend an elbow with their friends, enjoy an autumn brew, and maybe light up a Salem?

For that answer, we have come to the groove yard of golden goodies. Music celebrates the weird sisters, rarely discriminating between good and bad witches.

Obviously Professor Mikey has spent a little too much time in the witches brew pub. I blame that midnight happy hour and the eye of newt calamari. And the music! The juke boxes Blair witch projects long after the witching hour.

Old School loves to trick or treat at the Witches Brewpub. Keeps you out of Halloween traffic, clarifies multiple levels of focus, and thumps floorboards with a music too fun to be forgotten. After a few tall ones, you note the devil’s jukebox is exhaling brimstone, hemlock and headbangers. Serious observations, swinging cats, witched up rockabilly thugs, enchanted troubadours, all celebrating the risings of the moon on a time of bewitched and bothered rock and roll. All these song were created inspired by enchanted women of healing, magic, and strength. And flight.

🅆🄸🅃🄲🄷'🅂 🄱🅁🄴🅆🄿🅄🄱 🄿🄻🄰🅈🄻🄸🅂🅃

THE WITCH The Sonics 1964 MAD WITCH Dave Gardner 1957 WITCHCRAFT Frank Sinatra 1957 WITCH QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS Redbone 1971 SHE’S MY WITCH Kip Tyler 1958 MY GIRLFRIEND IS A WITCH October Country 1968 THE SALEM WITCH TRIAL Kiriae Crucible 1968 THE WITCHWOOD The Strawbs 1971 WITCH’S PROMISE Jethro Tull 1970 BURN WITCH, BURN Circus 1967 WITCHCRAFT IN THE AIR Betty LaVette 1962 WITCH HUNT Rush 1981 WITCH GIRL The Mystrys 1966 YOU MUST BE A WITCH The Lollipop Shop 1968 SEASON OF THE WITCH Brian Auger and Trinity w/ Julie Driscoll 1967 DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD Sammy Davis Jr. 1966

Witches Brew Shapeshifter

Ingredients:

• 1.5 quarts lime sherbet

• Green food coloring, optional

• 1 2-liter bottle lemon-lime soda (like Sprite), chilled

• 2 cups pineapple juice, chilled

• Dry ice, gummy worms, and gummy eyeballs for garnish, optional

• 1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg until smooth.

• Add the lime sherbet to the bowl and stir until it is mostly melted.

• Add the lemon-lime soda and pineapple juice to the bowl and stir until everything is well combined.

• If you want to add green food coloring to give it a more witchy look, add a few drops now.

• If you want to add dry ice for a spooky smoke effect, be sure to follow all safety precautions when handling it.

• Serve in glasses with gummy worms and gummy eyeballs as garnish if desired.

Enjoy your Witches’ Brew with pumpkin!

1.Wicked Witch of the West: From L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz,” this iconic character is known for her green skin and flying monkeys.

2.The Sanderson Sisters: Winnie, Mary, and Sarah Sanderson are the witches from the movie “Hocus Pocus.”

3.Gandalf and Saruman: Wizards in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” series, they are often referred to as wizards but share many characteristics with traditional witches.

4.Bellatrix Lestrange: A prominent dark witch in the “Harry Potter” series created by J.K. Rowling.

5.Elphaba: The green-skinned protagonist of Gregory Maguire’s novel “Wicked,” which also inspired a popular musical and monster movie franchise.

6.The Witch in “Snow White: The evil queen who uses magic to try to eliminate Snow White.

7.Circe: A character from Greek mythology known for her magical abilities, featured in various works of literature.

8.The White Witch (Jadis): A character from C.S. Lewis’s “The Chronicles of Narnia” series, known for her ice-cold magic.

• Sycorax is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611). She is a vicious and powerful witch and the mother of Caliban, one of the few native inhabitants of the island on which Prospero, the hero of the play, is stranded.

• The Grand High Witch. In The Witches (1990), based on the 1983 book of the same name by Roald Dahl, the Grand High Witch is the all-powerful leader of the world's witches. She maintains children smell like dog droppings.🐕💩

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Zzzzzzzz…..

One likes to think that as soon as someone finds an agreable podcast (namely this one) they go back scrolling through older episodes to fill their spare time. Of course that is not the case so that, along with my rigorous attitude of keeping up a algorythmically correct posting schedule, the habits of the usual suspect Old School student body is particularly difficult to chart, predict, or analyze.

But there are some episodes you should not miss.

The pipe of dreams was creatively passed down from Samuel Taylor Coleridge and other British dope champions to the rockers of the Age of Aquarius.

“Pipe Dream” is one of those terms that gets totally misunderstood. We live in a time of piping and dreaming, so naturally many people believe the term is inspired by drugs.

Though the narcotic reference is probably the more enticing, for years the phrase itself had little to do with inhaling and/or inebriation. In fact a pipe dream was pretty innocent.

It radiated—hope. Like the definition from the Cambridge English Dictionary:

An idea or plan that is impossible or very unlikely to happen: “Her plans are not realistic - they'll never be more than a pipedream.”

Still, the roots of calling out a pipe dream for what it really is, have basis in history. According to the Grammarist website:

A pipe dream is an unrealistic and unattainable goal, an impossible hope. The pipe alluded to in this term is a smoking pipe, but the substance being smoked is not tobacco. Pipe dream stems from the practice of smoking opium, and though many English writers turned to opiates for inspiration, the term pipe dream originated in the United States. In the mid-1800s to the late 1800s, the western United States was rife with opium dens, places where opium from China was sold and smoked.

So there it is. The pipe dreams that became subjects of various drug songs, especially in the hallucination we know as The Sixties, were grounded in this tradition. It involved touching a flame to something that grew in poppy fields. In those woozy times, dreams of rock and roll stardom rode side by side with rampant munchies and urges to tie dye the curtains.

This episode includes A-Listers (Rolling Stones, The Byrds, Donovan), faded flames (Spooky Tooth, The Blues Magoos), art rockers (Procol Harum, Soft Machine, Lamb), and those obscured by the years and stale smoke (The Sound Sandwich, World Column.)

You’ll find some related videos below, but don’t get all buzzy and forget to listen to the podcast itself. Keeping it rolling for 5 minutes is as good as a like to a blind horse. Listening it to it for an hour in traffic will shorten the trip considerably. Giving it an electronic vote of confidence is the equivalent of a field goal through goal posts on a Harvest Moon.

Still, there is hope this Old School podcast will get a zillion downloads and ultimately elevated by Apple, Spotify, or whatever your favorite delivery system may be…

No matter what definition grabs you🎸

The TITLES in BOLD are what you will hear on the podcast. The various videos (VV) are alternate tunes by the bands who made the pipe.

PIPE DREAM The Blues Magoos (1967)

LOST IN MY DREAM Spooky Tooth (1969)

QUEEN OF DREAMS The Strawbs (1972)

IN ANOTHER LAND The Rolling Stones (1967)

MIND GARDEN The Byrds (1967)

LANTERN GOSPEL World Column (1968)

SONG FOR A DREAMER Procol Harum (1971)

APOTHECARY DREAM The Sound Sandwich (1967)

SLEEPWALKERS Lamb (1971)

HEMPSTEAD INCIDENT Donovan (1967)

WHY ARE WE SLEEPING The Soft Machine (1968)

I HAD TOO MUCH TO DREAM LAST NIGHT The Electric Prunes (1967)

Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thanks for listening. Sweet dreams…

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Greetings. Professor Mikey here, still basking in the hot soul sun of 1965. You don’t have to have heard our previous episode in order to listen to this one. But Summer of Soul Vol 1 has a lot of things you will be expecting to hear.

For this edition, it is certainly more of the same. The first full year of the British Invasion was rocking the planet. The the sounds of the Mersey beats combine on the radio with great American soul power, and careers for the likes of James Brown, the Supremes, Stevie Wonder and more, were launching like 21st century outer space exploration startups.

There’s a lot of music left to unpack, so insert headphones. It’s one thing that the Booker T and the MGs song Plum Nellie that’s going on in the background will no doubt inspire a Led Zeppelin lick in about 4 years. But there is so much more. We are about to get started with a twin spin from Otis Redding that includes a song that Aretha Franklin will cover quite soon.

Get in the groove, we have another hour of summer to move smooth. It’s the 1965 Summer of Soul Volume II. Things go better with soul. And a little respect.

Respect OTIS REDDING

I Can’t Turn You Loose OTIS REDDING

Ride Your Pony LEE DORSEY

Agent Double Oh Soul EDWIN STARR

Some Other Guy RICHIE BARRETT

Take Me in Your Arms KIM WESTON

Back in My Arms Again THE SUPREMES

Oo Wee Baby FRED HUGHES

I Don’t Know What You Got LITTLE RICHARD

Hold On JOE TEX

Boy from NYC THE ADLIBS

Candy THE ASTORS

I Take Whatever I Want SAM AND DAVE

Snatch It Back and Hold It JUNIOR WELLES

Tracks of My Tears SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES

Rainbow GENE CHANDLER

Hurt So Bad LITTLE ANTHONY AND THE IMPERIALS

Ask the Lonely THE FOUR TOPS

When Otis Redding cut Respect in ’65, it was a man pleading with his woman. Two years later, Aretha Franklin flipped it on its head — and turned it into a demand that redefined the song forever.”

“ I Can’t Turn You Loose. “This wasn’t just another single — it became his stage theme. The horns blast, Otis shouts, and the crowd knows they’re in for a ride.

New Orleans. Lee Dorsey’s Ride Your Pony, produced by Allen Toussaint. James Brown himself admitted he stole a few tricks from this groove.

Spy games in soul music? Edwin Starr thought so. His first hit, Agent Double-O Soul, let him ham it up onstage in a tux with a toy gun — years before War made him a household name.

Back in Liverpool, the Beatles never recorded Richie Barrett’s Some Other Guy, but they loved it. One of the earliest TV clips of the band shows them rocking it live at the Cavern (above).

Kim Weston’s Take Me in Your Arms didn’t catch fire in ’65, but a decade later the Doobie Brothers turned it into a monster hit.

The Supremes with Back in My Arms Again. This was their fifth straight number one — tying the Beatles at the time. Pure Holland-Dozier-Holland.

From Chicago, Fred Hughes and Oo Wee Baby. He had the smoothness of Sam Cooke — but never quite broke through.

Rarity: Little Richard’s I Don’t Know What You Got. One of the few studio cuts where a young Jimi Hendrix actually backed Richard on guitar.

The Boy from New York City by The Ad Libs. In the ’80s, Manhattan Transfer brought it back to life, but in ’65 it was pure street-corner pop.

Out of Memphis and Stax Records came The Astors with Candy. Booker T. & the MG’s were behind them — bopping the Memphis sound.

From the Stax label, Sam & Dave with I Take What I Want. Written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.

Junior Wells and Snatch It Back and Hold It. Guitar duties? Buddy Guy.

One of Smokey Robinson’s personal favorites: The Tracks of My Tears. Years later, the Library of Congress picked it for the National Recording Registry.

Gene Chandler, the ‘Duke of Earl,’ reinvented himself mid-decade with smooth ballads. Rainbow showed he wasn’t just a one-hit wonder.

Little Anthony & the Imperials with the heartbreak ballad Hurt So Bad. Linda Ronstadt would cover it 15 years later and land in the Top 10 all over again.

The Four Tops with Ask the Lonely. It didn’t climb as high as their later smashes, but Levi Stubbs’ voice here — that raw ache — proved why he was Motown’s secret weapon.

Its going to Hurt So Bad to leave the Soul Summer of ‘65 Volume 2. If you havent heard Volume 1 yet, there’s a link at the bottom of the page on Substack, where you can subscribe to the Old School newsletter for free anytime and be the first kid on your block to get the latest podcasts. You’ll find that at professormikey.substack.com.

1965 was a pivotal year for the Civil Rights movement, as well as the soul music charts. Some of the most iconic and pivotal tunes of the year came right in the middle of the decade. Remember this is a free podcast, subscriptions and likes always work well, so thanks in advance. This podcast is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976.

Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

I’m Professor Mikey, thanks for listening and join me next time when we cut classes to attend Old School!

Here’s the code for SUMMER OF SOUL VOLUME 1 on Substack:

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Hey Old Schoolers. Professor Mikey here with another attempt to bring the past back to where it belongs. In our hearts and minds. If I were building a time machine school bus, I’d make sure it had a great sound system before it had anything else. Especially a search engine. Ha ha.

Old School loves the underground years, but in ‘65 a lot of things were getting figured out. The British Invasion was full on and the USA had surrendered to the long hair, the mersey beat,mini skirts and swinging London.

But they all share something in common besides the paisley pants, and swinging London. All these groups and many more were enchanted and influenced by the stone cold grooves blasting out from Black America. The Stones loved the Muddy Waters of the Chicago Blues. John Paul George and Ringo stopped in the name of love to groove on those Motown harmonies. Eric Burdon lived in the House of the Rising Sun.

So for this show we are going to the songs that were powering American soul trains and soul radio. Putting them together sounds like a street symphony of wisdom and groove, inspired by the restless need to be free and totally expressive through a music that was ascending to new heights.

If you had the opportunity to find a late night soul station in the summer of ‘65 this is some of what you might have heard. Put on your high heel sneakers, don’t be too proud to beg, sugar pie honey bunch. Old School is turning it over for episode 86.

It’s the Soul Summer of ‘65, in the midnight hour, in any hour. As a culture, Papa’s got a brand new bag.

Thanks for reading Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Professor Mikey, about to wrap up episode 86 of the Old School, “1965 Summer of Soul.” The obvious problem, this old jukebox has swallowed up all my dimes, and there are still lots of great songs we haven’t heard yet. So lets do this. Lets make this Volume 1, and we will come back at you with a Volume 2 for our next episode. The music is already there, including more Otis Redding, more Supremes, more Marvin Gaye, plus some lesser known artists like Gene Chandler, the Marvelows, Mel Carter, Lee Dorsey, and even a 60s comeback from Little Richard. 1965 Summer of Soul Volume 2, coming soon to Substack or a podcast player near you.

If you like the show, forward it to a friend. Professor Mikey’s Old School is produced for educational purposes, and the chance to get your groove on. The music we hear is either in the public domain, cleared by the podcast providers, encouraged by the artists and their families, or is used within the guidelines of Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976, wherein the definition of “fair use” becomes especially muddy. We prefer Muddy Waters.

A free subscription to my newsletter takes a second and its the fastest, easiest way to get the latest episode, plus roam the stacks of what has come before. Do that at professormikey.substack.com. Come see about me.

Thanks for listening, rock on with your bad self, and keep the music coming. Stay safe, stay cool, and keep it Old School.

And be sure to have a good answer when you they ask you “What were you known for?”

1965 Summer of Soul

Midnight Hour Wilson Pickett

Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag Pt 1, 2, 3 James Brown

The Jerk The Capitols

Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) The Four Tops

Shotgun Jr. Walker and the All-Stars

Boomerang Jr. Walker and the All-Stars

The Clapping Song Shirley Ellis

Iko Iko The Dixie Cups

Do I Love You Billy Stewart

See Saw Don Covay

Uptight (Everything’s Alright) Stevie Wonder

All or Nothing Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles

Yes I’m Ready Barbara Mason

Tonight’s the Night Solomon Burke

I’ve Been Loving You To Long Otis Redding

The Birds and the Bees Jewel Akens

Ain’t That Peculiar Marvin Gaye

Stop! In the Name of Love The Supremes

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Summer’s here and the time is right for podcasting at the pool! (Player above, Apple and Spotify links below.)

This show is a reunion of sorts. Attendees are solid gold seniors who had no relation to each other, other than their heydays and their expiration dates. They hooked up for one mad love affair in the Troy Donahue-Connie Stevens summer of 1963, then went their separate ways. Sometimes they might see one another on a Rhino oldies collection, but other than that they were cast into that great audio convalescent care stack-o-wax we know as Golden Oldies.

It’s a great bunch once you get to know them. Collectively they represent one of the last summits of pop culture before The Beatles hit the beaches and the rest of the fab but gear British Invasion followed. Culturally, what was on the horizon was the equivalent of sound coming to the movies.

The artist contributions are significant. They offer a sweet last snapshot of Fifties culture that lingered well into the early Sixties. Focusing their talents on the singles market, still the only game in town, they were a mixture of young talent and old business. They played by rules that had been around too long and still managed to deliver unique and original product. Cool, young, and under contract, they rocked the radio, jolted the cash registers, and spoke to young people.

There were so many songs that charged this magical last summer of the before times. This is only the tip of the iceberg floating in the deep end. Some of these songs haven’t been played next to each other in over a half century. They still play well together, unaware of the future, masters of their space in their time. On the beach.

Poolside ‘63 listeners weren’t thinking of all these cultural changes as they showed up in their swimsuits with their beach towels, their lotions and potions, their flotation devices. The pool was for fun and relaxation and the tunes blasting the chlorine filled air just felt right. It felt loud.

Special thanks to the artists who made this magic summer so unforgettable, to DJ B. Mitchell Reed, to the Coca-Cola Company, to The Chantays on Lawrence Welk) to Japan, to the Bronx, to Saigon, to country, to the blues, to jazz and everything else that got shaken up in this sound kaleidoscope from an endless summer.

IT’S MY PARTY - Lesley Gore

THE MONKEY TIME - Major Lance

DA DOO RON RON - The Crystals

SUKIYAKI - Kyu Sakamoto

EASIER SAID THAN DONE The Essex

IF YOU WANNA BE HAPPY - Jimmy Soul

HEATWAVE - Martha and the Vandellas

FINGERTIPS PT 1 & 2 - Little Stevie Wonder

SALLY GO ROUND THE ROSES - The Jaynettes

IN DREAMS - Roy Orbison

PIPELINE - The Chantays

SURF CITY - Jan and Dean

YOU CAN’T SIT DOWN - The Dovells

DENISE - Randy and the Rainbows

HE’S SO FINE - The Chiffons

MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK - The Angels

WIPEOUT - The Surfaris

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Happy Fourth, happy birthday, sail away to a few American tunes! It’s a special Old School All American Red, White, and Blue Mixtape. The stories are all on the podcast, so push play. It’s a holiday.

Recommended for: long waits at the airport, backyard barbecues, setting off fireworks, flag waving, Constitution reading, taking the Fifth, drinking a Fifth, wishing for the Fifth, steering clear of the tainted potato salad, playing volleyball in the park, testing your waterproof earbuds, slipping on the Slip and Slide, and trying not to harsh the mellow of your dear old Uncle Sam.

These tunes for good times from all times. Audio fireworks!

Happy 4th of July from Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL! Share this with someone with whom you once spent the holiday.

The Beach Boys. "Spirit of America" Little Deuce Coupe. Capitol, 1963.

🏖🏝☀️⛱🏝🏖

Chuck Berry. "Back in the USA" The Great 28. Chess, 1964.

Johnny Cash. "Ragged Old Flag" The Essential Johnny Cash. Columbia, 1974.

Roger McGuinn. "The Ballad of Easy Rider" Easy Rider. Hip-O Records, 1969.

Blitzen Trapper. "American Goldwing" American Goldwing. SubPop, 2011.

John Prine. "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore" John Prine. Atlantic, 1971.

Alice Cooper. "I Love America" Dada. Warner Bros, 1983.

Bill Parsons (Bobby Bare). “All American Boy” Single. Fraternity, 1959.

Stan Freberg. "Declaration of Independence "A Man Can't Be Too Careful What He Signs These Days"" Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America. Rhino, 1961

Steppenwolf. “Monster/Suicide/America” Monster. ABC Dunhill Records, 1969.

David Bowie. “I’m Afraid of Americans” Earthling. Virgin, 1997.

Cat Power. "American Flag" Moon Pix. Matador, 1998.

Ry Cooder. "FDR in Trinidad" Into the Purple Valley. Reprise, 1971.

Bob Dylan. "Dear Mrs Roosevelt" Tribute to Woody Guthrie. Warner Bros, 1968.

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. "American Dream" American Dream. Atlantic, 1988.

Spinal Tap. "America" This Is Spinal Tap. Polydor, 1984.

James Brown. "Hey America" The Singles Vol 7 (1970-1972). Hip-O Select, 2009.

Prince. "America" Single. Warner Bros, 1990.

Stan Freberg. “Finale: “America, America! (Reprise) Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America Vol. 2. Rhino, 1996.

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You have probably heard snips of “Surfin’ Safari” more in the past couple of weeks than at any time since it was released in October of 1962. That song, along with “Good Vibrations” and “Surfer Girl” highlight the fleeting media tributes to Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 - June 11, 2025) the driving force behind The Beach Boys.

Thanks for reading Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Luckily, Professor Mikey’s Old School goes a little longer and digs a little deeper than the usual media minute mourn. Still there isn’t enough time in one show to access the loss of an American rock n roll legend, who ruled the charts, the waves, the shoreline, and the hot California sand. But the attempt here will be to catch a wave and sit on top of the world.

Brian didn’t surf. He was a composer, a bandleader, a singer, a keyboard and bass player, a producer, and a mysterious and reclusive giant of the American music scene. He was also a son, a brother, a cousin, a father, a label founder, a confounding genius, and an introverted wizard.

There are tons of Brian Wilson stories and hopefully you will have time to hear them all. The tales of the Beach Boys are not all about the waves of Waimea and Malibu, bikinis and 409s. hallucinogens and cheese burgers, hot rod boys and surfer girls .

Rather than trying to reconstruct a bio, or review a musical output of six plus decades, or watch a video of someone professing to have never listened to a Beach Boys track until they hit it big on YouTube, I have sailed the Sloop John B in a different direction. Whats next is an unsolved puzzle pieced together like the band might have done with reel to reel 60s and 70s snippets in the Sunset Sound Recording Studios.

All the Wilson brothers are gone now. Dennis drowned in 1983 at Marina Del Ray about three weeks after his 39th birthday. Carl contracted lung cancer that moved to his brain and claimed him at 51 in 1998. Brian was 82.

Don’t Worry Baby, everything will turn out all right. And now let’s roll tape and do some beachcombing on Professor Mikey’s Old School # 85: “Scenes from The Life of Brian.”

Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a rocking reader-supported podcast and publication. To receive new posts and support dope oldies, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Beach Boy fans! Enjoy the roaring shredding of underground surf tunes. Tune in to the MONSTERS!!🦖🦖🦖

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Everybody knows about one-hit wonders. They may have had long semi successful recording careers, but at only one time in their entire career did the sun truly shine on them. They had that one song that came along at the perfect time, grabbed the public’s attention, and bought them a house on the outskirts of Palm Springs.

So I started digging a little deeper. Deep in the Audio Closet of No Return are many albums by people you never heard of singing songs that were not widely heard outside of their mother’s kitchen.

i may have doomed this episode by getting cute and calling it No-Hit Wonders. “No hits” will never fly with Top 40 limitations or Android Smoke Signals or Twenty First Century F F F Focus Groups. The pop music world thrives on success and an artist’s ability to make money for someone in a suit he or she will never meet. It’s a business of hits, not misses.

As I started pulling albums that might fit the description, I found that many of the choices I made came from the early 80s. There is no scientific explanation. I was working for a station where music reps brought me stacks of albums. But new decades are a time of promise and possibilities.

MTV didn’t start until August of 1981, so what you are about to hear is a collection of people who didn’t get to be big names just before video killed the radio star. It doesn’t mean they didn’t try. And, as you are about to discover, it doesn’t mean they produced sub par rock and roll. I dropped the needle through all of these albums and found songs I think history might have sadly overlooked.

So much for the “no hitter.” From the Oscar broadcast, Franke Previte of Frankie and the Knockouts accepts the honors for writing “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” for Dirty Dancing.

“That was Sweetheart from Franke and the Knockouts. It came and went in 1981. But the lead singer, Franke Previte would be remember for a much, much bigger song. In 1987 he got a call from the head of Millennium Record, Jimmy Ienner, who asked him if he would be available to compose something for an upcoming movie. When he was told the title, he thought he was being asked to write for a porn flick, and he was sure his career was sinking. The movie however, was Dirty Dancing. He joined co writers John DeNicola and Don Markowitz and their song not only bumped a Lionel Ritchie song for the climactic dance by Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray, the trio won Oscars for the best composition of the year.”

It’s easy to say these weren’t particularly successful entertainment sources in their time, which for most of them seem to be on the cusp of a new decade. Through with the 70s, the 80s on top of them. A new unscripted baby of an era fairly unsure of what is about to happen, it only knows it is going to require a lot of mousse to replicate the glitzy Fifties, and for music and movies, an acceleration of drug use, particularly cocaine, on the highway to getting things done. For this handful of musicians the possibility of failure and being forgotten in a distant future is not there, like the haunted girl lost by the heartbroken Zombies in their debut hit of the 60s.

You be the judge. This show is 100% vinyl, and about the same percentage obscure. But it wasn’t for lack of trying. From England we start with The Sinceros and a prophetic song called “Disappearing.” Get ready for Professor Mikey’s Old School #84: “No Hit Wonders: The Early 80s!”

But if you have listened to as many records as an ancient DJ you have either lost all your audio tastebuds, or you have figured out that the music that comes out of an artist has little or nothing to do with the size of their bank accounts. Poverty struck down and outhouse cowboys have produced tear jerkers that rolled into the driveway in the rain with beautiful songs of heartache and redemption.

⚾️PLAY (BALL) LIST

(Coaches note: Batting order changed at the last minute)

I’m So Attractive The Photos * I Don’t Wanna Hear It The Shoes * All Messed Up and Ready to Go The Records * Fotogenic Ellen Shipley * Hey You’re On the Run New England * Sweetheart Frankie and the Knockouts * Give Me a Little Time R.A.F. * At the End of the Day Mike Rutherford * Real Life Fast Fontaine * No Turning Back Sherbs * Disappearing The Sinceros * Fade to Grey Visage

Visage fading to grey means we are coming to the end of the No Hit Wonders Old School podcast, and still no hits. Hopefully you got the point. Even the biggest hit makers sometimes find themselves in creative jungles. Chopping and charting through swamps and skullduggery, sure that whatever it takes to become a success has eluded them completely. Many of these artists disappeared or went different directions. Others persevered, sometimes into miserable failure. But other times they won the rock and roll.

We close with a little known thematic project called Smallcreep’s Day. The artist is Mike Rutherford. He stayed in the background for a lot of his career. He was no Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel, but he did play bass for Genesis. He also made some solo albums, and eventually founded a little group called Mike and the Mechanics. In this, the closing movement from a genius unknown album, he looks forward to better times. If you are a musician, or you just feel like your needle has yet to settle in the groove, there is still time, and there is always hope, especially if the subject is rock and roll. Everybody’s looking for something. You could be next!

Professor Mikey’s Old School is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. Playlists, pictures, and first access to all podcasts requires a free subscription to my newsletter which you can find at professormikey.substack.com

“The past is a blast.”

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FOR a beat down of pure syrupy nostalgia, there’s nothing like an Old School prom night. Unless it’s an old basketball court gymnasium prom night. Or a Kiwanis Hall.

Everyone is in their teens which means they will never look better. Small town princesses in their royal gowns, awkward guys all greased back and stiff in their rented tuxedos. Becoming a grownup is a mystery just a few miles down the road.

Maybe if the music glides into romantic and dreamy, things might slow down a bit. The lights go low, the geometry teacher can’t see how close you are dancing.

Before the limo arrives, the weather does its thing. It starts raining on prom night. Windshield wipers swipe back and forth, spreading droplet jewels before more fall. Uncomfortable but flashy dancing shoes go splashy through the puddle. Inside you can hear the Thunder under the Marshals and the Fenders.

The rain is falling, the night is calling, some of the corsages have been in the freezers for close to 70 years. Much of this predates classic rock. So I guess it’s Baroque. It’s definitely romantic. And it’s coming down cats and dogs.

Prom culture, like teen culture, has not stood still. For this playlist we hover pretty much around the late Fifties into the early Sixties. The oldest song is from 1952, but it has such staying power it was required on prom setlists for over 20 years.

A couple of modern tunes from 1966 are present, just to keep the sass in tact. But mostly the prom sweet spot coincides with the peak years for doowop, a genre that takes to the floor after the Blues and just ahead of Soul.

The greatest hits of Doowop were associated with Proms at one time or another. Heartfelt love songs that drifted through dreamy harmonies. All the sweetness and tenderness that true love can inspire in the poetry of an uncertain era. The importance of Doowop is a big chapter in any popular music history. Tonight however we are in love with the possibilities of everything working out just right for ever and ever.

NEW SCHOOL PROM FILLER

A girl usually tries on 10 dresses before she finds the perfect prom ensemble! Corsages were meant for the waist Teens usually spend $1,500 on their prom including tickets, limo, dresses, and flowers! 62% of prom-goers take home memorabilia to remember their prom night 15% of girls see prom as equal importance as their wedding Prom Industry earns about $4 Billion each year! The average prom proposal costs $325 Most girls shop for their dress 3 months before their prom. Source: Ambassador Limousines

Weird Prom Factoids

In 1975 Susan Ford (President Gerald Ford’s daughter) invited her peers to the White House to have their prom! Her father was not in the states that night so the Secret Service took it upon themselves to be the chaperones. It was held in the East Room. Once the night was over the students went on the Presidential yacht and cruised underneath the stars!

This was supposed to end about twelve, and it’s a quarter till I guess. Nobody’s really looking at the clock. Throughout the evening people have been peeling off. Most of the teachers have gone home, there are still a couple of chaperone stretching out over multiple folding chairs. Balloons have popped, confetti is coming loose.

But there’s still a dozen or maybe two dozen (its really dark in here) couples, and this is serious heartfelt intoxicating busy time. The DJ shuts up, the only music that’s going to work for the up close and personal is one long dreamy set of heaven sent Doo Wop. The Flamingoes have wet feathers because it’s still raining on prom night.

Right now you might be thinking of a friend who would get a kick out of this show. Think no more! Send it to them! Cheaper than a corsage!

The Program

Walking in the Rain THE RONETTES

Crying in the Rain THE EVERLY BROTHERS

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation MARTY ROBBINS

At the Hop DANNY AND THE JUNIORS

Loillipop THE CHORDETT

7 Little Girls Sitting in the Back Seat THE AVONS

Born Too Late THE PONI-TAILS

WIshin’ and Hopin’ DUSTY SPRINGFIELD

Popsicles and Icicles THE MURMAIDS

Teenager’s Romance RICKY NELSON

Johnny Angel SHELLEY FABRES

Venus FRANKIE AVALON

Rhapsody in the Rain LOU CHRISTIE

Rumble LINK WRAY

He’s a Rebel THE CRYSTALS

Angel Baby ROSIE AND THE ORIGINALS

Nothing Takes the Place of You TOUSSAINT McCALL

I Love How You Love Me THE PARIS SISTERS

All These Things THE UNIQUES

I Only Have Eyes for You THE FLAMINGOS

Once Upon a Time ROCHELL AND THE CANDLES

In the Still of the Night THE FIVE SATINS

Tonight Tonight The Meello Kings

There’s a Moon Out Tonight THE CAPRIS

Remember THE EARLS

The Angels Listened In THE CRESTS

You Belong to Me THE DUPREES 1962

Come Softly To Me THE FLEETWOODS

I Love You So THE CHANTELS

Ebb Tide THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS

For Your Precious Love THE IMPRESSIONS

For Your Love ED TROWNSEND

It’s Raining On Prom Night CINDY BULLINS from GREASE

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OLD SCHOOL #7 Wild Life Macumba

Os Mutantes 1968, Barbara George 1961, Lou Christie 1966

For many who were there, regardless of our powers of recall, the psychedelic 60s are fueled by musical memories. Great Britain ruled with Beatles and Stones, trailed by a loopy gaggle that included Donovan, Small Faces, and infant Pink Floyd. Living in the USA meant the Dead, the Airplane, the Electric Flag, the plastic inevitable, the acid test.

But in Brazil, all those inputs were peppered with the home country heroes Os Mutantes. Weird, political, original, they were as psychedelic as the blue sands of Rio in the moonlight. They started in ‘64, regrouped and added and subtracted personnel over the years, but remain a global legend.

Presenting their first song, the gateway audio drug to the endless whirl that Os Mutantes!

BAT MACUMBA Os Mutantes

Barbara George wrote her single hit basing the melody on one of her church choir faves, “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.” The lyrics were pointed at the jerk she had married at 16. It was a blessing as well as a blessing out.

In 1961 “I Know” topped the R&B charts at hit #3 on the US pop charts. As composer, she reaped the benefits of cover versions by Ike and Tina, Fats Domino, Bonnie Raitt, and Cher. British invaders Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas recorded it.

Such a fun song, it’s sleeping now, awaiting a reimagined cover somewhere down the line. How do I know? I Know.

I KNOW. Barbara George

Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco turned 83 on Feb 19. His best birthday will always be his 23rd in 1966, when he had the Number One song in the country. On March 3, “Lightnin’ Strikes” went gold, signifying a million sales, mostly to teenage girls who knew exactly where Lou Christie was coming from. And where he wanted to go.

Most of Christie’s hits, heavy with falsetto and naughty romance, are rough and edgy for the times. To date he is the only artist to have a record banned for including the phrase “making out.” Christie loved the bad rich boy persona that emanate from his songs, his album covers, his live performances.

Lou forever comes across as the privileged white teen who shows up late for the chaperoned sweet sixteen birthday house party, rocking a plaid blazer. He’s driving his father’s Jaguar. And at some point of the party he takes two or three cool guys out to the driveway for a smoke and shows them the pistol in the glove box.

Christie and his labels created this image and squeezed it into a very successful career. “Wild Life’s in Season” is a lesser hit for him, but it is such a perfect example of what Lou Christie was all about. The man, the legend, the haircut.

WILD LIFE’S IN SEASON Lou Christie

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OLD SCHOOL #8 Junior and Georgie on a Mission

Junior Wells 1965, George Fame and the Blue Flames 1964, Mission of Burma 1981

Unlike the Underground FM sets I would put together in the early 70s as a charter member of the Association of Progressive Radio Announcers, these three song Old School shows don’t have much to do with each other. That will probably change but for these first few it’s grab bag mode. Unearthing genius locked silent for a half century is enough!

If today’s bill was a show, I would be there with you on the front row. Junior Wells was a legend. Musically he was family taught by cousins Junior Parker and Sonny Boy Williamson II. On the other side of the ocean Georgie Fame fed on American blues and brought a hep cat groove to the British Invasion. Fast forward a little and Boston’s Mission of Burma plays their first gig on April 1, 1979.

OK, push play please…

SNATCH IT BACK AND HOLD IT Junior Wells

Junior Wells, 1934-1998 enjoyed a 40 year performing career that established him as one of the baddest blowers of the blues harp. Born in Memphis, he attended the school of hard knocks in Chicago. He was performing with a group called The Aces in 1952 when he heard that Little Walter had dropped out of Muddy Waters band.

By the 1960s Junior was on his own when he recorded perhaps his greatest album, the Hoodoo Man Blues. The idea was to recreate in a studio what a night in a west side lounge might sound like Especially sweet is his Chicago Blues Band, consisting of bassist Jack Myers, drummer Billy Warren, and a guitarist called Friendly Chap on the first pressings, but you don’t need a weatherman to know that axe is being wielded by Buddy Guy.

Don’t even try to sit still. Junior Wells 1965…Snatch it Back and Hold It…

YEH YEH Georgie Fame

Georgie Fame points to Louis Jordan, Booker T and Mose Allison as major influences on his jazzy British style. Oddly enough, the sound was just offbeat and swinging enough to earn him a high rank in the British Invasion. His first hit had been recorded by Mongo Santamaria, with lyrics written by Jon Hendricks of Lambert Hendricks and Ross. London went cool cat, and Georgie has been bopping ever since.

From 1965, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and Yeh Yeh…YEH YEH George Fame and the Blue Flames!

THAT’S WHEN I REACH FOR MY REVOLVER Mission of Burma

Exactly where 80s punk was going to go was still a big question in 1981, when Boston’s Mission of Burma released their first EP, Signals, Calls and Marches. Here was a four piece band, with three traditional instruments and one guy running tape loops from a mixing desk, onstage no less.

Singer and bass player named the song after a Henry Miller essay, only to find out later that Miller had gotten the title from one of Hitler’s favorite Nazi sycophants, Hermann Göring. Here’s Mission of Burma, and a sweet little novelty entitled “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver…”

=====📻==OLD SCHOOL #9 Nothing But Psychopathia Sexualis

The Flirtations 1969, Lenny Bruce 1959, The Associates 1967

The Flirtations with a bold realization kick off #9! Then a yet to be lionized Lenny Bruce releases a single from his second groundbreaking (check the cover) album, recorded in 1958 at Ann’s 440 Club in San Francisco. He’s a young comic seeking to shock, relieve, poke, educate, and entertain all in 2 minutes of jazz poetry doomed for zero airplay.

Fast forward almost a decade down the line, and the hippy darlings of Grand Rapids, Michigan, hang the bedspreads on their 1967 garage walls, inhale a little Escanaba Waba, and memorialize their tie-die lifestyle in song.

NOTHING BUT A HEARTACHE The Flirtations

The Flirtations were an all girl soul group who could have called themselves the Pearce Sisters, except sisters Betty, Shirley, and Earnestine included their friend Viola Billups. They began life in the early 60s as the Gypsies, but changed their name in ’65 when they were signed by Josie Records. Betty left the group a year later. In 1967 the remaining Flirtations did their own American invasion, and moved to England, where they began recording for the Parrot, then the Deram label. Their big song of 1969 is what they are remembered for, a swinging big sound with enough Top 40 hooks to fill a tackle box. And even though it was a hit in the U.S., the group stayed in Great Britain for another ten years. Here’s the Flirtations and Nothing But a Heartache…

PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS Lenny Bruce

Comedians have been going into recording studios for a long time. Novelty hits are a fast payday if they click, and if they don’t, there’s always another club. In his 40 years, Lenny Bruce would change the face of stand up comedy, not only because he brought dirty words to the stage, but because his vision of humor included savage observations on bigotry, religious contradictions, evil politicians, and everything that can go wrong in life and love. Lenny loved jazz and was a beatnik at heart, both which come through on this single that was released from the 1959 album The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce.

BLESS OUR HIPPY HOME The Assortment

Today we dip into the Michigan garage sound of the 1960s. The Fenton label hailed from Sparta, Michigan, and ultimately became more famous than any of their bands. Most of their acts were little known, never made it nationally, but were huge on the Grand Rapids and Muskegon sock hop circuit. They also had excellent studio recordings made of their garage sounds, thanks to the Fenton engineers. Here’s a good example, a pretty dumb song with great production values. From 1967, it’s The Assortment and Bless Our Hippy Home…

OLD SCHOOL #10 Honky Tonk Women's History

Big Mama Thornton 1953, Wanda Jackson 1961, Loretta Lynn 1975 , Kitty Wells 1951

Ellen Muriel Deason, aka Kitty Wells, was 32 in 1951. Her latest country hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” crossed the line. It blamed men for a few glaring inequities.

It was heard by Alabama-born Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, 25. She had just signed with Peacock Records and was aiming for similar success. Her statement song was so powerful it was covered by Elvis Presley.

Loretta Lynn was a 19 year-old mother of three, still two years from receiving her first guitar from her husband as a birthday present. Wanda Jackson at 14 was already performing on the Oklahoma City radio stations where she first heard Kitty Wells and many others. She would snag a recording contract at 17.

All four scored in a tough, male dominated music business orbited around rough bars, juke joints, and smoke filled honky-tonks. They played one-nighters, visited out-of-the-way radio stations, and performed standing on orange crates in music centers and record stores.

And more than once they pondered real life in real songs. Grab a beer, it’s time for some “Honky Tonk Women’s History.” And don’t come home a-drinking with lovin’ on your mind.

HOUND DOG Big Mama Thornton

Big Mama Thornton’s version of Hound Dog, recorded almost four years before Elvis Presley got hold of it, takes on a whole new meaning when sung by a woman. And what a woman. Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller wrote the song for Thornton, who at the time was singing with the Johnny Otis band. It topped the R&B charts in 1953, then turned into a legal nightmare. The Peacock label gave Otis writing credit, then the lawyers swarmed in when various takeoffs were released. The story goes that Elvis was unaware of Big Mama’s version when he recorded what would become a monster hit in 1956. Still, savvy critics noted that the song made little sense when sung by a man. Here’s the original, exhibit A, Big Mama Thornton recording in Los Angeles on August 13, 1952.

FUNNEL OF LOVE Wanda Jackson

Born in the tiny town of Maud, Oklahoma in 1937, Wanda Jackson is today considered to be one of the first true female voices on the vast landscape of rock and roll. She got her break when Hank Thompson heard her singing on the radio in Oklahoma City. She dated Elvis, who told her to move away from country gospel and to use that big voice to rock out. Her first record came out in 1956. We’re going to tune into a 1961 song, wherein she combines the power of love with a familiar sight on the Okie weather Map. From 1961, Wanda Jackson and Funnel of Love…

THE PILL Loretta Lynn

It is hard to imagine today the controversy that surround Loretta Lynn’s ode to birth control, a song called simply, The Pill. She was once quoted as saying “I’ve always said that you have to be different, great, or first. So maybe I was first—first to come to town, write my own stuff and sing it. You know, I think that’s what the whole deal has been.” In 1975 she became the first recording artist to mention birth control in a song. T. D. Bayless wrote the lyrics, Loretta recorded the song in 1972, but her fearful label sat on it for three years. The idea that a woman might have control over her life by regulating the number of children she bears was simply too hot to handle. Even when the song was released, many country radio stations took it upon themselves to shelter the public from these radical notions. Here it is, uncut and uncensored. From 1975, Loretta Lynn and “The Pill.”

You wined me and dined me when I was your girl, Promised if I'd be your wife, you'd show me the worldBUT all I've seen of this old world is a bed and a doctor billI’m tearing down your brooder house 'cause now I've got THE PILL All these years, I've stayed at home while you had all your funAnd every year that's gone by, another baby's comeThere's gonna be some changes made right here on Nursery HillYou've set this chicken your last time 'cause now I've got THE PILL This old maternity dress I've got is going in the garbageThe clothes I'm wearing from now on won't take up so much yardageMiniskirts, hot pants, and a few little fancy frillsYeah, I'm making up for all those years since I've got THE PILL I’m-tired of all your crowing how you and your hens playWhile holding a couple in my arms, another is on the wayThis chicken's done tore up her nest and I'm ready to make a dealAnd you can't afford to turn it down 'cause you know I've got THE PILL This incubator is over-used because you've kept it filledBut feeling good comes easy now since I've got THE PILL It’s getting dark, it's roosting time, tonight's too good to be realAw, but Daddy don't you worry none 'cause Mama's got the pill Oh, Daddy don't you worry none 'cause Mama's got THE PILL💊

IT WASN’T GOD WHO MADE HONKY TONK ANGELS Kitty Wells

Unlike many successful country stars, Muriel Deason was actually born in Nashville. Her husband Johnnie Wright of Johnnie & Jack added her to open the show, but he changed her name to something a little catchier, after the old folk ballad I'm a Goin to Marry Kitty Wells. In 1952, she exhibited her own bit of cat power, with a single that served as an answer to Hank Thompson's Wild Side of Life. A feminist cowgirl who claimed unfaithful women were the spinoff from unfaithful men was something new and dicey, and the song itself solidified her as the Queen of Country Music, someone for young Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette to look up to. Here she is with the song that put her name in lights. Kitty Wells and “It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels...”

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Thanks for catching up on the good old days of Old School. Don’t miss the current installment and share with friends you know who need a rock ‘n’ roll vaca! The past is a blast!

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Professor Mikey in the Old School today, on a field trip where we will be twisting the night away.

The Twist was all about the dance. The music was kind of secondary. Sure, there were a handful of Twist stars, but as far as phenomena go, the Twist had a trajectory of it’s own.

Welcome to the last big to the last big music craze before the British Invasion.

We are coming to you from the ghostly realm of the Peppermint Lounge at 128 West 45th Street in New York City, a sonic shrine from 1961 that predated the cultural pop of Studio 54. Who cared that it was small and most people spent their evenings trying to get on the wait list? Or that it was run by the mob?

The popularity of the Twist came and went to fast, almost as quickly as it’s West Coast counterpart, surf music. But it was a completely different vibe. Wiggling your hips to phenomenally forgettable Twist tunes in the middle of the night was pure east coast, where the beautiful people flocked to the Big Apple. On any given night you might see Norman Mailer, Greta Garbo, Truman Capote, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Liberace, Audrey Hepburn, Annette Funicello and so many others. When the Beatles came to play the Ed Sullivan Show, they wanted to party at the Peppermint Lounge.

We have the pictures to prove it on the newsletter at professormikey.substack.com.

Another origin story took place at the same time in Philadelphia, where TVs most popular disc jockey ordered up a cover version of a Bside from 1958. It was still the early days of rock, and having a grown up white guy decide what the next craze would be was nothing unusual. That’s a whole other story.

Some of the songs were catchy, some were downright twisted. All of them involved a dance that anybody could do, and everybody looked silly doing it. Good times! This is Old School #83.

Hey! Let’s Twist!

Exactly how or why that song sat for 2 years before it got Dick Clark’s attention is a mystery. The king of Philadelphia and teen aged afternoon TV on his American Bandstand dance show wanted a new dance. He called a friend at Cameo Records to see if they had anyone who could do a new version of Ballard’sforgotten B Side. Earnest Evans, who would have probably been called Ernie E if he had been discovered today, got the nod. The 20 year old had earned the name Chubby while entertaining for Fresh Farm Poultry in the Italian Market on Ninth Street. His boss, the guy who nicknamed him Chubby, Anthony Tambone, got the call from his buddyKal Mann, who worked as a songwriter for Cameo-Parkway Records arranged for young Chubby to do a private audition recording. Clark played it for his family and his wife suggested they tack on Checker as an homage to Fats Domino. Clark smelled money.

Enter Joseph DiNicola, born in Passaic, New Jersey on 11 June 1940. As Joey Dee he and the Starliters (David Brigati, Larry Vernieri (vocals), Carlton Lattimore (organ), Sam Taylor (guitar) and Willie Davis (drums), were playing a club in Lodi, New Jersey. They got the call to meet on 45th street for a weekend gig at the Peppermint Lounge. It was a tiny club pulsing with energy. What the public didn’t realize at the time was it was being run by the Genovese crime family, specifically Matty “The Horse” Ianniello. Teen tough guy Joey Pesci was an extra who was asked to leave after his dancing got a little too wild.

All that faded into the background when the Peppermint Twist was released. The 45 came as a two parter, with the first side getting the airplay, and hit the number one spot quickly. Here is the way they never heard it on the radio. The Peppermint Twist Parts One and Two!

Their hit “Peppermint Twist” hit number one in 1962.

On any given night, you might spot Judy Garland, Greta Garbo, or even the Beatles—all twisting elbow-to-elbow with downtown kids.

Designed to get a quick laugh and hopefully turn a quick buck, Twisted Humor resulted in a handful of mostly regrettable tunes that did nothing to help the twist. They were songs produced by adults, for adults, and they were funny for about the first 20 seconds. In fact, Prof Mikey has made an editorial decision to cut these into segment so you won’t dislike me or disown me or whatever people do when they unsubscribe. If you want to hear the entire versions, they are safe and uncut on the public Twist playlist on my YouTube Channel.

How bad can they be? Let’s just start cold.

O’Kelly, Rudolph, and Ronald–Cincinnati’s Isley Brothers–figured into a lot of music over several decades. Beginning in the 50s with gospel and doo-wop, they progressed to soul, and funk and so much more. And they were always a few dance steps ahead, like when they hired an unknown Jimi Hendrix to play in their band. Twistin with Linda was just one of their twist hits, but you probably heard a lyric in there that would gel into the backbone of a song so famous, the Beatles used it to open most of their early shows. Earlier in this episode, you heard an unknown version of Twist and Shout, produced by Phil Spector. Songwriter Bert Berns never liked that version. In 1962 he brought it to the Isleys scored their first top 40 hit with "Twist and Shout", which reached number 17 on the Hot 100 and number 2 on the R&B chart, staying on the charts for 19 weeks.

The Twist came and went in such a fast blur, it seemed almost too silly to be occupying news space alongside the real possibility of nuclear war. Chubby Checker released “The Twist” about 6 weeks before John F. Kennedy accepted the nomination to compete for the presidency against Richard Nixon in 1960. They were doing the Peppermint Twist at the Peppermint Lounge while Russia’s Sputnik 4 sailed about 500 miles overhead. And the birth control pill had been approved only a short time before Sam Cooked released “Twisting the Night Away” in 1962. Timing was everything.

We know now the Twist was a hot mess of a craze that prepared the world for a surprise attack that was on the horizon. No sooner had Chubby Checker moved on to the Limbo than the Beatles arrived in New York for their first appearances on the Ed Sullivan show. Checker had already been there and done that.

Professor Mikey here, hoping you took the time to kick out some early 60s jams with Episode #83 of Old School, Hey Let’s Twist. There’s an accompanying playlist online on the Professor Mikey’s Old School YouTube Channel, and while you are rolling up the rug you should take a moment to see the pictures and a lot of extras, including the complete “Hey, Let’s Twist” motion picture starring Joey Dee and Teddy Randazzo on the Old School newsletter on Substack. (ProfessorMikey.Substack.Com)

Even though the fad really was a fad that lasted just under three years, we’re going to close out with a beloved homage to the Twist that entered popular culture in the Quentin Tarentino motion picture “Pulp Fiction,” released in 1994. Thanks for checking out the episode, enjoy the newsletter, and sit back to hear the music Mrs.Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega twisted to at Jack Rabbit’s Slim’s Twist Contest.

Twist the night away, here comes Chuck Berry, and we will be in touch next time on Professor Mikey’s Old School!

Episode playlist

• Hey Let’s Twist - Joey Dee and the Starlilghters

• The Twist - Hank Ballard and the Midnighters

• The Twist - Chubby Checker

• Twist Around the Clock - Clay Cole and the Capris

• Twistin’s U.S.A. - Danny and the Juniors

• Twist and Shout - The Top Line

• Let’s Twist Again - Chubby Checker

• Roly Poly - Joey Dee and the Starliters

• Peppermint Twist Pt 1 & 2 - Joey Dee and the Starliters

• Dear Lady Twist - Gary U.S. Bonds

• Twist Twist Senora - Gary U.S. Bonds

• FrankensteinTwist - The Crystals

• Twisting Christmas - The Marcels

• Twisted Humor Segment: Twisting Hound Dog - Ray Anthony, The Alvin Twist - Alvin and the Chipmunks, Mama Don’t Allow No Twisting - Bonnie Dane, Tequila Twist - The Champs, Twist and Freeze - Bill Kuhn, Mother Goose Twist - Oliver Twist

• Twistin’ Postman - The Marvelettes

• Twistin’ the Night Away - Sam Cooke

• Slow Twistin’ - Chubby Checker and Dee Dee Sharpe

• Twistin’ with Linda - The Isley Brothers

• Twist and Shout - The Isley Brothers

• Shout - Joey Dee and the Starliters

• You Never Can Tell - Chuck Berry

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“The past is a blast.”

🎥📽️MOVIE BONUS🍿🎦

“HEY, LET’S TWIST!” starring Joey Dee plus “DON’T KNOCK THE TWIST” starring Chubby Checker

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Searching for wisdom in old pop songs is no doubt an exercise in folly. Tunes from Good Times, resurrected and dusted off in bleak and uncertain futures, often sound hollow.

(((Be sure and check out the last 5 min even if you skip everything else😎))))

Boy, did these guys miss the mark. What if we could pluck them out of their secure past, and plop them down in the middle of these times. Things get worse everyday. The anxiety level rocks you harder than an old Led Zeppelin lick.

Thanks for listening to and/or reading Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Read The Tempest (1611) by William Shakespeare here.

But, if Shakespeare can sum it up and have it make sense over a few hundred years, surely we can expect the same from many others who tamed the 20th century with peace, love, and great bass lines.

Today Old School is coming to you from a Brave New World. Not necessarily hopeful and sugar coated. The future is still out there, it could go either way. It could be the end of the world as we know it, but how great to be able to dial up REM or Elvis Costello.

Professor Mikey here. Hopeful as Hell, but still holed up in the Old School basement surrounded by the grooves of a remarkable past. A time when all issues could be rocked. For today’s show, we’ve even dipped into some true standard to keep the ship afloat.

🌎🌍🌏BRAVE NEW PLAYLIST

I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire - The Ink Spots

Brave New World - The Steve Miller Band

Lost in a Lost World - The Moody Blues

World of Pain - Cream

Sittin’ on Top of the World - Howlin’ Wolf

Any World That I’m Welcome To - Steely Dan

Man Who Sold the World - Nirvana

Get Me to the World on Time - Electric Prunes

5 O’Clock World - The Vogues

Hand Me Down World - Guess Who

If I Ruled the World - Sammy Davis Jr.

It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s Man’s Man’s World

Computer World - Kraftwerk

When the World is Running Down - The Police

Waiting for the World to End - Elvis Costello

Got the World on a String - Ella Fitzgerald

Special montage NOT TO BE MISSED

10 Alarming Signs Indicating the World Is in Trouble:

1.Record-Breaking Global Temperatures: January 2025 was the warmest January globally, with an average surface air temperature of 13.23°C, which is 0.79°C above the 1991-2020 average for January.

2.Decline in Wildlife Populations: Over the past 50 years, there has been a catastrophic 73% decline in global wildlife populations, indicating severe biodiversity loss.

3.Increased Rainfall Intensity in Urban Areas: Cities like Seattle have experienced a 6% increase in rainfall intensity since 1970, leading to heightened flood risks.

4.Rising Ocean Acidity and Sea Levels: Ocean acidity and sea levels have reached record highs, contributing to the loss of marine life and increased coastal erosion.

5.Accelerated Biodiversity Loss Due to Human Activity: Human activities have led to a 20% reduction in species diversity at impacted sites, with reptiles, amphibians, and mammals being particularly affected. 

6.Threats to Traditional Agricultural Practices: In regions like Romania’s Carpathians, traditional hay meadows, which support rich biodiversity, are disappearing due to modernization and depopulation.

7.Projected Increase in Species Extinction: Studies estimate that an additional 17% of Earth’s species could be lost directly due to climate change.

8.Deregulation Benefiting Fossil Fuel Industries: Policies favoring fossil fuel industries, such as environmental deregulations, are exacerbating climate change impacts.

9.Intensification of Extreme Weather Events: Climate change is making extreme weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, and heatwaves more common and severe.

10.Increased Heat-Related Mortality Rates: There has been a rise in heat-related deaths, reflecting the direct impact of increasing global temperatures on human health.

Songs That Changed the World

• “Strange Fruit” – Billie Holiday (1939) One of the first protest songs, exposing the horrors of lynching.

• “Like a Rolling Stone” – Bob Dylan (1965) → Redefined what a pop song could be.

3.“I Want to Hold Your Hand” – The Beatles (1963) Sparked Beatlemania and the British Invasion.

4.“Respect” – Aretha Franklin (1967) → Became an anthem for both feminism and civil rights.

5.“Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana (1991) → Ushered in the grunge era.

6.“Good Vibrations” – The Beach Boys (1966) → One of the most innovative studio recordings of its time.

7.“Fight the Power” – Public Enemy (1989) → A rallying cry for political activism in hip-hop.

8.“Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen (1975) → Proved rock opera could be a mainstream hit.

9.“Rapper’s Delight” – Sugarhill Gang (1979) → Introduced rap to a wider audience.

10.“Imagine” – John Lennon (1971) → A universal song of peace and Unity

“The past is a blast.”

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Garage Rock preceded Psychedelic anywhere from four to six weeks, depending on who you ask. The problem is that 50 and 60 year old memories are not exactly rock solid reliable. Several people were in bands. Some of them can remember their names. Their beloved playlists? That’s another matter.

Digging for great old records back by the storage room doors in what is left of the Mom and Pop record stores is a true joy. The tough part is sorting the true ginormous gems from the forgotten flip sides. Sometimes, they stay lost, gone with the wind like the brain cells that used to be there.

But enough for artificial music intelligence. Coming up on this special detention edition of Old School, Professor Mikey discovers and dusts off some truly lost legends of 60s psychedelic silliness hiding amidst the stacks of vericose vinyl from a time that time forgot.

Score two microdots for every one you remember. Hey Jude, these are really obscure.

Hey, Professor Mikey here, thanks for helping to warm up the Old School today. This has been episode 81 Dude, Where’s My Garage. Let’s stick a Volume 1 on that, you know we will have to keep looking for that great garage in the future. The playlist, along with the free newsletter, you can find at professormikey.substack.com. People who do straight politics are getting zillions of subscribers, so vote for old rock and roll any time you have the chance. Old School is also heard wherever you get your podcasts. Any and all music heard in this program resides next to the ‘55 Chevy in the garage that just needs an engine overhaul and a paint job, and is in the public domain or is used by permission from the labels, the podcast originators, and within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. Join me next time and stay tuned for a great closer! Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. To receive podcast pre-releases, extras, choreography annd merriment consider becoming a subscriber as a well as a supporter of the greatest evolutions in rock.

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Hello again. Prof Mikey in the Old School. This is the place for the intro, and this show is no different. Most podcasters will use this time to show you how casual they are, introduce all their sidekicks, and reflect on a news story they saw on Entertainment Tonight. I’m fine with all that but this show is very different.

As regular listeners have figured out, I wandered in from the world of old radio. As a DJ I was told to keep it short, give an honest relate, introduce a song and shut up.

There are far fewer rules in podcasting than when you are on the radio. Radio is all about a target audience, podcasts are hoping someone on a desert island gets your mp3 in a bottle, then has something charged up so they can play it. Suppose all that happens with some shipwrecked soul in the middle of the Pacific.

The listener sits out there like Tom Hanks playing with his Wilson, and somehow they didn’t get the part about giving you a like. Or taking out a free subscription.

Dancing The Nitty Gritty on Ed Sullivan and year before the Beatles hit the stage.

Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and podcasts, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Yeah, mmm, yeahDo you know that some folks know about it, some don'tSome will learn to shout it, some won'tBut sooner or later baby, here's a dittySay you're gonna have to get right down to the real nitty grittyNow let's get right on down to the nitty grittyNow one, two nitty grittyNow yeah, mmm, nitty gritty nowOoooowee, right down to the real nitty grittyOoooowee, can you feel it double beatin', I keep repeatinGet right down to the real nitty grittySay it again double beatin'Get on down, we gotta get right down to the real nitty grittyLet's get, let's get right on down to the real nitty grittyIt's all right, it's all rightGet on down, get on downGet right down to the real nitty grittyListen to me nowOooowee, oooweeCome on and let the good times rollLet the music sink down in to your soulDouble beatin', keep repeatin'You gotta get right down to the really nitty grittyGet on down, get on downTalkin' about the nitty grittyGet on down, get on down

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Lincoln Chase

The Nitty Gritty lyrics © Music Sales Corporation

But enough about the good times. Old School is an educational experience, and as such we can slip some good stuff in.

Last week was big fun, diving into the just below the surface semi underground of 1955. Way too old for modern audiences, but for those collecting, or trying to figure out whether to buy vinyl or food, or people remembering their Boomer childhood that never ended.

Anyway that show had a ton of stories and took hours to research. Here I am this week, it’s time to put together another chapter of Old School. But instead of a concentrated theme, this is more of an evolutionary show that will take shape as we go along. Think of it as the freeform radio of the early past when the DJ had to do a Sunday afternoon shift, and just start pulling records. It not as haphazard as that, there is a theme, and that theme is to get right down to the real Nitty Gritty. We lead off with Shirley Ellis and a bit of a dance number from 1963, then try to follow it with music from all over the stacks. The only thing these songs have in common is that, at least to Professor Mikeys way of thinking, they get right down to the real nitty gritty. Or at least attempt to do so. Strip away the fluff, and contrived hooks, the sappy lyrics, but keep honesty and a good beat going. No charts, no ranking, mostly music that in its time could very well have been brought up on charges of telling the truth.

It is time for the chatting to start and the money to hit the jukebox. This is Old School episode number 80. The real Nitty Gritty.

Nitty Gritty - Shirley Ellis (1963)

The Jezebel Spirit - David Byrne & Brian Eno (1981)

Houses in Motion - Talking House (1980)

So houses represent a where, how, and what you live when establishing your own personal nitty gritty reality. A house, like your psyche, has a façade as well as an interior. The outside shows the world how you live, the inside is your own personal privacy., one corresponding to the public self and the other to the

private self. Forever Carl Jung, declared homemaking as the power metaphor for the integration of the personalites, “the way we attempt to bring our outer lives into harmony with our innermost desires.”

Talking Heads would fill Jung’s notebook, Rosey Clooney might have nailed down all metaphors, and Jimi was known for setting psychic guitars ablaze. Johnny Cash originated the line David Byrne was walking.

I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash & Snoop Dogg (2008)

This Old House - Rosemary Clooney (1954)

House Burning Down - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

The Friends of Mr. Cairo - Jon Anderson & Vangelis

Around the Dial- The Kinks

Reality - The Five Americans

Nobody But Me - The Human Beinz

Whatcha See is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics

Pure and Easy- Pete Townshend

The past is a blast.

Mystery QR:

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“My man rocks me with one steady roll.” – Trixie Smith, 1922

Today’s lesson is going to be especially fun to listen to in our special flying version of a 1955 Chevy hot rod.

Pinning a start year on the first year of rock ‘n’ roll is difficult for most music histories. As we learned in episode 58: Pre-Rock Pre-Roll. There was evidence of the storm already hitting the airways in the late 40s and certainly in the early 50s. If you haven’t heard it, I have a link at the end of this page so you can soak up some of that 1951-54 early mojo.

In this episode, we rock 1955. And it rolls over us.

Coupling was at the heart of the newly developing genre. Rhythm and blues had taken jazz onto the dance floor. Country western was for hillbillies, but as it moved into rough and rowdy ways, a new Texas bop earned the name Rockabilly. Destiny kicked in, the rhythm aces hooked up with the cowboy rockers, and the results were usually too hot to handle.

DJ Alan Freed had popularized the term that had come out of the bluesy southern juke joints, where it was a euphemism for motions people in love made in bed when they weren’t sleeping. Censors missed the connotations completely while music fans welcomed the perfect hybrid. White meets black, blues meets country, it has a good beat and you can dance to it. Rock and roll. Year One.

Which gets us to the changing times of 1955. Bill Haley and His Comets had their song featured in the first rock and roll high school classic “The Blackboard Jungle.” It prompted the newly recognized teen market to rock around the clock. Elvis was still a year away from adopting a hound dog,

Dick Clark wouldn’t take to television with American Bandstand until 1957. This is the equivalent of cave drawings highlighted by the original intelligence of Little Richard, Big Joe Turner, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley.

Controversy came with this meshing of cultures. White teens craved black artists, which rattled the anti diversity, equity, and inclusion crowd. Especially in the South. Then black artists pointed out to white legislators that Pat Boone and others had no problem not only covering black artists but also heavily borrowing arrangements and attitudes, adding a little honky zest and Brylcreem.

The mixing of the music took a giant leap for mankind between 1954 and 1956. That’s why this lesson plan is entitled “1955: Rock Year One.” There are a handful of hits included. Remember, there are people who have never heard anything from 1955. Just like there are those who haven’t listened to any new music since 1955.

This might be a good time to EASILY share this with some rocker you love:

So here comes American music at a pivotal time. Rock and roll is far from taking over. The December merging of unions will give the AFL-CIO a total of 15 million members. The Salk vaccine has entered the war on polio. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof just won a Pulitzer for Tennessee Williams. The hot book is the Mad Men of the day, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.

American kids are spending their allowances on Batman, Superman, and gross out horror comics, which are selling to the tune of one billion in 1955. That works out to a hundred million dollars at a dime a book, four times the budget of all U.S. libraries combined.

The Dodgers of Brooklyn beat the Yankees in the World Series. Racial segregation on interstate trains and buses has been banned by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Employment is nearing the 100% mark, and there is still a shortage of 141,000 teachers. The USA has a stockpile of 4,000 atomic bombs

And the top selling record of the year?

“The Ballad of Davy Crockett.”

Elvis in 1955 is still an up and coming young country western star at Sam Phillips’s Sun Studios in Memphis, as well as an up and coming attraction on the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport. For his 3rd single Elvis recorded a blues piece made famous by Kokomo Arnold during the Depression. “Milkcow Boogie” on the A Side and “You’re a Heartbreaker” on the B. Let’s hear them both.

Sun Records’ Carl Perkins had a career that needed a kick in the pants, and he got it from the man in black. Johnny Cash was telling him a story one day about an incident he had seen in Germany after the war, when someone in the dinner line happened to trip over the shoes of one C. V. White. “Hey man,” he said. “I don’t care what you do with my fraulein, don’t step on my blue suede shoes.” Granted the line needed a little editing, but Perkins was on his way. The Single itself was recorded by many others, including Elvis, and when the 60s rolled around, the flipside was covered by the Beatles.

One of the biggest lessons of rock music’s unofficial Year One is how confusing cover versions muddied the waters. For instance, I’m going to play the first recording of “I Hear You Knocking but You Can’t Come In,” written by Dave Bartholomew, known for his collaborations with Fats Domino and Chuck Berry. No sooner had Smiley Lewis, also from New Orleans, released his version, Gale Storm, star of TV’s “My Little Margie” produced a cover version. It shot up to #2 on the Billboard charts, earning her a gold record. Blues writer Bill Dahl recalled that that Storm’s version killed Lewis’s version, writing that “Storm swiped his thunder for any crossover possibilities with her ludicrous whitewashed cover of the plaintive ballad.” To make matters worse Lewis earned the tag of a “bad luck singer” because every cover dimmed the success of his original. English singer Jill Day recorded the song in 1956, Connie Francis followed in 1959. The last nail was driven in 1961 when Bartholomew produced Fats Domino's remake of the song. I’ll play a little of the Gale Storm version, then the original of “I Hear You Knocking but No Doors are Opening for Smiley Lewis.”

And then there was Elvis Aaron Presley, the 18-year-old Memphis truck driver who wandered into Sun Records in the summer of 1953 and paid four dollars for the time in the studio it would take to record a couple of songs for his mother. We know now that Elvis would not invent rock and roll, he would merely change the world.

In 1954 he recorded Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s “That’s All Right” and the earth moved under all feet. Coming up we will hear a song he released on December 29, two days before 1955. Then another that came out in summer, as he toured with the Louisiana Hayride. The timing was right and soon after RCA would buy his contract for an incredible sum at the time of $40,000.

Coming up, two songs released on Sun Records by Elvis in 1955 Rock Year One. The first was an original blues piece released by Kokomo Arnold during the great Depression and titled the “Milkcow Blues Boogie.” It opens like no other Elvis record. Then it’s all aboard for a 1953 B-Side and Presley’s favorite Junior Parker song in a year of change and musical mystery. It’s impossible to hear as it must have sounded then, with no hint at the times that were about to be changing. What a rush.

It’s impossible to play every vital critical blast off of a rocking song from 1955. Nothing was important and everything mattered. Elsewhere on the first rock planet, Castro organized his revolution in Cuba. Disneyland opened, so did McDonalds. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were born, Albert Einstein died, . The first Johnny Carson TV show debuted on CBS, and Sony introduced their transistor radio. Harmon Killebrew hit his first home run. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. James Dean picked up his Porsche and took it out for his last test drive.

Youth culture had it’s first martyr, it’s first hero, a righteous cause for civil rights, and a new way to blow off steam.

I’m, Professor Mikey, thanks for listening to Old School #79. 1955: Rock Year One.

Any music you may have heard in this session resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. Podcast carriers compensate artists directly.

Every unexpurgated episode of Old School originates on Substack, where you can subscribe for free at professormikey.substack.com and receive not only the podcast but additional material, playlists, and pictures. The podcast is also heard on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Pandora or wherever you get your podcasts. Select episodes are also available on my YouTube Channel, where a like or a subscription would always help.

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Bill Haley and His Comets formed in 1947 and played until Haley’s death in 1981, recording nine top 20 singles, one in particular that reached number one. They originally recorded and released Rock Around the Clock in 1954, but the earthquake impact was delayed almost a year until it was included in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle. It was number 1 on the pop charts for two months and went to number 3 on the R&B chart. It’s a fitting close to a year like no other.

🎸 1 9 5 5

Tutti Fruitti LITTLE RICHARD Maybelline CHUCK BERRY At My Front Door THE ELDORADOS Good Rockin’ Daddy ETTA JAMESY Bo Diddley BO DIDDLEY Only You THE PLATTERS My Boy Flat Top DOROTHY COLLINS Rock and Roll Wedding THE MIDNIGHTERS Don’t Be Angry NAPPY BROWN All Around the World LITTLE WILLIE JOHN She Put the Whamee On Me SCREAMIN’ JAY HAWKINS Earth Angel THE PENGUINS Blue Suede Shoes/Honey Don’t CARL PERKINS The Seventh Son WILLIE MABON Dust My Blues ELMORE JAMES I Hear You Knocking but You Can’t Come In SMILEY LEWIS Too Much BERNARD HARDISON Flip, Flop, and Fly BIG JOE TURNER When You Dance THE TURBANS Speedo THE CADILLACS Ain’t It a Shame FATS DOMINO I Got a Woman RAY CHARLES Red Hot BILLY “THE KID” EMERSON Mannish Boy MUDDY WATERS Milkcow Boogie/Mystery Train ELVIS PRESLEY Rock Around the Clock BILL HALEY AND HIS COMETS

Need more ROCK? Here’s the prequel to 1955 Rock Year One:

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There’s more to mayhem than the excellent insurance commercials. You know, the one where there’s a kid’s birthday party or some house repairs going on and all hell breaks loose. Then a beaten injured spokesperson, bloody well played by Dean Winters, urges you to take out some insurance on him, baby. This guy should be in the hospital instead of out on the street.

When the world is trying to go down the drain, no matter how many good vibes some people bring to the table, we can sense the mayhem in the air. It smells like the opposite of victory. It is all chaos and noise, not much sanity. We are alone in freefall, plunging toward earth, our parachutes nicely folded up in our backpacks. It is Black Friday and all the good deals have been sold.

This episode concerns the existence of mayhem in rock ‘n’ roll. We all remember how surprised we felt the first time we saw The Who, after a rousing set, destroy their instruments and break everything on stage. As punk rock gained popularity, so too did the onstage blood spitting mayhem and the hotel room trashing.

Pointing out in song that the world was falling apart was a big theme with the folkies who decided we were on the eve of distraction and of course, destruction.

In this episode of Old School we will delve into some songs that are filled with dread, confusion and widespread panic at the disco. This is the end my only friend. This is MAYHEM.

💣P L A Y L I S T

Ship of Fools - The Doors

Armagideon Time - The Clash

Eve of Destruction - The Turtles

To Hell with Poverty - The Gang of Four

Trouble Every Day - Mothers of Invention

White Man’s Got a God Complex - The Last Poets

Ball of Confusion - The Temptations

People Who Died - Jim Carrol

Happenings 10 Years Time Ago - The Yardbirds

1984 - Spirit

Blank Generation - Richard Hell & the Voidoids

The House at Pooneil Corners - Jefferson Airplane

Sympathy for the Devil - Laibach

Panic - The Smiths

EXTRA:

The History of Mayhem: Etymology, Historical Incidents, and Modern Chaos

The word “mayhem” carries a history as chaotic as its meaning, evolving from a legal term to a descriptor of unruly disorder. While modern interpretations may conjure images of comedic or metaphorical chaos, its roots are steeped in physical violence and societal upheaval.

“Mayhem” derives from the Anglo-Norman term mahem, itself rooted in the Old French mehaignier, meaning “to maim” or “injure.” In ye olde English law, mayhem referred specifically to a violent crime that left someone physically messed up, mutilated, or incapacitated, particularly in ways that hindered their ability to fight or defend themselves. For instance, medieval legal codes often distinguished between simple assault and acts of mayhem, where the latter involved permanent injury, such as severing limbs or putting out an eye. Like the knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Over time, the word’s legal connotation began to encompass the idea of general disorder and destruction. By the 17th century, literary usage had captured mayhem as a metaphor for any situation marked by chaos and uncontrollable force, setting the stage for its cultural evolution. By the 21st century, it had been shortened to “AFU.”

Certain excruciating events epitomize the wild spirit of mayhem—not just in their immediate violence but in their chaotic and far-reaching consequences.

1. The Sack of Rome (410 CE): One of history’s most iconic moments of mayhem occurred when the orchestra final Visigoths, doom makeup and all, led by Alaric (the Humorless) sacked Rome. The once-invincible city, symbol of order and civilization, was thrown into complete disarray. The streets ran with blood, homes were looted, and ancient temples desecrated. The event signaled not just a moment of physical destruction but the unraveling of the Roman Empire’s perceived stability. The Fall.

2. The Boston Tea Party (1773): Amazing how pissed people get over grocery prices. This little act of defiance by American colonists against British taxation marked another kind of mayhem—one that combined rebellion, symbolism, and public spectacle, all in the name of Constant Comment and chamomile. Disguised as Mohawk Indians, the Sons of Liberty dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. While relatively nonviolent, the act created economic chaos and escalated tensions, paving the way for revolution. Pollution was a thing of the future, so a couple of barrels of honey might have sweetened the deal.

3. The French Revolution’s Reign of Terror (1793-1794): Few periods in history encapsulate mayhem more than the Reign of Terror. Under Robespierre’s leadership, thousands were executed by guillotine in a fervor of ideological purification. Social norms and institutions disintegrated amidst paranoia and bloodshed. Off with their heads, big time.

4. The Great Chicago Fire (1871): fire’s spread was a study in urban mayhem. It razed over three square miles of Chicago, leaving 100,000 people homeless. The disaster exposed the vulnerabilities of fast growing cities and quickly inspired fresh building codes and urban planning.

Modern Confusion and the Echoes of Classic Mayhem

In our time of messy mass communication, mayhem has shifted from violent and grim origins to a constant din, filling newscasts and galvanizing communities with quickly edited scenes of confusion, disorganization, unrestrained energy, and our own amusement with anything rude or borderline appropriate. Sports commentators ove mayhem on the field when a coach is shoved by an overheated player; journalists describe political upheavals or markets imploding as moments of “financial mayhem.” Advertising that feature sour luck and accidental violence as our special guest, the Allstate “Mayhem” campaign, personify the a world in humorous calamity.

Echoes of the classic meaning remain. Events like riots, protests turned violent, or natural disasters evoke the primal, uncontrollable force of mayhem’s original definition. Consider the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol: a chaotic convergence of ideological fervor, misinformation, and mob mentality. This modern mayhem, though far removed from the mutilations of medieval law carries the weight of its historical roots in upheaval and loss of control. But ten years from now our history books may paint a quite different picure, which presents a different kind of mayhem.

Connecting Past and Present Mayhem

At its core, mayhem represents more than just chaos; it symbolizes the tipping point where order dissolves into unpredictability. From its beginnings as a legal term for bodily harm to its application in describing everything from revolutions to slapstick comedy, the word retains a visceral power, reminding us of the fragility of the structures we build to contain life’s chaos.

Mayhem, in any time operates on a precarious balance between order and disorder. It’s the perfect atmosphere for a rock anthem. When it relays historic or political information, it could be John Lennon’s or U-2’s “Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” or David Bowie’s “Panic in Detroit”. If, on the other hand, the subject is mayhem in human relations, it might be “Don’t Come Home A-Drinking (With Loving on Your Mind” from Loretta Lynn,” “There’s No Home for You Here” by The White Stripes, or “Ain’t That a Shame” by Fats Domino.

Echoes of the classic meaning of mayhem remain. Events like riots, protests turned violent, or natural disasters evoke the primal, uncontrollable force.of mayhem’s original definition. This modern mayhem, though far removed from the mutilations of medieval law carries the weight of its historical roots in upheaval and loss of control. But ten years from now our history books may paint a quite different picture, which presents a different kind of mayhem. At its core, mayhem represents more than just chaos; it symbolizes the tipping point where order dissolves into unpredictability. From its beginnings as a legal term for bodily harm to its application in describing everything from revolutions to slapstick comedy, the word retains a visceral power, reminding us of the fragility of the structures we build to contain life’s chaos.

We are going to put a temporary stop to all the mayhem now, with a song written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr in 1986, working in the headline shadow of the events at Chernobyl. Professor Mikey’s Old School is a newsletter with an attached podcast on Substack, you can also hear many of the episodes on your favorite podcast delivery system. The music is either from the public domain, is cleared through the various podcast carriers, or has been made available by labels who believe music should be heard and not hidden.

Join me for the next episode of Old School when there’s a little mayhem in the air. Thanks for listening. U R the best

This is a free podcast, so please share with a friend!

Thanks so much,

Professor Mikey

“The past is a blast.”

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Any time a new music biography hits the silver screen, there is lots to take into consideration. Does it seem real? Does the actor playing the rock star at least have a little resemblance? Is the subject doing the singing or did they dub the voice?

That’s the way they did it back in the day, until they discovered Gary Busey could sound a little bit like Buddy Holly. So when Timothee Chalamet arrived fresh from Arrakis with plenty of dust in his craw, his Bob Dylan voice was fairly uncanny.

Over 60 some years, there have been many Dylan covers. Few try to sound like the 2016 Nobel Laureate in Literature. After all the point of a good cover is to play homage to the author, but to also find something in the song that can become one’s own.

How the artists we are about to listen to accomplished all that is strictly your call. Odds are there are some total obscurities on this list, as well as some memory joggers and forgotten favorites. The first Dylan song I ever heard was a cover and that’s what we are starting with. It is historic and cool, and quite different from the original. A wise and perfect song from a complete unknown had found its way to the biggest folk stars on the hootenanny planet. You might say it was a simple twist of fate..

Oh, the foes will rise

With the sleep still in their eyes

And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'

But they'll pinch themselves and squeal

And they'll know that it's for real

The hour that the ship comes in

Blowin in the Wind - Peter Paul and Mary

All I Really Want to Do - Cher

It Ain’t Me Babe - Johnny Cash & June Carter

The Times They Are A Changing - The Byrds

Masters of War - The Staple Singers

A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall - Leon Russell

With God On Our Side - The Neville Brothers

All Along the Watchtower - Dave Mason

From a Buick 6 - Gary U S Bonds

Positively 4th Street - Johnny Rivers

Like a Rolling Stone - Sebastian Cabot

The Ballad of Hollis Brown - Nina Simone

Simple Twist of Fate - Bryan Ferry

One Too Many Mornings - The Highwaymen

Hearing a bunch of Dylan covers is a trip to an alternate universe. Just like a guided tour to the lives and times that have been lived while this hard rain has been falling. For the more than half century that Bob Dylan has been offering up takes on life lessons and the magic of time and how it messes with the soul, we’ve all been getting fooled. Bob Dylan loves music and art, but so much of his time has been spent playing on stage, speaking only through his songs, it’s pretty certain that he prefers being the riddle master of his own war, working out puzzles that turn into wisdom and cosmic hints that turn into songs. And when someone else tries to sing them, we get a whole other angle from a plethora of artists who want to give these puzzles a shot. Three for a quarter. The circus is always in town.

I hope you enjoyed this episode of Old School, provoked and inspired by the new movie and titled Complete Unknown Dylan Covers. I had to toss more tunes than i got to play, but I’ll keep the close by and do a Volume II and some point in the near future.

Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL

I’m Professor Mikey. I write, research, remember, and produce every episode, and deal with all the different podcast companies so that you can hear this on Substack, Spotify, YouTube, Apple, and many other originators of 21st century radio. Anything you can do to help, be it a like, a subscription, a comment, or a share, would be much obliged.

We just heard Bryan Ferry with a Simple Twist of Fate. Coming up, we watch the sun going down with a small group of friends who got together in the late 80s and called themselves The Highwaymen. Between them (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson., they’d seen one too many mornings.

Colorized DON’T LOOK BACK

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We’ve had a lot of rock and roll lately. Music for rolling down the windows and ripping through guitar solos that frighten people at the stop lights. Historically it’s been an active and jittery time.

Sometimes however, your get up and go disc jockey needs to realize that these podcasts are going to orbit the earth like space junk forever. Listeners who haven’t even been born yet will come along and want to be hippies and wonder where all the peace and love went.

So here comes a post love child high tech outdoor nap in a pile of color changing leaves of grass. Songs and writers who plied their trades just before the culture dictated everybody hide in their bedrooms and get sad.

The goal is to mellow down easy. Come away with a playlist that isn’t really therapy as much as it is a step back. Happiness runs in a circular motion. You can be anything if you let yourself be.

That’s a Donovan line. At the time of this recording he’s an old man, just as cosmic as ever. Simon and Garfunkel still don’t speak much, but they sit on the park bench like bookends.

The Fab Four recorded Let It Be during a legal session from hell that would dissolve the Beatles forever, and it just turned out to be another stop on the highway that was the long and winding road.

Join us now for a break in the action with some wise tunes that never made any charts. Except for maybe this one. This is Old School #76, Professor Mikey with the Let It Flow Chart.

Let It Flow / Jimmie Spheeris 1972

The Boy with the Moon and Star on His Head / Cat Stevens 1972

Caribbean Blue / Enya 1991

Shahdaroba

/ Roy Orbison 1963

Nature Boy / Nat King Cole 1947

Sand and Foam / Donovan 1966

Dawn / Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny 1975

Dust / Fleetwood Mac 1972

I Found a Reason / Velvet Underground 1993

Traction in the Rain / David Crosby 1971

Strawberry Letter #23 / Shuggie Otis 1971

Sisters of Mercy / Leonard Cohen 1967

Running Up That Hill / Kate Bush 1985

Electrolyte / R.E.M 1996

The past is a blast.

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75 A Graveyard Smash…the Party Tape

Professor Mikey here with a haunted hour that is specific to Halloween. It’s the time of year when you need some innocent but creepy tunes to liven up a part, or to bluetooth the bushes outside your door for the trick or treaters.

People are on the move, trying to see through the eye holes in their mask. Most will never get through listening to an entire song.

It’s pretty safe stuff too as if anything is going to frighten the Old School #75. A Graveyard Smash, The Party Tape!

HALLOWEEN WELCOME Zacharly

PET SEMATARY The Ramones

JACK THE RIPPER Screaming Lord Sutch

ROCKIN’ ZOMBIE The Crewnecks

HAUNTED CASTLE The Kingsmen

HALLOWEEN The Misfits

MIDNIGHT MONSTER’S HOP Jack and Jill

MY SON THE VAMPIRE Alan Sherman

CLAP TRAP The Vampires

SWAMP GAL Tommy Bell

BO MEETS THE MONSTER Bo Diddley

PSYCHO The Sonics

HALLOWEEN SPOOKS Lambert Hendricks and Ross

CREATURE FROM OUTER SPACE Sonny Day & The Tony Ray Combo

ROBOT The Tornados

I WAS A TEENAGE CREATURE Lord Luther with The King’s Men

I WAS A TEENAGE MONSTER The Keytones

THE WEREWOLF Carl Bonafede and the Gem-Tones

NIGHTMARE Abstracts

GO GO GORILLA The Shandells

THE CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN Roky Erickson and The Aliens

THE CREATURE STOLE MY SURFBOARD Dead Elvi

PSYCHIC VOODOO DOLL Deadbolt

SPOOKS NIGHT OUT Legendary Invisible Men

The past is a blast…

Happy Halloween! Vote!

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Professor Mikey here, with a wild suspicion that the Old School is possibly haunted. Or the students are just ignoring their lessons until they disappear completely.

Have you ever been ghosted? Has there been someone in your life, on your phone, in your texts, authors of mountains of email, even in your bed or at your breakfast table, who disappeared completely? The texts stopped completely. The emails bounce back like a daemon. All contact is dropped and the person we are talking about has disappeared from the face of everything electronic or otherwise?

It’s a little jolting. Especially if they owe you money. And their Venmo account has been deleted

As we roam the grooveyard grave yard, we find quite a few seasoned tracks that dealt with ghosts. Their haunts were of the more traditional variety, but if you listen closely you will hear more than just the occasional bump in the night.

These tunes could have been written about being ghosted in modern times, where there is no nostalgia for anything.

Tune in with me now as we travel in the mist through the ghost world of distilled spirits. It’s a bit scary, but so is this time of year. And so are the people who all cozy then disappear from Snapchat and Wickr me, Snapseed, Cluster, and Boo I’m a Ghost gram.

This is Professor Mikey’s Old School Number 74. Totally Ghosted. Give a listen before it disappears forever…

The unexpected death of Elvis Presley in 1977 sparked countless ghost stories, but one of the most persistent is about his spirit lingering not at CBS in New York where he did the Ed Sullivan Show, not in Viva Las Vegas but at his home in Memphis Tennessee. You know, Graceland, purchased by the King when he was just 22 years old for a price of $102,500 in 1957. Now one oh two five may sound like a lot of money, but keep in mind it came with 13 and a half acres of prime Tennessee countryside around it.

Catching a glimpse of Elvis reflecting in the windows and mirrors, even in the Jungle room, has become a favorite activity for both staff and visitors over the years. Graceland is a pilgrimage site for fans, and many claim to feel an overwhelming presence of Elvis, especially around the anniversary of his death.

👻Ghost of a Playlist

Spirits in the Material World THE POLICE 1981

The Ghost FLEETWOOD MAC 1972

Ghost Train VIRGIL HOLMES 1961

Ghost Train MARC COHN 1991

Big Joe and the Phantom 309 TOM WAITS 1975

Ghost Town THE SPECIALS 1981

Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man CONCRETE BLONDE 1992

Mr Ghost Goes to Town THE 5 JONES BOYS 1937

Are You Lonesome Tonight? ELVIS PRESLEY 1960

Midnight Stroll THE REVELS 1959

Paris 1919 JOHN CALE 1973

Dead Man’s Party OINGO BOINGO 1985

Rock ‘N’ Roll Ghost THE REPLACEMENTS 1989

The Ghost in You PSYCHEDELIC FURS 1984

Some Eighties ghostings from Oingo Boingo, The Replacement, and coming up, the Psychedelic Furs. Professor Mikey here, about to disappear, only to show up again when we have another session of Old School session. All music you just heard resides in the public domain, was provided by the podcast originator, or resides within protections known as fair use, provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976.

This has been episode 74, Totally Ghosted, an homage to disappearing in the right now, as well as the afterlife. Special thanks for commentary from Russell Brand, Don Knotts, Bob Hope, and the ghost of Graceland Elvis Presley. The talk show snip came from Virgin Radio in Montreal and just an FYI, everything got figured out. Shortly after the initial hookups, the guys beloved dog died, he went into grieving at the Pet Cemetary, and lost his new friend’s phone number. At least we got that cleared up.

Ghosting is not new, people have been disappearing on people for years. What is new is the technology that makes hiding and identity shifting much easier. Be kind, rewind, and respect your fellow travelers. And while you are at it, remember to hit a like on Youtube, Spotify, Apple or wherever your podcasts appear! The newsletter is free, you can always get the latest podcast in your email. It comes with a player, you can skip podcasting software completely. Check it out at professormikey.substack.com. We return you now to your regularly scheduled random access surfing. Join us next time in the Old School, where the past is always a blast!

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Professor Mikey here. Thanks for marking the attendance sheet today on Old School. 🏫

Something you notice when you transcend from being a young punk disc jockey into being an old professorial spinner of the tunes, part gasbag, part profound, is …well…how you pick your music.

Don’t get me wrong. There are lots of good golden oldie shows out there. And most of them are based on the number of listens that get piled up over 40 to 60 years. It’s like they are working for out of focus groups. If they say Eagles, the machine says Hotel California. If they say Fleetwood Mac the machine goes for Rhiannon.

In the process, a lot of great tunes get forgotten or never heard by the new cool kids on the block.

That’s were the vintage wine of the ones and twos kick in. Old DJs remember every song they ever played, as well as the people who dug the sounds that were going down.

Human programmers can do something that never occurred to Algo and the Rhythms. They can take sidetrips that lead to who knows where. The destinations appear to them in visions about halfway through the current song thats being heard.

Funny, that’s the theme of this edition of Old School. These are all destination songs, but not exactly road trip songs. These are all great places to go, but they might give Waze and Google Maps an error code, even if the kickoff tune started in New York City.

Stay with me on this. The longer you listen the longer the tracking machines like it. There is one podcast for every three people on the planet now, so Old School needs all the help it can get. Hit subscribe and I’ll take you there.

We have much ground to cover, so let’s get started. With the hard rock Beatle, John Lennon no less. And our first song is not Imagine. Or Strawberry Fields.

Thanks for listening. This is Old School number 72. Buckle you seat belts. The destinations are all Side Trips!

NEW YORK CITY John Lennon & Yoko Ono 1972

50,000 MILES BENEATH MY BRAIN Ten Years After 1970

JOURNEY TO TYME Kenny and the Casuals 1965

PRIMROSE HILL John and Beverly Martin 1970

ONE WAY STREET Nine Below Zero 1971

SHAMBALA B. W. Stevenson 1973

HITCHHIKE Marvin Gaye 1962

STRANGER IN TOWN Del Shannon 1965

CHELSEA Elvis Costello 1978

BERLIN Lou Reed 1973

SECRET LIFE OF ARABIA David Bowie 1977

OKLAHOMA USA The Kinks 1971

BILOXI Jessi Winchester 1970

DEBRIS Faces 1971

THE GIRL FROM MILL VALLEY Jeff Beck Group feat. Nicky Hopkins 1969

PROMISED LAND Chuck Berry 1964

A side trip is a wonderful thing in music when you are a disc jockey, free as a bird, without a corporate playlist or strict directions delivered by someone who doesn’t like music. Traditionally it means you are in the midst of a trip when you realize you wouldn’t have to go far out of your way to experience a completely different destination. You are at Disneyland, and find out Knott’s Berry Farm is just 7 miles away.

In free form radio it means you have 3 or 4 minutes to find another record that will sound good after the one you are playing.

For this episode #72 we chose from a number of possible musical destinations that were generated by musicians who may have been planning to do something else. You never know with these guys and girls.

Twice we have pondered rock and roll destinations on Old School. I’ll put the links at the bottom of the newsletter page, which you can get to for free at professormikey.substack.com. They will get you to Episode 25, Omaha Shout, a theme show about place names that may or may not have come from Peyton Manning while trying to throw the defense into confusion. It featured powerful yet easy to understand directions from Moby Grape, Nina Simone, and the Dead Kennedys. Great city songs from Episode 21, “Location Location Location” worked a real estate vibe with classic recordings from The Runaways, The Jam, Porter Wagoner, and T Rex.

As always Professor Mikey hopes Old School is becoming your jam. If you hear this on Spotify, just a comment or any kind of signal that the the Spotify empire in Stockholm might see or hear.

Old School is produced for educational purposes, with whole songs coming from the public domain, with encouragement from labels from years gone by, or are used within the guidelines of fair use stipulated in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1967. It was a very good year.

Thanks again for listening, avoid dead air, and I’ll be back very soon with another edition of Old School.

The past is a blast!

Links to similar side trips

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*Show note: Old School GT students. Don’t be confused. This is the same show as the original #2. My apologies for sending again, there’s been a rogue wave that knocked some episodes out of Spotify. So we can sit in the sand and hope things work out, or we can just grab our guitars, hop on our boards, and ride the reptilian surf one more time!

A few episodes back we heard from the Monsters of the Surf Guitar, them rocking reptiles and low-fi lizards that hit the beach with us just as things were warming up.

As the summer went by, too fast as always, a lot of you made it evident you were craving more surf guitar, that twangy genre that ruled the charts in the early 60s just ahead of the British Invasion. If you haven't heard that episode, it has lots of gila monster history, ferocious feedback, and reptilian reverberation. Odds are pretty good if you dial back a few episodes to Old School Number 66, you’ll find it. But you don’t have to have heard that one to paddle out for this one.

I was even thinking of making this a sleep tape. Could people really nod off to dreamland while rocking to the memories of surf, sleep, and Stratocasters?

Most of these artists surfed the waves at Oblivion Beach, where their reputations came and went like the great waves at Wiamea bay. Can you dig it?

We’ve got guitars that scream like a shark on a spree,

And lizards that strum with wild jubilee.

The crocs and the gators are ready to jam,

With riffs so hot, they could fry a clam!

So slide on your shades and hang ten with the best,

Where the surf meets the scales and Black Lagoon Creature don’t rest.

It’s a wild, wacky ride and its just ahead

With monsters and Fenders and creatures who shred

Can you hang ten with the toes and the flying fins and fingers of the larapin lizards of the lost legends of the surfside sidewinders and their dreamy dinosaur dramas?

I thought you could.

The Original Surfaris start of this last set of the Old School Endless Summer with a track called EXOTIC. It’s the return of the Monsters of the Surf Guitar. Number Two. Just for you.

MONSTER PLAYLIST🦖

Exotic THE ORIGINAL SURFARIS

Gear DAVE MYERS & THE SURFTONES

The Breeze and I STEVE AND THE EMPERORS

Ishamatsu THE CENTURIONS

El Gato THE CHANDELLES

Pressure THE PYRAMIDS

Surf Rider THE LIVELY ONES

Midnight Surfer JERRY COLE & HIS SPACEMEN

Fugitive JAN DAVIS

Dance of the Ants THE STRANGERS

Bongo Shutdown NEW DIMENSIONS

Ram Charger THE DELVETTS

Yep THE SURFARIS

Scorpion THE VIBRANTS

The Gremmie Part 1 THE TORNADOES

Rampage THE CHALLENGERS

Cheater Stomp THE FABULOUS PLAYBOYS

Moon Shot KENNY & THE FRIENDS

Surf Medley THE VENTURES

Travelers SPANISH MOON

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“The past is a blast.”

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Today I’m turning the dials over to one of the original architects of rock and roll, the late great cooler than cool master of the microphone, Hercules of the hits, the original Daddy O with stacks of wacks, and the answer to the question who put the bomp in the bomp shu wamp. Alan Freed.

Freed was the original radio hustler. He knew he had stumbled on lightning in a bottle. He just wasn’t quite sure how to monetize it. In a buttoned up post war world where the fuse for the coming teenage rebellion had been lit, how the explosion was going to play was still a bit of a mystery. Like Robert Oppenheimer, Alan Freed just knew things were going to be different.

Alan Freed came up with the term rock ‘n’ roll as it applies to music in 1951, at least four years before anyone heard of Elvis. The phrase had been batted around for years in the blues culture as a synonym for, well, getting down and dirty and bumping to the music. Had the parents of squeaky clean Make Room for Daddy music fans known that, it would have been banned in Boston and everywhere else.

Freed brought his act to radio, to live audiences, to television, to movies and to congressional hearings. He introduced legends including Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Richie Valens and many more. He was controversial and raised eyebrows because he thought this great music was for everyone. His shows featured black artists as well as white, and his audiences all rocked out together, regardless of race, color, or creed. That may seem tame, but in the changing world that birthed this controversial soundtrack, it was a very big deal.

The show we will hear reflects the diversity of the product to which Alan Freed dedicated his short life. On the surface it may not sound like a revolution. It’s a little square and presentational. Freed isn’t lighting any fires here, no auditorium seats were harmed during this recording. The guy who changed radio forever sounds pretty laid back. He’s wrapped up in the nostalgia of some music that was less than ten years old. There was no such thing as classic rock, and if there was Alan Freed would never have played songs for 50 years straight.

This was one of the first compilation albums, so exactly how to pull it off had not been worked out. Alan reverently introduces each song. Some of these songs had only been pressed on 45, so they were hard to find in a non digital world. Ginormous giants and the forever forgotten are crowded together in a cramped skipping and popping time machine.

This was released in 1961, just four years before Alan Freed’s untimely death at the age of 43 in 1965. Its heavy on the doo-wop, and listening to it from another timespace, it was probably intended for sweet young makeout sessions. It features early performances from The Dells, The Flamingos, The Five Satins, Little Anthony and the Imperials, and many more.

Let’s let the boss tell you the rest. Rock, roll, and remember. This is Old School #73, Alan Freed’s Memory Lane.

I hope you enjoyed that. If you are a doo wop fan I’m pretty sure it was a breath of fresh air from the distant past. If you have never encountered this music before, you are probably already searching for box sets. And who better to take us down the romantic Memory Lane than the late great Alan Freed. In addition to his work as the original pioneer of rock and roll, Alan left some fun movies that you should check out when you can, including “Don’t Knock the Rock,” “Mr. Rock and Roll,” and “Go Johnny Go.” The plots are cornier than movie buttered popcorn, but they all include state of the art filmed performances of early rock stars in their dawn of time genius modes.

More info on Alan Freed’s Memory Lane can be found on my free newsletter that you can click on anytime at professormikey.substack.com. The podcast is there, and anywhere else you find your podcasts. Subscribes and likes are the bitcoin of the new audio communication, and are always appreciated.

Professor Mikey’s Old School is produced solely for educational purposes, and any dancing or kissing that may result is the sole proprietary responsibility of the listener. Any and all music heard resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. I’m Professor Mikey, thanks for listening, join me next time on Old School where the past is always a blast!

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1169/alan-freed: memorial page for Alan Freed (15 Dec 1921–20 Jan 1965), Find a Grave Memorial ID 1169, citing Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hartsdale, Westchester County, New York, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.

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Professor Mikey in the Old School, thanks for attending class today.

Were you ever a hippie? Did you ever get called a hippie?

I did. On the streets of Los Angeles back in the early 70s. By an old guy on a bicycle. I was minding my own business, letting my hair blow in the breeze, wearing a tie dye tshirt and bell bottom jeans that had a lot of patches. And Jesus boots, or sandals as they would eventually be known.

I was so impressed. LA of all places. I was into it. I loved psychedelic music, I couldn’t wait for the next concert. Unlike a lot of hippies I had a job. And unlike a lot of people who had jobs, I worked on the air at a radio station that was so square and strait laced I had to wear a short hair wig. It was like a swimming cap with a fraternity haircut.

But enough about my minor dishonesty in the name of staying employed and paying the rent. I could go to work and play Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Spirit, Country Joe and the Fish. You know. Hippy bands in there with the Archies and Bill Withers.

Today’s internet often refers to hippie songs, but people who weren’t there have a tendency to get off track. They go for drug songs and anything that might mention peace or love. WHich is okay, but most of those miss the lifestyle and the actual ethos of Hippiedom. The point about changing the world through love, becoming a vegetarian, and smoking pot that you grew yourself.

In these next few songs, we are going to try to get back to the garden. This is not only where it’s at, it is were it was. Incense, love beads, tuning in, turning on, and dropping out. Within reason.

Welcome to Old School #71. Sit anywhere. We are going to change the world, one doobie at a time. Its a unique time in/and space, that begins on Broadway and eventually hitches a ride to San Francisco.

Pull back to reveal the Summer of Love, 1967. The atmosphere in the city where Tony Bennett misplaced his ticket is electric, thick with the scent of patchouli and the strumming of a thousand guitars. It may be California, but it’s a different state of mind altogether. It’s groovy, it’s laid back, it’s casual Friday for the cosmic universe.

The streets of Haight-Ashbury are alive with Peter Max color, a swirling kaleidoscope of tie-dye, beads, and flowing fabrics that catch the sunlight as mostly young people wander with an almost dreamlike sense of purpose. We see bell-bottoms, fringed vests, and crystal spectacles paired with peace signs, love beads, and flowers tucked into long, Beatles 2.0 hair. The fashion here craves statement over style in a rebellion against the buttoned-up norms of the previous decade.

Everywhere you look art sprouts and erupts on the walls, on the clothing, even on the super high faces of the people all beautiful. Psychedelic posters tout Fillmore music happenings, where bands like Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead are exploring night trips to the centers of the minds. Tangible good vibrations, a sense of unity and shared experiences draw crowds and converts at all hours. Strangers greet each other with “Peace” and “Love,” and it feels genuine, as if they’ve tapped into something deeper than just freaky holiday.

The air is thick with the sweet middle earthy scent of cannibas, mingling with the sexy spice of Nag Champa. Conversations drift from spiritual awakening to civil rights, to Lewis Carroll and chamomile. Many question the merits of meditation alongside the damnation of war. There’s a feeling that this generation is on the brink of something that could change the world (personal computers?) or at least their own reality. It’s easy to lose yourself here, to be swept up in bedrock optimism, the sense that anything is possible. All you need is love.

A new music spills out from every corner—birthed in raw inspiration and reverb, echoing the plugged-in heartbeat of this loosey-goosey movement, a soundtrack to revolution that will place flowers in rifle barrels. It’s a renaissance fair in Itchycoo Park that asks if you are going to be at the Love-In.

HIPPIE PLAYLIST

RENAISSANCE FAIR * The Byrds

ITCHYCOO PARK * Small Faces

ARE YOU GOING TO BE THERE (AT THE LOVE-IN) * Chocolate Watchband

AQUARIUS * Original Broadway Cast of HAIR

LOVE STREET * The Doors

GENTLE PEOPLE * Biff Rose

SAN FRANCISCO (WEAR SOME FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR) * Scott Mackenzie

HIPPIE FROM OLEMA * The Youngbloods

DON’T BOGART THAT JOINT * Fraternity of Man

WHAT ABOUT ME? * Quicksilver Messenger Service

CLOUD NINE * The Temptations

THE HIPPIE ELEVATOR OPERATOR * The W. C. Fields Memorial Electric String Band

EPISTLE TO DIPPY * Donovan

COME TO THE SUNSHINE * Van Dyke Parks

WON’T YOU TRY/SATURDAY AFTERNOON * Jefferson Airplane

SAN FRANCISCAN NIGHTS * Eric Burdon and the Animals

YOUNGER GENERATION * The Lovin’ Spoonful

LETS GET TOGETHER * Dino Valenti

SECTION 43 * Country Joe and The Fish

“The past is a blast.”

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Surfs up again! A few episodes back we heard from the Monsters of the Surf Guitar, them rocking reptiles and low-fi lizards that hit the beach with us just as things were warming up.

As the summer went by, too fast as always, a lot of you made it evident you were craving more surf guitar, that twangy genre that ruled the charts in the early 60s just ahead of the British Invasion. If you haven't heard that episode, it has lots of gila monster history, ferocious feedback, and reptilian reverberation. Odds are pretty good if you dial back a few episodes to Old School Number 66, you’ll find it. But you don’t have to have heard that one to paddle out for this one.

I was even thinking of making this a sleep tape. Could people really nod off to dreamland while rocking to the memories of surf, sleep, and Stratocasters?

Most of these artists surfed the waves at Oblivion Beach, where their reputations came and went like the great waves at Wiamea bay. Can you dig it?

We’ve got guitars that scream like a shark on a spree,

And lizards that strum with wild jubilee.

The crocs and the gators are ready to jam,

With riffs so hot, they could fry a clam!

So slide on your shades and hang ten with the best,

Where the surf meets the scales and Black Lagoon Creature don’t rest.

It’s a wild, wacky ride and its just ahead

With monsters and Fenders and creatures who shred

Can you hang ten with the toes and the flying fins and fingers of the larapin lizards of the lost legends of the surfside sidewinders and their dreamy dinosaur dramas?

I thought you could.

The Original Surfaris start of this last set of the Old School Endless Summer with a track called EXOTIC. It’s the return of the Monsters of the Surf Guitar. Number Two. Just for you.

MONSTER PLAYLIST🦖

Exotic THE ORIGINAL SURFARIS

Gear DAVE MYERS & THE SURFTONES

The Breeze and I STEVE AND THE EMPERORS

Ishamatsu THE CENTURIONS

El Gato THE CHANDELLES

Pressure THE PYRAMIDS

Surf Rider THE LIVELY ONES

Midnight Surfer JERRY COLE & HIS SPACEMEN

Fugitive JAN DAVIS

Dance of the Ants THE STRANGERS

Bongo Shutdown NEW DIMENSIONS

Ram Charger THE DELVETTS

Yep THE SURFARIS

Scorpion THE VIBRANTS

The Gremmie Part 1 THE TORNADOES

Rampage THE CHALLENGERS

Cheater Stomp THE FABULOUS PLAYBOYS

Moon Shot KENNY & THE FRIENDS

Surf Medley THE VENTURES

Travelers SPANISH MOON

Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and keep the dust off the vintage wax, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

“The past is a blast.”

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Hey Professor Mikey here and I’m all wet!

In this episode we head back to the summer of 1963 when swimming pools were cool and music was blasting over the loudspeaker.

I held my breath and made this playlist from songs that would have made big splashes in the early part of the 60s, just before the British Invasion changed everything.

Believe me, when you are under water it’s still all about that bass. So do some stupid tricks off the diving board, eat a cheeseburger in the water while the lifeguard isn’t looking, and bring some of your hottest tracks to slip into the poolside turntable. It’s early 60s for you and me and we are back to the pool, fool!

THE LOCOMOTION Little Eva HOT PASTRAMI The Dartells TWISTIN’ MATILDA Jimmy Soul THE WANDERER Dion and the Belmonts THE PEPPERMINT TWIST Joey Dee and the Starlighters WHIP IT ON ME Jessie Hill TWIST AND SHOUT The Isley Brothers DAUGHTER The Blenders DA DOO RON RON The Crystals EASIER SAID THAN DONE The Essex IF YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY Jimmy Soul HEATWAVE Martha and the Vandellas FINGERTIPS (Pts 1 &2) Stevie Wonder SALLY GO ROUND THE ROSES The Jaynettes IN DREAMS Roy Orbison C’MON AND SWIM Bobby Freeman WAH-WATUSI The Orlons YOU CAN’T SIT DOWN The Dovells MOCKINGBIRD Inez and Charlie Foxx DENISE Randy and the Rainbows COME GO WITH ME Dion and the Belmonts DEEP PURPLE Nino Tempo and April Stevens

We want to thank Dick Clark and Wolfman Jack for the special guest roles they played on this episode.

The Turtles perform on Dick Clark’s “Where the Action Is”

Old School 69 Back to the Pool is just one of almost 70 Professor Mikey podcasts you can find online on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, wherever podcasts run free. With a little more restriction but an audience the world has never seen you can also hear select episodes on YouTube. The free newsletter will send love to your inbox and any given moment, you can subscribe at professormikey.substack.com.

The early 60s rolled out over a mixed musical landscape that was just starting to think about things like civil rights, equal opportunities, and people hooking up with people. Change was in the air, and when it went in the jukebox it reflected the times with music that still resounds a half century or later.

We close with a dreamy tune that gave a Hard Rock band their unforgettable name. Nino Tempo and April Stevens sing Deep Purple, and there is no smoke on the water. They are closing the pool for the night; it will be a while before the sun goes down and we climb the fence to sneak back in for a night swim.

This is Professor Mikey. You stay forever young and forever cool when you keep it all inside the Old School. See you next time!

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Teenagers had been taking themselves out in automobile accidents for at least 30 years when the 50s rolled around. But they rarely sang about it.

Prof Mikey here, welcome to a grim but thoughtful edition of Old School.

Most of these gruesome goldies have arrived from a very different era. Back whey they were recorded, car accidents were the number one reason for death among teens aged 13-19. Today car crashes rank as the number 2 killer of youth. What could be number one?

Cars were different in the 50s, just before they were declared “unsafe at any speed.” The windshields weren’t as unbreakable, there were no airbags, no excess safety padding. Just lots of metal and chrome. No pesky seat belts to sit on either.

And coming semi-regularly from the push button AM radio scattered among the Top 40 classics were eerie little ballads about joy tides gone bad. Love was in the air, but rain and heartbreak were on the road.

We are about to happen upon some love affair snuffed in tragic instances. When these songs were new they clogged the request lines. Fasten you seatbelt, its going to be a bumpy night. The is Professor Mikey’s Old School #68, “Teen Tragedies: Accidents Will Happen.”

TEEN ANGEL 🪽Mark Dinning

LAST KISS 💋J Frank Wilson

THE PROM👗Del Shannon

I WANT MY BABY BACK 😢Jimmy Cross

NIGHTMARE #5 🧟‍♀️Al Kooper

TERRY ✨Twinkle

HELLO THIS IS JOANNIE ☎️Paul Evans

ENDLESS SLEEP 😴Jody Reynolds

TELL LAURA I LOVE HER ❤️Ray Peterson

TELL TOMMY I MISS HIM 💔Laura Lee

LEADER OF THE PACK 🏍️The Shangri Las

TRAGEDY 🎭The Fleetwoods

What made these songs so crazy popular was much more than a class ring clutched in tight feminine fingers. As odd as these tales of blood and gore on the highway could get, they represented something new in this still very young genre.

Where so much of rock and roll was about dancing, having whole lot of shakin going on parties, and falling in love with contemporary babes like Peggy Sue, Venus, Boney Maronie, and Be Bop a Lula, the violent highway tear jerkers offered kernels of blunt truth.

Sure listeners were drawn to the audio equivalent of watching a car wreck. But these sick sidetrips to the dark side revealed a facet of story telling that was controversial and raw. Records so shocking they were banned from radio were definitely on to a new and dangerous path. There was something truly appealing about songs so controversial they horrified the older generation.

We will close the lid on this coffin by burying a charismatic character who was not buried with his motorcycle, because there wasn’t much of it, or him, left. The Shangri Las roar off into the sunset with their arms around the leather jacket of the leader of the pack. Stick around for a sweet coda offered by The Fleetwoods.

I’m Professor Mikey, this has been Old School #68 “Teen Tragedies: Accidents Will Happen.” Join us next time, keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel, and your device tuned to Old School!

“The past is a blast.”

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Professor Mikey here, welcome to Old School.

Today we are GOING DOWN, literally and figuratively. Down is a direction. We all know the difference between upside and downside. Or Upside down.

Down is also a direction for so many things. How your life is going, how your love life is going, where you are headed. Downtown? Down south? Down to the sea in ships? Downton Abbey?

Down could be an emotional bummer, but is not always a negative. Especially if you are down with something, or you are getting down, or just giving directions about how to get down the road.

Without much more to go on, I started digging through the stacks, seeking downright great music that examines the downside of life and how various situations were addressed in various genres that might get down and get funky.

You might not think of these songs and hurry to write them down. But many of them occupy the same headspace. So if you are feeling down, knowing your are in rockstar company might help you put on a happy face. Or help you get through traffic that has slowed down just to get on your last nerve.

Are you down for the count? Good let’s free fall starting with the great Texas bluesman Freddie King, who is about to tell you where he is going. And that would be down.

Down, down, gotta shake off the frown,

Pick myself up before I drown.

Feet on the ground, but my spirit's in flight,

Gotta turn things around, make it all right.

PLAYLIST

Going DOWN / Freddie King (1971)

DOWN / Harry Nilsson (1971)

Boogaloo DOWN Broadway / The Incredible Johnny C (1967)

Hung Upside DOWN / Buffalo Springfield (1967)

You Burn Me Up and DOWN / We the People (1967)

Don’t Bring Me DOWN / The Animals (1966)

ungle Boogie / Kool and the Gang (1973)

Mellow DOWN Easy / Little Walter (1954)

DOWN in Mexico / Ella Mae Morse (1956)

DOWN in the Valley / Otis Redding (1965)

DOWN in the Boondocks / Billy Joe Royal (1965)

Sit DOWN I Think I Love You / The Mojo Men (1967)

Floating DOWNstream in An Inflatable Raft / The Second Helping (1967)

Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire / TIM CURRY (1979)

Sunday Morning Coming DOWN / Kris Kristofferson (1970)

Ups and DOWNS / Paul Revere and the Raiders (1978)

Professor Mikey here. We just presented an hour of down songs and I feel better having heard them. Hope you do to. When you seek this among your podcasts or on YouTube Search Professor Mikey’s Old School, and this one is Episode #67 Going Down.

The way pop songs is we’ve gone from a time when Down was almost always a depressing state of mind. Today it means you are just in agreement. You are down. I am down. I am so down to get this out to you. Remember down is only a temporary a condition, like being hungry. It’s amazing how much better you feel when you’ve had a little chow. So remember what Grace Slick said: “Feed Your Head.”

It always gets better. A little food. A little music. Thats better.

Old School is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. You sharing what you like is a great way to get the word out. Subscribing on YouTube means you will never miss a rocking discovery. The newsletter remains free and those subscribers hear the new podcasts first. Subscribe anytime at professormikey.substack.com.

We leave you with a serious opus from 1978, where the members of this revolutionary band reflect on the ups and downs of life, and reason with themselves that they have in fact been all around. Going up and down with Paul Revere and the Raiders.

We will catch you next time on Old School.

Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. To consider becoming a free or paid subscriber, bonk the red button! And thank you!

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Editors Note: This edition of PMOS came your way about a month ago. At that time Substack and Spotify were patching some new wires and a couple of my dispatches got lost in translations. (The other was “Prog Fantasy” and it will get a fresh send also.) So thanks for your patience. Feel free to forward etc.If you didn’t hear it the first time around, or you simply have it on hot rotation, enjoy some love in the afternoon.

Jane Birkin made her film debut in 1965 in “The Knack and How to Get It.” She was married to John Barry at the time, whose day job was producing the James Bond films with Sean Connery. After they broke up, she hooked up with Serge Gainsbourg in France, and recorded one of the hottest and most controversial pop songs of all time.

It hit number one on the charts in England, despite the fact that it was banned completely from all radio. Today you can hear it on compilations such as Music to Shag By. Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg from 1969, with “Je T’aime…moi non plus.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

"Je t'aime... moi non plus" (French for "I love you… me neither")🇫🇷

SERGE

Born Lucien Ginsburg on April 2, 1928, in Paris, France.

•Rose to fame as a singer, songwriter, and musician in the 1960s.

•Achieved international success with songs like “La Javanaise” and “Bonnie and Clyde.”

•Notable collaborations with artists such as Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin.

•Known for his provocative and avant-garde style in both music and fashion.

•Continued to release successful albums and singles throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

•Recognized as a cultural icon and influential figure in French music and popular culture.

•Passed away on March 2, 1991, in Paris, France.

JANE

•Born on December 14, 1946, in London, England.

•Rose to fame as an actress and singer in the 1960s.

•Became internationally known for her role in Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup (1966), and Kaleidoscope (1966).

•Gained further recognition for her collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg, including the controversial song “Je t’aime… moi non plus” in 1969.

•Continued to pursue both acting and music throughout her career, releasing numerous albums and starring in various films.

•Received awards and honors for her contributions to the arts, including a César Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1985.

•Actively involved in humanitarian efforts, particularly in support of refugee causes.

Died July 16, 2023, at 76. No official cause of death but she had been diagnosed with leukemia in 2002. She had also suffered a stroke in 2021.

Discography

Studio albums

• Je t'aime... moi non plus (1969, with Serge Gainsbourg)

• Di doo dah (1973)

Lolita Go Home (1975)

• Ex fan des sixties (1978)

• Baby Alone in Babylone (1983)

• Lost Song (1987)

• Amours des feintes (1990)

• Versions Jane (1996)

• À la légère (1999)

• Rendez-vous (2004)

• Fictions (2006)

• Enfants d'Hiver (2008)

• Oh! Pardon tu dormais... (2020)

Live albums

• Jane Birkin au Bataclan (1987)

• Intégral au Casino de Paris (1992)

• Intégral à l'Olympia (1996)

• Arabesque (2002)

• Au palace (live) (2009)

• Jane Birkin Sings Serge Gainsbourg via Japan(2012)

“ The past is a blast.”

Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. To always receive the latest new posts consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribing over at YouTube (@professormikeysoldschool) also helps keep the learning going and the paddles swinging.

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Hello ho-dads and beach babes, and anyone else who likes to hang out at the beach, ride the waves, and groove on the sounds of the boss guitar.

The surf craze hit the beach just ahead of the British Invasion. For the better part of nearly 3 or 4 summers, roughly 1960-1964, it was time to ride the wild surf. So what if you were miles from the nearest coastline? You had a radio didn’t you?

It was a wholesome phenomenon, devised for dancing in the sand, shaking bikinis, and fabulous reverberations that could be heard at the top of a 40 foot wave. Surf bands featured multiple guitarists, dancing and kicking in sync, and a drummer who tried so hard to be heard over a few dozen cranked Fender amplifiers.

Rarities, hits, surprises, and grimeys await you. I have a cover of Wipe Out which is so strange, and even a segment of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand where he gets into a deep discussion with the guys in the audience about whether or not they would shave their heads if the money was right.

Somewhere along the pipeline we hope to recreate the Sixties beaches of southern California, and the 90s movies of Quentin Tarantino. This is Old School #66 as we say welcome to the endless summers of the Monsters of the Surf Guitar.

The Monsters of the Surf Guitar are still riding their boards and the stratocasters into the endless summer sunset. We are putting the bookmark into the episode of old school at the beginning of the British Invasion which ended the first waves of the genre. Surf punk came along in the late 70s. It’s a fact that there are more surf bands playing today than were ever around in the 60s. So we are hardly finished with the bitchin’ majesty of the Surf Guitar.

Professor Mikey’s Old School is a podcast produced for educational purposes. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts, just search the whole name because everybody including the little old lady from Pasadena has a podcast called Old School. We also appear semi regularly on Professor Mikey’s YouTube channel depending on whether the censors got lucky recently.

Any music you may have heard in this show resides within the public domain, was offered or loaned for perpetual promotional use by the labels or the artists, or it is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976.

We will close with a favorite from the Chantays, and band who originally called this song “Liberty’s Whip,” inspired by the Lee Marvin/John Wayne Western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The next movie they saw featured the Banzai Pipeline in Hawaii, and the song got a new name that would put it in surf rotation for the next half century and probably a lot longer.

Hang five, hang ten, hang out anytime with PROFESSOR MIKEY’S OLD SCHOOL.

Peter Gunn Theme - DICK DALE

Listen to the King of the Surf Guitar - DICK DALE

Let’s Go Trippin - DICK DALE

Let’s Go Surfin’- JIM WALLER AND THE DELTAS

Walk Don’t Run - JOHNNY SMITH, CHET ATKINS, THE VENTURES

Bustin’ Boards - THE TORNADOES

Dance Legless, Russian - THE MOONTREKKERS

Wipeout - THE SAINTS

Mr. Moto - The Belairs (1961)

The Lancasters - SATAN’S HOLIDAY (1963)

The Astronauts - BAJA

The Astronauts - SURF PARTY

The Strangers - ROCKING REBEL (1959)

The Trashmen - SURFIN’ BIRD

Bulldog - THE FIREBALLS (1960)

Surfer Joe - THE SURFAIS (1963)

Penetration - THE PYRAMIDS (1964)

Pipeline - THE CHANTAYS (1962)

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Lee Michaels was almost a one man band. He played all instruments, usually keyboards, and was accompanied by one person, a chunky drummer named Frosty.

For Lee’s 4th album Barrel in 1970, he wrote a fairly depressing song for what seemed like a war without end. Lee Michaels “What Now America” on Old School!

Need more? Here’s the album:

Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. To always receive new posts and surprises, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe

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Jane Birkin made her film debut in 1965 in “The Knack and How to Get It.” She was married to John Barry at the time, whose day job was producing the James Bond films with Sean Connery. After they broke up, she hooked up with Serge Gainsbourg in France, and recorded one of the hottest and most controversial pop songs of all time.

It hit number one on the charts in England, despite the fact that it was banned completely from all radio. Today you can hear it on compilations such as Music to Shag By. Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg from 1969, with “Je T’aime…moi non plus.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

"Je t'aime... moi non plus" (French for "I love you… me neither")🇫🇷

SERGE

Born Lucien Ginsburg on April 2, 1928, in Paris, France.

•Rose to fame as a singer, songwriter, and musician in the 1960s.

•Achieved international success with songs like “La Javanaise” and “Bonnie and Clyde.”

•Notable collaborations with artists such as Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin.

•Known for his provocative and avant-garde style in both music and fashion.

•Continued to release successful albums and singles throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

•Recognized as a cultural icon and influential figure in French music and popular culture.

•Passed away on March 2, 1991, in Paris, France.

JANE

•Born on December 14, 1946, in London, England.

•Rose to fame as an actress and singer in the 1960s.

•Became internationally known for her role inMichelangelo Antonioni's Blowup (1966), and Kaleidoscope (1966).

•Gained further recognition for her collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg, including the controversial song “Je t’aime… moi non plus” in 1969.

•Continued to pursue both acting and music throughout her career, releasing numerous albums and starring in various films.

•Received awards and honors for her contributions to the arts, including a César Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1985.

•Actively involved in humanitarian efforts, particularly in support of refugee causes.

Died July 16, 2023, at 76. No official cause of death but she had been diagnosed with leukemia in 2002. She had also suffered a stroke in 2021.

Discography

Studio albums

• Je t'aime... moi non plus (1969, with Serge Gainsbourg)

• Di doo dah (1973)

Lolita Go Home (1975)

• Ex fan des sixties (1978)

• Baby Alone in Babylone (1983)

• Lost Song (1987)

• Amours des feintes (1990)

• Versions Jane (1996)

• À la légère (1999)

• Rendez-vous (2004)

• Fictions (2006)

• Enfants d'Hiver (2008)

• Oh! Pardon tu dormais... (2020)

Live albums

• Jane Birkin au Bataclan (1987)

• Intégral au Casino de Paris (1992)

• Intégral à l'Olympia (1996)

• Arabesque (2002)

• Au palace (live) (2009)

• Jane Birkin Sings Serge Gainsbourg via Japan(2012)

“ The past is a blast.”

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Professor Mikey here. Welcome to Old School. This adventure starts near the beginning of time, flourishes at the round table of King Arthur, road trips with Gandalf the Grey, and strays onto a mushroom in Wonderland with a girl called Alice. As the genre’s popularity explodes in the late 60s and 70s, young Pink Floyd records across the Abbey Road halls from the Beatles, while others dabbled in red magic in the Court of the Crimson King.

What lies ahead is the dawn of a delightful subgenre that is post psychedelic, pre ProTools, and straight magic. It is stirred and shaken by the likes of Emerson, Lake, Palmer, Black Sabbath, Gentle Giant, Hawkwind, Yes and many others who harnessed lightning in an hourglass, filling the jukeboxes with wylde tales from the ancient days of yore and synthesizers. It is an early form of Prog Rock where…

Roads go ever ever on,

Over rock and under tree,

By caves where never sun has shone,

By streams that never find the sea;

Over snow by winter sown,

And through the merry flowers of June,

Over grass and over stone,

And under mountains in the moon.

—J.R.R. Tolkien

Early Prog cast a spell upon the charts, splashed briefly in the mainstream, filled concert halls and fronted world class orchestras. Inspired by spirits, spells, grim fairy tales, Viking folk songs, and rock and roll wizardry, Prog artists flourished, spinning straw into gold records.

Dim the lights, spark a few candles, watch the incense shadows orchestrate themselves into grand crusade of artistic rock and roll that appears in time just before the tsunami of disco.

Our maps show that we can start anywhere, as long as we promise to get good and lost along the way. They say satire is the sincerest form of flattery, so we touch quill to lambskin and begin with a tale of Stonehenge, stuck on eleven with spinal Tap. It’s episode 65 of Old School. It’s a PROG FANTASY.

PROGLIST

Stonehenge SPINAL TAP (1984)

Road to Babylon MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND (1976)

Master of the Universe HAWKWIND (1971)

Why Are We Sleeping SOFT MACHINE (1968)

From the Beginning EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER (1972)

And You and I YES (1972)

A Gnome PINK FLOYD (1967)

The Wizard URIAH HEEP (1972)

Happiness Stan SMALL FACES (1968)

The Wizard BLACK SABBATH (1970)

Cross Eyed Mary JETHRO TULL (1971)

Hero and Heroine STRAWBS (1974)

Proclamation GENTLE GIANT (1974)

Air Born CAMEL (1976)

Time Machine BEGGARS OPERA (1971)

The King Must Die ELTON JOHN (1970)

The Court of the Crimson King KING CRIMSON (1969)

Nights in White Satin THE MOODY BLUES (1967)

The prog era never ended, it just shifted its shape. New prog bands still appear with the regularity of a witch’s moon.

It did get a little grandiose perhaps even a little silly. Rick Wakeman, the keyboard cipher of Yes, made a solo album with a song for each of the six wives of Henry the Eighth. The follow up featured the London Symphony Orchestra on a 40 minute ride to the center of the earth.

Jethro Tull has sold over 60 million albums worldwide and won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance in 1989.

Emerson Lake and Palmer sold 48 million albums, two million more than Uriah Heep. One highlight involved Keith Emerson getting tangled up in a piano suspended upside down high above the stage. He had to be rescued by roadies at the California Jam festival in 1974.

No fewer than 23 musicians have been a part of King Crimson over the years. They still play, Robert Fripp is still a genius. Check out their live album recorded in 1999 in Mexico City.

Ozzy Osbourne became a reality TV star. Ian Anderson is a gentleman farmer.

But as disco danced into the late 70s, gnomes and wizards were replaced by John Travolta in the club, Donna Summer in love, and KC and the Sunshine band shaking their collective booties.

You can still find examples of a glorious time passed in record store bins, at garage sales, and in your father’s record collection. The Moody Blues sold 70 million albums.

For the finale, a couple of tunes. My guess is you have never heard them back to back, unless you were listening to me on the radio. It begins with a troubadour who became a knight under the sword of Queen Elizabeth in 1998, and concludes in a magic hall where we have been requested to wear red.

Professor Mikey here, this has been episode 65 of Old School, a prog fantasy. The road goes ever on.

MORE…

Pink Floyd - “Wish You Were Here”: Although Pink Floyd’s catalog includes several classic prog albums, “Wish You Were Here” stands out. Its blend of intricate compositions, emotional depth, and memorable tracks like “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” and the title track make it a timeless favorite1.

Genesis - “Selling England By The Pound”: This album showcases Genesis at their creative peak. With tracks like “Firth of Fifth” and “The Cinema Show,” it’s a must-listen for prog enthusiasts2.

Yes - “Going for the One”: Yes was known for their virtuosic musicianship and complex arrangements. “Going for the One” features the epic title track and remains a fan favorite3.

Jethro Tull - “Minstrel in the Gallery”: Jethro Tull’s blend of folk, rock, and prog elements shines on this album. The title track and “Cold Wind to Valhalla” are highlights3.

Camel - “Mirage”: Camel’s instrumental prowess and melodic sensibilities are evident on “Mirage.” Tracks like “Lady Fantasy” showcase their signature sound3.

Rush - “A Farewell to Kings”: Rush’s mix of hard rock and prog reached new heights on this album. “Xanadu” and “Closer to the Heart” are standout tracks3.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) - “Brain Salad Surgery”: ELP’s ambitious compositions and Keith Emerson’s keyboard wizardry define this album. “Karn Evil 9” remains an epic prog rock suite3.

King Crimson - “In the Wake of Poseidon”: King Crimson’s second album features intricate arrangements and Robert Fripp’s guitar work. “Pictures of a City” and “Cadence and Cascade” are highlights3.

Traffic - “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”: Although not strictly prog, Traffic’s blend of rock, jazz, and folk influenced the genre. Moody Blues - “On the Threshold of a Dream”: The Moody Blues’ orchestral approach and poetic lyrics shine on this album.

“The Past Is a Blast.”

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Hey Professor Mikey dropping into your audio rotation with Old School. If you are a follower of the podcast, you’ll know we usually have better organized themes than what I’m going to throw at you next.

None of these songs were huge hits, in fact the most nostalgia driven listeners may not recognize any of this. The Boomers, the Millennials, the Gen-Exers, the GEICO Caveman, all tossed into a dark room with big speakers.

I’m even going to borrow a great title. Tales of the Unexpected was a fun TV series that ran 112 episodes from 1979-1988 and will be on YouTube when your great grandchildren are watching it on their sneakers.. Before that Tales of the Unexpected was a great DC comics published 106 issues from 1956-1968. It was mostly sci fi anthology, although there were some great recurring characters including Space Ranger, Automan, Green Glob, and Spaceman-At-Work.

I will put links into the newsletter, which you can get for free simply by typing professormikey.substack.com.

Comics:

https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Tales_of_the_Unexpected_Vol_1

TV Episodes

The only thing the TV show or the comic book have in common with what is all cued up is the Unexpected. Surprises every time you drop the needle. Certainly the first podcast to ever include Creedence when they had another name, Yma Sumac whose name backwards really Amy Camus, some British invasion that never got off the boat, and at least one song the censors banned because it sounded like a duet making loud passionate love on prime time radio.

Go figure. Not everything has a great plan, but this one is a real getaway. Professor Mikey’s Old School, Number 64, “Tales of the Unexpected.”

Babalu YMA SUMAC 1952

Larf and Sing FAMILY 1971

Itty Bitty Pieces THE ROCKIN’ BERRIES 1963

The Janitor Drives a Cadillac PAPA JOHN CREACH 1971

Nerds THE ROCHES 1980

Fight Fire THE GOLLIWOGS 1966

My Name is Jack MANFRED MANN 1968

Dust My Blues ELMORE JAMES 1955

Uncle Willie ZOOT MONEY 1964

Little Girl JOHN AND JACKIE 1958

Bring It to Jerome BO DIDDLEY 1956

Professor Mikey hopes you enjoyed these Tales of the Unexpected. The playlist was not approved by a programming committee or a focus group. Back in the beautiful days of freeform radio, this is often how shows came together. Browsing through the music library, picking what feels right. Pearl diving along the bottom of the Sea of Love. Finding tunes that have been waiting for you for years.

To receive new posts as well as access to the files of forgotten favorite, remember that Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. Consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. At least share. Or do a no strings attached YouTube subscribe.

Old School is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. You sharing what you like is a great way to get the word out. Subscribing on YouTube means you will never miss a rocking discovery. The newsletter remains free and those subscribers hear the new podcasts first. Subscribe anytime at professormikey.substack.com.

Since we are in a good collaboration kumbaya mood, lets close with a song about working together and appreciating those who help our dreams come true. Jerome Green played maracas and provided vocals in Bo Diddley’s band. Some of Bo’s greatest songs involves hard charging call and response with his friend and bandmate. From Bo Diddley’s first album in 1956, here is Bring It To Jerome I’m Professor Mikey, thanks for listening.

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Hey and welcome to a special edition of Old School. I’m Professor Mikey. My lesson plans are all about digging into the lost world of 20th century rock and roll and listening to records rather than delivering lectures, assigning homework, issuing grades. It’s all pass, no fail.

Last year we had our first 50th anniversary rite of spring party with episode 44. You can hear it anytime by searching Spring Break 73. It racked up thousands of hits last year, which tells me we had older listeners grooving on the music of their glory days, and even more younger ones who feel they were born to late, to late for the cool that settled upon the earth before algo rhythms and cell phones.

Now it is 1974. The tunes are still rocking but there are signs that a dance craze is on the horizon. Disco is being born, just as the Watergate scandal dies down. President Nixon will turn in his resignation before the end of summer. Also a bare assed craze is sweeping the country.

It involves people jumping out of their clothes and jogging in their birthday suits, wherever they can find a large crowd. It’s called streaking, and it’s just weird. But that’s the naked truth.

The times are still changing. Nineteen year old heiress Patricia Hearst, kidnapped by the radical lefties of the Symbionese Liberation Army in January, has now joined the group and is helping with bank robberies and demands to feed the poor and bring about social change through violence and regular meals.

Skylab just spent 84 days in space. Right in the middle of spring break, Hank Aaron will break Babe Ruth’s record by hitting the 715th home run of his career. Muhammad Ali is in training to fight George Foreman around Halloween.

And though it isn’t making headlines, the annual tradition of spring break is swerving toward the drunk and crazy spectacles that will evolve in the next couple of decades.

So much for history. Now lets hear some tunes. What got played at beach raves and beer busts was a mixture of Top 40, underground, and the freewheeling fabulous foundations of funk. For our purposes the music selection boundaries fall between September of 73 and about May of 74. It’s long on music, but there’s some sound bites of the time, in this the last year of beach blanket bingo before JAWS becomes part of pop culture.

Get ready to slice some sand, chill some Lone Star, fall in love with a stranger, and introduce another Endless Summer with a Spring that is hardly silent.

We start with where we have landed in our time traveling Mustang. It’s the Golden Age of Rock and Roll by Mott the Hoople. It’s not me doing the introduction, but I think this guy sounds great. This is Professor Mikey’s Old School…Spring Break 74!!!

Professor Mikey’s Old School is on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, anywhere you get your podcasts. It’s a crapshoot whether or not YouTube will have it on my channel because they are so strange about what music they block and what they post, even though every song included in Old School mixes can be found elsewhere, streaming away on YouTube with no problem. Last years 50th anniversary show entitled Spring Break ‘73. In case you missed it, the links are below.

Enjoy your Spring Break!

1974

The Golden Age of Rock and Roll MOTT THE HOOPLE

Rock On DAVID ESSEX

La Grange Z Z TOP

The Wild One SUZI QUATRO

Stone Cold Crazy QUEEN

The Loco-Motion GRAND FUNK RAILROAD

Sneaking Sally Through the Alley ROBERT PALMER

The Man Who Sold the World LULU

1984 DAVID BOWIE

Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow FRANK ZAPPA

Bad Company BAD COMPANY

Boogie Down EDDIE KENDRICKS

Dancing Machine JACKSON 5

The Streak RAY STEVENS

Jungle Boogie KOOL AND THE GANG

Baby’s On Fire BRIAN ENO

I Don’t Want to be President BILLY VERA

Funky President (People It’s Bad) JAMES BROWN

The Holdup DAVID BROMBERG

Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance) Leo Sayer

Must Have Got Lost J. GEILS BAND

Rock and Roll Heaven THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS

You Make Me Feel Brand New THE STYLISTICS

I’m in Love with a Girl BIG STAR

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Coming to you live on a podcast, it’s Old School with Professor Mikey. Professor, not doctor. I can’t diagnose what is bothering you. I can’t write you a prescription. But I can replace a hypodermic needle with the kind that plays records from all over the last half of the 20th century that will make you feel better and help you tolerate an overdose of traffic on the way home.

Most of these prescriptions were written for or by artists who were feeling under the weather until they visited their doctor. There they would find any and every malady could be cured with a little Vitamin L.

When I talk about LUV (shangri las)

Fill out the questionnaire. Do you feel you listen to too much music? How many times a week do you feel you have lost interest in everything? Crank up the Old School podcast and call me in the morning.

Time to scrub up, find a vein for the IVs, have a martini and an MRI, and see how many beats per minute you are getting from the blood pessure cuff. How can you snap your fingers while wearing a pulse oximeter?

This show is a medical emergency, a therapeutic necessity, a fast ride in a hot rod of an ambulance, and you can get it over the counter. Purely organic Aretha Franklin, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, the Thompson Twins and many more at the door. Zero deductible but if you would subscribe it would help the out of pocket expenses.

Here to check your vitals is Felix Cavaliere…and the Young Interns. I mean the Young Rascals! It’s Old School #62: Pharmaceutical Grade Rock and Roll.

💊💊💊💊💊💊💊💊💊💊RX GRADE PLAYLIST

GOOD LOVE The Rascals (1966)

BAD CASE OF LOVING YOU Robert Palmer (1978)

EMERGENCY Jefferson Airplane (1968)

ROCKIN PNEUMONIA AND BOOGIE WOOGIE FLU Huey “Piano” Smith and the Clowns (1957)

DOCTOR DOCTOR Thompson Twins (1984)

CALL THE DOCTOR J. J. Cale (1972)

DR FEELGOOD Aretha Franklin (1967)

I DON’T NEED NO DOCTOR Ray Charles (1966)

DOCTOR DOCTOR The Who (1966)

MY DARK HOUR Steve Miller Band (1966)

ROCK AND ROLL DOCTOR Little Feat (1978)

MR PHARMACIST The Other Half (1982)

DR. STONE The Leaves (1967)

HEART ATTACK AND VINE Tom Waits (1980)

CURE FOR PAIN Morphine (1993)

TWISTED Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross (1961)

DR MUSIC Blue Oyster Cult (1979)

THE HOSPITAL SONG 10cc (1973)

RUN THAT BODY DOWN Paul Simon (1972)

I DON”T NEED NO DOCTOR Humble Pie (1971)

HIT TAKERS

1.David Bowie (1947-2016): In 1976, Bowie suffered a serious cocaine addiction and faced physical and mental health issues. He sought medical care, underwent rehabilitation, and eventually conquered his addiction.

2.Eric Clapton (b. 1945): Clapton battled alcohol and drug addiction in the early ’70s. He sought help through rehab, embracing sobriety, and focusing on his music.

3.Mick Jagger (b. 1943): In 1979, Jagger underwent heart valve replacement surgery in New York. The rock icon recovered successfully and resumed his energetic performances.

4.Keith Richards (b. 1943): Richards struggled with substance abuse during the ’70s and ’80s. While he initially resisted medical intervention, he eventually sought help for his addictions.

5.Lemmy Kilmister (1945-2015): Diagnosed with diabetes in the ‘80s, the Motörhead frontman managed the condition while continuing to rock. Lemmy’s resilient spirit kept him performing until his passing.

6.Freddie Mercury (1946-1991): In the mid-’80s, the Queen vocalist faced rumors about his health, later revealed to be complications from AIDS. Mercury sought medical care but kept his diagnosis private until shortly before his death.

7.Steven Tyler (b. 1948): The Aerosmith lead singer struggled with substance abuse throughout the ’70s and ’80s. Tyler eventually sought rehabilitation, leading to a successful recovery.

8.Joe Perry (b. 1950): Aerosmith’s guitarist, Perry, faced health issues related to drug abuse in the late ‘70s. He sought medical care and overcame his addiction, contributing to the band’s continued success.

9.Syd Barrett (1946-2006): The founding member of Pink Floyd faced mental health challenges in the late ’60s, leading to his departure from the band. Barrett struggled with mental illness and withdrew from the public eye for the rest of his life.

10.Keith Moon (1946-1978): The legendary drummer of The Who battled alcohol and drug addiction, contributing to his erratic behavior. Moon’s excesses eventually led to his untimely death at the age of 32. Despite his struggles, he left an enduring mark on rock history.

Professor Mikey’s Old School ©️2024 by Mike Flanagan, realprofessormikey@gmail.com and ProfessorMikey.Substack.com

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Jack Fascinato had a couple of claims to fame. First, he was the conductor and arranger for the little old pea picker Tennessee Ernie Ford. He was also the musical director for an early day kid’s TV show called Kukla, Fran, and Ollie. Zany puppets and top selling religious albums weren’t enough for Fascinato, he had to put his own orchestra together and in 1959, record an album that has been called the holy grail of space age pop. Music From a Surplus Store featured traditional instruments being played alongside tools and hardware. This cut features “stressed helical springs plucked with a surplus Medical Corps scalpel.” Really. Move over rock and roll, it’s time to get really weird. Jack Fascinato and “Spring, Sprang, Sprung.”

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“Why--hello, dear. Now tell me quickly, which one are you?”

-- Sheila Graham to George Harrison

“We came out of nowhere with funny hair, looking like marionettes or something. That was very influential. I think that was really one of the big things that broke us--the hairdo more than the music, originally. A lot of people’s fathers had wanted to turn us off. They told their kids, “Don’t be fooled, they’re wearing wigs.” —Paul McCartney

The buildup was boss. Fab. Gear. The Beatles had been wowing England since January of 1963 when “Please, Please Me” had topped their charts. Without an internet or an American label push, their reach across the Atlantic had dragged. When George Harrison visited his sister in the summer of ’63, news of it barely rippled. One local newspaper said “the next Elvis Presley” was visiting,” When his sister Louise introduced her brother that was yet to be called “the quiet Beatle, her friends just didn’t get it.

The going rate for a phenom on the Sullivan show was $50,000 for three performances, set in 1956 by Elvis Presley. In Nov 1963, Ed was visiting London when he offered Beatles manager Brian Epstein $10,000 for one performance. Brian was aware of the Elvis number, but more than the money, he was interested in the exposure. He countered with an offer that his Beatles would play three shows for the same amount if they could open and close each show. Ed thought he had gotten the best of them.

All the goodwill hit the fan the night of Jan 3 when NBC’s Tonight Show host Jack Paar aired some BBC footage of the Beatles wowing swinging London. Ed wanted to be the first and he was pissed. Brian wanted Ed to be the first and he was pissed, charging his lawyers to rattle legal swords at the BBC. The network felt his pain, but could not take back time. Ed railed and threatened but cooler heads prevailed. The show was on.

The Beatles, their entourage and a crew of British journalists on Pan Am Flight 101 from Heathrow, landed at JFK Friday, Feb 5. The band emerged, waved to thousands of screaming fans, and were hustled straight to their first American press conference, a cheeky affair of thick Liverpudlian quips, cigarettes, and a refusal to sing a song. “We need money first,” said John.

Then it was off in the limo, radio blasting.

“We were so overawed by American radio, Epstein had to stop us: we phoned every radio in town, saying, ‘Will you play the Ronettes doing this?’ We wanted to hear the music. We didn’t ask for our own records, we asked for other people’s. In the old days we listened to Elvis, of course, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Little RIchard and Eddie Cochran, to name but a few, but now we liked Marvin Gaye, The Miracles, Shirelles, all those people.”

--John Lennon

If there was any worry, it was over George Harrison’s health. He had been out of the groove since a series of Paris shows. Alll he wanted to do was check into the interconnecting ten rooms in the suites that had been rented on the twelfth floor of the Plaza Hotel and get to bed.

On Saturday John, Paul, and Ringo strolled forth into the drizzle of Central Park for photos. Then they visited the CBS Studios on 53rd Street where they were required to join AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) before performing on live television. George stayed down, the doctors having put his sister Louise in charge of his care.

Exactly what was troubling him has been reported as tonsillitis, strep, and flu. His temperature was 104° on Saturday afternoon and Harrison missing the big show was a real possibility. Road manager Neil Aspinall stood in for camera run throughs on Sunday.

Said early biographer Hunter Davies in The Beatles: The Authorized Biography (McGraw, Hill, 1968): “George was by this time ill in bed and it appeared he would miss the Ed Sullivan Show. Neil stood in for the rehearsal but George managed the show, filled with dope.”

His wit was the first thing to heal. The famed well wishing telegram arrived backstage, signed “Elvis and the Colonel,” and George answered “Elvis who?”

That Sunday afternoon, before the first live broadcast, they taped their segments for the third Sullivan appearance that would run on Feb 23 after their return to England.

Sandwiched in between, the second show would come Feb 16 in sunny Miami. There they rehearsed in swimsuits, were photographed in a pool for the cover of LIFE, and visited Cassius Clay at the gym where he was training for his upcoming title fight with Sonny Liston.

Competition for Sunday night viewing on Feb 9 included Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color with an episode of a Robin Hood series. Gryndl a sitcom with Imogene Coca, and “Arrest and Trial,” a 90-minute drama on ABC rounded out the three-network lineup. A whopping 60% of American televisions tuned to Ed and CBS. The Rev. Billy Graham said he broke his rule of no TV on the sabbath to see what the fuss was about.

Brian Epstein paced, nervous and precise. At one point as the countdown had begun he collared Sullivan and said “I would like to know the exact wording of your introduction.” Ed barked back: “I would like you to GET LOST.”

Then it was showtime, 8 P.M. EST. The same viewing community wouldn’t get together in these numbers until a man walked on the moon. The hype had hit blg, now it was time to see if the Brits with a big song could back it up. Seventy-three million people, all there for put up or shut up time.

Sullivan greeted his live audience of 728.. That many out of 50,000 had gotten in. Walter Cronkite and Richard Nixon had both pulled strings for their daughters’ tickets. Leonard Bernstein got turned down.

Our master of ceremonies raised his hands, the hard nosed newspaper columnist who had fought his way to the top in his own dull but special way (“Quiet down kids, these are ambassadors of goodwill”). He cited the Elvis telegram and threw the show to commercials from Aero Shave and Griffin Shoe Polish. Clean shaved and shoes shined, America was back.

“Now yesterday and today our theater’s been jammed with newspapermen and hundreds of photographers from all over the nation, and these veterans agreed with me that this city never has witnessed the excitement stirred by these youngsters from Liverpool who call themselves The Beatles. Now tonight, you’re gonna twice be entertained by them. Right now, and again in the second half of our show. Ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles! Let’s bring them on.”

--Ed Sullivan

First song: “All My Loving (Video from Ed Sullivan Show unavailable.)

Author: McCartney 100% “It was the first song I ever wrote where I had the words before the music. I wrote the words on a bus on tour, then we got the tune when I arrived there.”

Lennon: “‘All My Loving is Paul I regret to say...because it’s a damn good piece of work. But I play a pretty mean guitar in back.”

First recorded: July 30, 1963, Abbey Road, 13 takes

Second song: “Till There Was You” (Video from Ed Sullivan Show unavailable)

Author: Meredith Willson, for the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man, originally sung by Robert Preston and Barbara Cook.

Note: During the Sullivan show, this was the song where their first names were superimposed because many were still trying to figure out who was who, “Paul,” “Ringo,” “George,” “John-Sorry girls he’s married.”

First recorded: July 18 and 30, 1963, Abbey Road, 8 takes

Third song: “She Loves You”

Author: Lennon 50%, McCartney 50% (Lennon: “It was written together. It was Paul’s idea. Instead of singing ‘I Love You’ again, we’d have a third party.”

Written in a Newcastle hotel room after a performance June 26, 1963.

Released in UK Aug 23, 1963, entering the charts at #2. Stayed at #1 for 6 total nonconsecutive weeks and sold 1.3 million copies, the biggest hit in the UK in 1963.

Capitol and Vee Jay refused to release in the US after poor performances by the previous two singles. Epstein persuaded Swan records to release it and it spent 14 weeks on the US charts. The week it hit #1 in March, the Beatles had 5 songs in the Billboard Top 40. It was the group’s first million seller.

First recorded July 1, 1963, Abbey Road, takes unknown.

Following those first three songs, magician Fred Kaps got the honor of flipping through some card tricks. He was followed by members of the Broadway cast of Oliver! singing “I’ll Do Anything.” Future Monkee Davy Jones performed with the ensemble that night and he was a little Dickens. Next Georgia Gibbs of the same ensemble performed “As Long As He Needs Me.”

Impressionist Frank Gorshin, two years out from donning the green question mark tights for the Riddler role on TV’s Batman, was next introduced. His bit was, “Wouldn’t it be funny if Hollywood personalities decided they wanted to get into politics?” The fantasy ran on with imagined campaign speeches by Broderick Crawford, Marlon Brando, and Kirk Douglas.

A medley from Ireland’s Tessie O’Shea, 51, followed (“the peroxide pumpkin...turns into a boisterous Cinderella” the New York Times had said in a recent show review), then the rushed comedy of McCall and Brill.Another commercial, and the Beatles were at long last returned.Fourth song: “I Saw Her Standing There”

Author: McCartney 80% Lennon 20%

The authors say the song was written in Paul’s living room while playing hooky.

Lennon: “That’s Paul doing his usual good job of what George Martin used to call ‘a potboiler.’ I helped with a couple of the lyrics.”

Working title: “Seventeen”

B-side in the US of “I Want to Hold Your Hand”

Recorded: Feb 11, 1963, Abbey Road, 17 takes.

Fifth song: “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

Author: Lennon 50%, McCartney 50% (Lennon: “We wrote a lot of stuff together, one on one, eyeball to eyeball...we were in Jane Asher’s house, downstairs in the cellar playing on the piano at the same time...Paul hits this chord and I turn to him and say ‘That’s IT!’ I said,“Do that again!” In those days we really used to absolutely write like that, both playing into each other’s noses,”

Recorded Oct 17, 1963, Abbey Road, 17 takes.

Notes: Released in UK Nov 29, 1963, debuted at #1 and stayed for 7 weeks. By Jan 17, 1964, sold 1.5 million.

Released in US Jan 13, 1964 after being leaked unofficially since before Christmas. First US #1, held that position for 7 weeks and spent another 14 in the Top 40. Capitol Records finally got on board, the huge some of $50,000 was spent to promote just this single, and receptionists were instructed to answer the phones, “Capitol Records, the Beatles are coming.”

The Beatles were almost the last act. Perhaps adrenalin had kicked in for the performers, the show was a little short, so stand by acrobats Wells and the Four Fave got to tumble for their lives in front of an audience they could never have imagined. Hey!!

Following the show, disc jockey Murray the K., who had been “adopting” the band on his daily show on WINS radios, took the three healthy Beatles to chow at the Playboy Club. George went back to bed. From dinner, the entourage boogalooed to the Peppermint Lounge at 128 West 45th Street in Manhattan, where they danced until 4 A.M.

For such a world and culture changing event, much of the media chose to play things reserved and underwhelmed, responding more to a shipment of 35,000 Beatle wigs arriving in New York than what Ed Sullivan had wrought the night before. The New York Herald said the Beatles were “”75% publicity, 20% haircut, and 5% lilting lament.” “Asexual and homely,” snipped the Washington Post in a terse dismissal.

The best reviews came from law enforcement. It was reported that the crime rate in America was lower during the show than at any time in the past half-century. New York police precincts noted a drop in juvenile crime. All five boroughs reported zero hubcap theft during the entire Sullivan airing. (Snopes reported in our era that this was an urban legend.)

The Beatles on Ed Sullivan was the giddiest high point of the 60s, a turbulent and joyful conclusion to the first wild weekend of the British Invasion. Much of the audience thought that this was the apogee of the ultimate for the Fab Four, still clueless of what had just launched. Others were gobsmacked on the Epiphany level, drawn to rock, roll, and originality in ways that had never occurred to them. Within a decade, analysts would be asking their clients their favorite Beatle as a first insight into their souls.

Recalling the event on her 59th wedding anniversary with her husband Charlie Brill in 2014, Mitzi McCall remembered, “For us it went lousy. It was terrible. We were doing a sketch. We couldn’t hear each other because of the screaming” After a pause she reflected and referred to the evening as a sort of “honor.”

“We were there when the world changed.”

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“The past is a blast.”

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It has happened every February 3 since 1959. Waking to the news of one of rock music’s earliest tragedies, the plane crash that claimed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper near Clear Lake, Iowa.

Holly was 22, Valens 17, J. P. Richardson the Bopper 28. Richardson got his seat on the plane from Waylon Jennings. Bob Dylan saw their penultimate show the night before at Duluth, Minnesota.

I saw Buddy Holly two or three nights before he died. I saw him in Duluth [Minnesota], at the armory. He played there with Link Wray. I don’t remember the Big Bopper. Maybe he’d gone off by the time I came in. But I saw Richie Valens. And Buddy Holly, yeah. He was great. He was incredible. I mean, I’ll never forget the image of seeing Buddy Holly up on the bandstand. And he died – it must have been a week after this. It was unbelievable.

Bob Dylan (to Kurt Loder, March 1984)

So many ironic threads run through the tragic conclusion to the Buddy Holly story. Here’s some visuals to go along with the audio. PS the music never died!

Rave on!

Chuck Berry and Alan Freed introduce Ricardo Valenzuela in Go Johnny Go! (1958)

The Bopper on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand

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We are about to plunge into the wild with some classic tunes, beloved and forgotten, all of them wild. Running wild, lost control, says a song from the first Roaring Twenties that is all cued up.

Look at the wildness in culture. Wild as the wind. Wild hair. Wild stories. Girls Gone Wild.

Listen to the wildness in our music.

Look On the bookshelf. The Call of the Wild. The Wild West. Where the Wild Things Are.

Candace Bushnell, writing as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, says:

“Maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. Maybe they just need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with them.”

That’s the heart of it all. Wild in love, wild in music. Adding wild to anything just spices up the gumbo. Wild sex, wild drugs, wild rock and roll. When all else fails there is wild. A release of energy that can be positive. Unless property and reputations suffer.

No less a talent than Marilyn Monroe starts it off, sing a 100 year old song in her film classic Some Like It Hot. Mess up your hair, kick some furniture over, get your motor running.

This is Old School #61. Running Wild. Let’s get lost.

As we get to the home stretch of this Running Wild episode, it’s obvious there is a couple of big wild songs we need to throw on the Old School turntables.

It’s all built around the wildest wild song ever.

Chip Taylor was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007. He is the older brother of actor Jon Voight, which makes him the uncle of Angelina Jolie. Years later she would make a French perfume commercial that used his most famous song, that was a flop when it was first recorded by Jordan Christopher and the Wild Ones. That song was heard by the British group The Troggs and lead singer Reg Presley. They thought they could improve on the original, never guessing the song would be used in a number of situations over the next half century.

As great as Sam Kinison’s version of Wild Thing is, the video is a forgotten treat. I’ll put a link to it in my newsletter which you can read or subscribe to for free at professormikey.substack.com. The model in the video is Playboy playmate Jessica Hahn who at the time was making scandal headlines with PTL and Heritage USA head Jim Bakker. Theres a story there.

Tone Loc’s Wild Thing was a huge hit. Tonya Harding used it as skating music, and when members of Van Halen noticed a sample from their song Jamie’s Cryin while listening to rock radio, they got their lawyers together with Tone Loc’s legal crew and arranged for an unexpected bonus.

Wild stories. Wild songs. This has been episode 61 of Professor Mikey’s Old School.

There are so many great wild songs, this has only been a sampling, like what Tone Loc did with Van Halen. Old School is produced for educational purposes, and can be found on most podcast providers. Some can be heard on the Professor Mikey’s Old School channel on YouTube, but I find out if that’s going to happen at the same time you do. It’s a long wild story. Any music you might have heard resides within the public domain, was offered for promotional use by the labels or the artists, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976.

RUNNING WILD Marilyn Monroe 1958 WILD CHILD The Doors 1969 RUNNING WILD Judas Priest 1978 WILD SIDE OF LIFE Hank Thompson 1952 IT WASN’T GOD WHO MADE HONKY TONK ANGELS Kitty Wells 1952 A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE Hugo Montenegro 1962 A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE Brook Benton 1962 WALK ON THE WILD SIDE Lou Reed 1972 WILD ONE Bobby Rydell 1960 REAL WILD CHILD (WILD ONE) Iggy Pop 1986 LET HIM RUN WILD The Beach Boys 1965 RIDE THE WILD SURF Jan and Dean 1964 WILD BOYS Duran Duran 1984 REAP THE WILD WIND Ultravox 1983 WILD THING The Troggs 1966 WILD THING Sam Kinison 1988 WILD THING Tone Loc BORN TO BE WILD Steppenwolf 1968

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Anytime you’ve been away on break, its pretty hard to get back into the swing of the everyday routine. That’s because deep down, you crave break time. We all do. Maybe you didn’t go anywhere and now you wish you had. If there’s an overlying deep meaning to this show, and I don’t think there is, its that its always to have a destination in mind, no matter your current situation.

This isn’t a roadtrip show, although you can find many of our tour stops on Google Maps. Like you do when you try to figure out whose car that is in front of your house or apartment. And although some of these destinations will show up on any basic search, they won’t show up like this. I think that is murky and hippie enough to get us into the music. Whatever situation you may be in or want to be in, you are going to need some tunes to get you in the groove. Welcome to Old School #60 Destination Situation. And we begin by getting back to life as well as reality with Soul to Soul.

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting away from it all with this episode of Old School. Destination Situation. You can come back anytime you need some audio to smooth out the bumps. Any music you may have heard in this session either resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. Podcast carriers compensate artists directly.

Unexpurgated episodes of Old School are available on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Pandora or wherever you get your podcasts. Several episodes are also ready to rock and ready to roll on Professor Mikey’s Old School on YouTube where your free subscription on your end is invaluable on this end.

join us again soon for Old School where the past is a blast.

Back to Life SOUL 2 SOUL

Shady Grove QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE

Situation THE JEFF BECK GROUP

Living in the USA THE STEVE MILLER BAND

Shanghai Noodle Factory TRAFFIC

Meadowlands JEFFERSON AIRPLANE

Tokyo BRUCE COCKBURN

Egyptian Shumba THE TAMMYS

Grotto Farm COMPTON AND BATEAUX

Ode to Tobago VAN DYKE PARKS

Shangri-LA The KINKS

Traveling Man RICKY NELSON

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Christmas in Hell 1994!

Holiday on Fire, The 30th Anniversary!!

As you might have realized, Professor Mikey’s audio archives run deep and strange. From the time I could hold a cassette microphone up to the radio speaker, I’ve been piecing together mixtapes to give my friends at Christmas.

I haven’t mailed out CDs in the last couple of years because people don’t have CD players anymore. But that’s okay, we have the always reliable interweb.

“Christmas in Hell” made its debut on tape in 1994. I did a refresh in 2014, and this year it’s coming up as a Professor Mikey Old School podcast. It’s a fiery and fun trip through snow melting from brimstone. When I opened with Spinal Tap’s “Christmas with the Devil” it was so radical and new. Also that year I discovered Bob Rivers, who after all this time still doesn’t get a lot of airplay because everything these days can offend anybody. So I apologize to everybody including Bob Rivers and Adele Dazeem.

So here I am, sending out a different mix tape to all my friends. Thanks to everybody who has subscribed to the podcast this year, both as a podcast and as an offering on YouTube. As I write this I don’t know if the latter is going to block any of the songs. But you can always subscribe, give free holiday subscriptions, and turn up the speakers to beat the devil.

But your are there and listening, and that’s what it’s all about, Alfie.

Enjoy your trip through Dante’s least favorite holiday theme park.

And Merry Christmas!

Professor Mikey

1994 CHRISTMAS IN HELL

• Christmas with the Devil – Spinal Tap

• My Favorite Things

• Yo Ho Ho – Klark Kent

• What’s It To You – Bob Rivers

• I’m a Christmas Tree

• Didn’t I Get This Last Year?

• Jingle Bells – Singing Dogs

• Walking Round in Women’s Underwear-Bob Rivers

• Mr. Grinch - D.I.

• Silver Bells – Fats Domino

• Grab Yer Balls like Michael Jackson

• Manger 6

• Oh Little Town of Bethlehem (a la animals)

• Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday

• White Christmas??Diana Ross and Tenors

• Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Frank Sinatra &

• I Am Santa Claus

• Christmas at Ground Zero – Weird Al

• 12 Pains of Christmas

• Christmas Baby Please Come Home - Capt Howdy Bono

• Christmas with the Devil REMIX - Spinal Tap

• Santa Never Comes to the Ghetto

• Sled Zeppelin

• Flu Ride

• There’s a Santa Who Looks a Lot Like Elvis

• Santa’s Elves - Crash Kills Four

• Rummy Rockerboy - Bob Rivers

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Just to be absolutely, positively, midnight clear, “Alt-50s” isn’t a real term.

Yet.

An underground was afoot in the years of Ike and Elvis, but usually it was linked to “shelters,” and usually involved survival tactics for getting through the next thousand year nuclear winter.

This underground would evolve into the beat generation of Jack Kerouac, coffee houses, digable poetry, and bongoes.

Christmas in the 1950s is about as safe as you can get, what with Rudolph, and Frosty, and the snow that everyone got on their black and white televisions. But there was another side to the era. We may have heard Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run” a few times, but when it was new in 1958, it was an edgy reindeer game.

As the years keep piling on, I realize that fewer and fewer people are around who actually experienced Christmas in the 1950s.

You know the Fifties, the decade that dominates nostalgia like no others. The time when babies boomed. The era that rolled out Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and the 1955 Thunderbird. The decade that birthed rock and roll, television, frozen pizza. juvenile delinquents, poodle skirts, sideburns, the Kraft music hall, enormous tailfins, green Jello, Johnny Unitas, Mickey Mantle, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jayne Mansfield, Peyton Place, TV Superman, Marlon Brando, Kim Novak, Sergeant Bilko, the Andrea Doria, Gunsmoke, Lolita, cinemascope, J Fred Muggs, Sputnik, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

The Fifties were, and still are, a great escape. Television was amazing, three networks in fuzzy black and white devoted to the Old West. HD stood for Howdy Doody. Far more hip, but without the pictures, was radio, and the changing genres it produced. Rock music was still pretty new, mostly ridiculed by a mainstream,who preferred their children listen to more proper, wholesome music like Liberace.

Whats My Line? To tell the truth, I’ve Got a Secret. An hour or so of 50s Christmas music will not bring it all back. That’s okay too. The good parts are much more fun. Nobody wants to stock your fallout shelter, or explain segregated water fountains.

What’s left is not so much an innocent Christmas memory, but a collection of artists who saw the kinds of paydays that were happening for Gene Autry and Elvis. The spirit of the yuletide moved them into studios across the land where they tried to create their own seasonal recurring bonuses.

That’s the ground rules. Everything here was recorded in the 50s. Cool daddy. The fat man’s on his way. Get rid of that greasy kid stuff, put some mistletoe on your hula hoop, kick off your penny loafers, swivel your hips, grab a cheeseburger with fries and a cherry coke, roll the fuzzy dice.

The 50s are here for a quick holiday visit before the years pile them under a blanket of nostalgia and memory, like snow in the grooves of a 45 rpm flashback.

ROCK N ROLL SANTA Little Joey Farr 1959

DIG THAT CRAZY SANTA CLAUS Oscar McLollie & Honey Jumpers 1954

SLEIGH BELL ROCK Chuck Blevins (1958)

I WANT TO SPEND CHRISTMAS WITH ELVIS Debbie Dabney 1956

SANTA AND THE SATELLITE Buchanan and Goodman 1959

SPACE AGE SANTA CLAUS Hal Bradley Orch & Patty Marie Jay 1956

SANTA TO THE MOON Sonny Cole 1958

NORTH POLE ROCK Cathy Sharpe 1958

PAPA NOEL Brenda Lee 1959

WHITE/HOT CHRISTMAS The Elves 1958

CHRISTMAS BELLS Bobby Nunn 1953

GONNA HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS Nic Nacs & Little Mickey Champion (1950)

MY BIRTHDAY COMES ON CHRISTMAS Spike Jones & His City Slickers

GREEN CHRISTMAS Stan Freberg 1958

CHRISTMAS IN JAIL The Youngsters 1956

REINDEER BOOGIE Hank Snow 1953

RUN RUDOLPH RUN Chuck Berry 1958

YULESVILLE Ed “Kookie” Burns

BE BOP SANTA Babs Gonzales

SANTA DONE GOT HIP The Marquees 1959

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In the wake of Gene Autry's 1949 holiday success with "Rudolph, the. Red Nosed Reindeer," the genre of fantasy Christmas in the Wild West got a huge shot in the saddle.

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesterYule, when the new sheriff in town wore red suspenders, herded reindeer, and had spurs that went jingle jangle jingle bells.

Ernest Tubb, George Jones, Buck Owens, Loretta Lynn, and even little Miss Gayla Peevey launch into a holiday hoedown sure to unhinge some maverick memories and make room for new ones.

Always time for a plug before we get the fire going. Subscriptions to the Retrofit newsletter are free for now, so that should fit in with most budgets. Click the little doodads to find out more. Also my book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Old West" is still out there, Pony Express should get it to you by Twelfth Night.

Now let’s saddle up and take to a tinsel trail full of rowdy rarities, seasonal sensations, and St. Nicholas nuggets.

Load your Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot air rifles a get ready for visions of sagebrush sugarplums! Happy Holiday trails, it's the all new RetroRanch Christmas!

Playlist: Artist. “Title” Album. Label, Year.

• Gene Autry. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" Gene Autry Sings Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town. LaserLight, 1949

• Buck Owens and His Buckaroos. "Jingle Bells" Christmas with Buck Owens and his Buckaroos. Sundazed, 1965

• Tex Ritter. "Christmas Carols by the Old Coral" I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus. Viper, 1945.

• Bill Monroe. "Christmas TIme's A-Coming" Hillbilly Holiday. Rhino, 1951.

• Ernest Tubb. "I'll Be Walking the Floor This Christmas" Blue Christmas. Decca , 1964.

• Jody Levins. "Jingle Bells Boogie" Rockabilly Xmas. Buffalo Bop, 1954

• Brenda Lee. "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus" Rockin' Little Christmas. MCA, 1956.

• Michael Landon. "Santa Got Lost in Texas" Bonanza Christmas on the Ponderosa. RCA, 1962.

• Lorne Greene. "Stuck in the Chimney" Bonanza Christmas on the Ponderosa. RCA, 1962.

• Johnny Horton. "They Shined Up Rudolph's Nose" Christmasville USA. Mapletone, 1959.

• Buck Owens and His Buckaroos. "Santa's Coming in a Stagecoach" Christmas with Buck Owens and His Buckaroos. Sundazed, 1965

• Gene Autry. "Santa's Coming in a Whirlybird" Here Comes Santa Claus. Varese Saraband, 1957

• Sonny Cole. "Santa to the Moon" Rockabilly Christmas. Buffalo Bop, 1958

• Jimmy Dean. "Little Sandy Sleighfoot" Billboard Greatest Country Christmas Hits. Rhino, 1957

• Eddy Arnold. "Will Santa Come to Shanty Town?" Christmas with Eddy Arnold. RCA, 1962.

• Ferlin Husky. "Lonely Christmas" Christmas All Year Long. Capitol, 1967. :

• Hank Thompson. "Gonna Wrap My Heart in Ribbons" Hillbilly Holiday. Rhino, 1965.

• Gayla Peevey. "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" Dr. Demento Presents the Greatest Christmas Novelty CD of All Time. Rhino, 1952.

• Jimmy Boyd. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" Christmas with Jimmy Boyd. Philips, 1952

• George Jones. "My Mom and Santa Claus" Hillbilly Holiday. Rhino, 1961.

• Loretta Lynn. "To Heck with Old Santa Claus" Hillbilly Holiday. Rhino, 1967.

• Little Joey Farr. "Big White Cadillac" Rockabilly Xmas. Buffalo Bop, 1958

• Tennessee Ernie Ford. "Christmas Dinner" Christmas on the Range. Capitol, 1951.

• Johnny Cash. "Christmas As I Knew It" Christmas with Johnny Cash. Sony Legacy, 1963

Thank you for reading RETROFIT. This post is public so feel free to share it.

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© 2023 Mike Flanagan

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1969 was a blazing year, the last year of the 60s. The year man walked on the moon and women swam at Woodstock. There were no thoughts of disco, or punk, or post punk, or any of the musical revelations that were just around the corner.

Still you could spend $2.99 on a single album ($15.99 for a double album, don’t forget those 18 minute songs) and make someone really happy. You might say someone with a turntable. But dog, everybody had a turntable. It may not have been a Tharen’s TD 124. Or a Gerard 401 with a Transcriptor Tone Arm. It might have come from Sears. Regardless, when you dropped the needle on the Stones Let It Bleed or the Beatles Abbey Road, you were transformed into a new universe of artful rock and roll.

Aw heck. The first 2 Led Zeppelin albums came out in 1969. If you were gifted any of these wonder classics, you would have felt cool and loved by someone who had pretty radical tastes in lots of different kinds of music. Everything you are about to hear came out in one incredible year. It begins with a song appropriately titled 1969. It is from the 1969 album The Stooges. Iggy Pop was about to become a household name, along with many of the people in this so cool its cold playlist. This is Old School #59, Underneath the 1969 Tree.

It would be easy to go to a Billboard list for 1969 and give you a show of hits, but I want to think about this one as if I were shopping for presents before the 70s changed music forever. I want to give a handful of cool gifts, and in the hundreds of albums released in 1969 you can find some great stuff. So great, in the next 90 minutes you might find yourself ready to move back a few years.

It’s the time of the season to share the love. As David Crosby would soon tell us, music is love.

Speaking of 4th grade Prince watching Sly on TV, little Michael Jackson couldn’t get enough The godfather of soul always on point. His band hitting beats that are going to be sampled in ways no one could imagine at the time.

Sure there was a lot of rocking around the Christmas tree in 1969, but as the snows of winter, a never ending war, and a widening space we would call the generation gap began to fall, there was plenty of time for introspection. Leonard Cohen was a new face, with a second album. The super group Blind Faith assembled for one album. Pink Floyd was not only recording across the hall from the Beatles, they too were playing live on the BBC. And then there’s a cold weather sound from Jefferson Airplane, and the chances of getting lost at sea with Procol Harum. Kick back for a good old FM underground radio set.

Pink Floyd originally presented Cymballine for the motion picture soundtrack to More. What we heard was indeed a live performance on the BBC. Good Shepherd occupied the post Woodstock headspace of Jefferson Airplane. A Salty Dog , the mysterious sea tale, came from the third Procol Harum album and featured guitarist Robin Trower.

Our penultimate discovery Under the 1969 tree was also visual and psychedelic, around seven years before Buckingham and Nix joined Fleetwood Mac. It represents a fascinating chapter in the life of Peter Green. He plays a Ramirez classical acoustic guitar as well as an electric guitar, bass guitar, cello, timpani, and clash cymbals. It is one of the great theme songs on which to unleash your imagination. My own mental setup is that it is setting the stage for some epic battle among Ninjas in a vast dessert beneath a sun that is much closer than 93 million miles.

PLAYLIST

1969 The Stooges/THE STOOGES

RUNAWAY CHILD, RUNNING WILD The Temptations/CLOUD NINE

BADGE Goodbye/CREAM

SON OF A PREACHER MAN Dusty Springfield/Dusty in Memphis

BORN ON THE BAYOU Creedence Clearwater Revival/Bayou Country

ELLA GURU Capt Beefheart and His Magic Band/TROUT MASK REPLICA

PEACHES EN REGALIA Frank Zappa/HOT RATS

DARK EYED WOMAN Spirit/CLEAR SPIRIT

SOUTH CALIFORNIA PURPLES Chicago Transit Authority/CTA

STAND! Sly and the Family Stone/STAND!

SAY IT LOUD I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD James Brown/SAY IT LOUD

YOU KNOW WHO I AM Leonard Cohen/SONGS FROM A ROOM

CAN’T FIND MY WAY HOME Blind Faith/BLIND FAITH

CYMBALINE Pink Floyd/THE EARLY YEARS 1967-1972 CRE/ATION

GOOD SHEPHERD Jefferson Airplane/VOLUNTEERS

A SALTY DOG Procol Harum/A SALTY DOG

OH WELL PART TWO Fleetwood Mac

AFTER HOURS Velvet Underground/VELVET UNDERGROUND

Eighteen songs that would have been welcomed under anybody’s Christmas tree in 1969. It’s a desert island year, provided you could get service in the middle of the Pacific of memories from the great beyond.

Any music you may have heard in this session resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. The YouTube version may have been edited beyond recognition by more rules than could ever apply to rock and roll. Full uncut versions can be found on the Professor Mikey Old School podcasts on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Pandora or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks for listening, I’ll see you next time in whatever year the tonearm lands. The closing song was penned by Lou Reed to conclude the third Velvet Underground album. He said he couldn’t sing it because it needed a voice innocent and pure. So drummer Maureen Tucker sings our farewell to 1969. I’m Professor Mikey, subscribe if you are so moved. Join us again soon for Old School where the past is a blast.

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There has to be a better category for the enigmatic Andy Pratt other than “one hit wonder.” The song he is best known for appeared like a comet on the pop music horizon in 1973, bristling with the buzz and excellence of a new discovery.

“Avenging Annie” is a power ballad on the level of the kinds of things Elton John was producing at that time, alongside Yes and the Bob Welch era Fleetwood Mac.

Annie’s time in the spotlight was brief if you only listen for chart positions splash. Yet there is something about this song that packs a wallop, not only of memory but of deliverance as we drop the needle a half century away from this magnificent obscurity.

The saga of Andy Pratt began with a self titled album in 1973, and progressed through one called Resolution in 1976 that Rolling Stone said “has forever changed the face of rock.” After that, he pretty much disappeared, but it wasn’t for lack of being unique. He was educated at Harvard, attended Boston’s Life Institute, converted to Christianity, married a Dutch woman in 1988, and moved to Belgium in 1996, where he lives today. He says his best wish is for his music to offer inner healing. Here’s Andy Pratt, back in ’73, with the amazing Avenging Annie…

I wrote "Avenging Annie" in the summer of 1972 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at my mother's 1926 Steinway B Baby Grand piano. I had broken up with my first wife[.] ... I was stoned on marijuana. On my turntable was the The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, in particular the Woody Guthrie song "Pretty Boy Floyd." You can clearly hear that the first part of "Avenging Annie" is an altered version of "Pretty Boy Floyd." I shut off the record and began playing "Pretty Boy Floyd." I was going into a creative trance, and I altered Woody's words, then out came a Bach-like piano riff which I liked, so I began singing to it in falsetto, taking the part of a woman I called Avenging Annie. A whole story came out, which was a fantasy version of my relationship with [my ex-wife], combined with the outlaw theme of the American West. I worked on the song for a few weeks and played for other people who liked it. I made a demo with Rick Shlosser and Bill Riseman, which became a hit at Brown University Radio WBRU. This new fame led to me being whisked away by John Nagy of Earth Opera, Clive Davis of Columbia Records, and Nat Weiss of The Beatles, being wined and dined in New York City and given star treatment at the famous Black Rock on 6th Avenue.

Once recorded and released on Columbia, "Avenging Annie" took on a life of its own, which has never really stopped. My version was given extensive radio play, became a number one single in New Orleans and Providence, and reached about number eighty-five in the national charts. I did a successful tour of the East Coast, where Jimmy Buffet opened for me at Max's Kansas City, an Andy Pratt show was broadcast from Boston's Jazz Workshop over WBCN radio, and many other wonderful things happened. The Andy Pratt record, with "Avenging Annie" is still available on various web sites, including www.amazon.com.

Roger Daltrey covered "Avenging Annie" in 1974, and his version appeared first on his One of the Boys album as well as other collections he released. My opinion of his version is that he was afraid to play the role of a woman in the song, and his band did not play the syncopations that we played in our version. I prefer my version. Still, I am grateful for his recognition of the song, and the added exposure that he helped me to gain.

Carmenica Diaz wrote a book called "Avenging Annie" and credits the song as the book's inspiration, for which I thank her. —Andy Pratt, Sept 6, 2006

We ran the through hills and forestsAs two under a spellHe was a city boy, Floyd the outlawBut I thought I knew him wellLong after that great summerWhen I first came into my fameAnd the Avenger from OklahomaWas added to my nameThe Avenger I became[Verse 1]Well, they call me Avenging AnnieI'm avenger of womanhoodI spend my whole life telling liesLead you on and mess you over goodI take all you spoiled young hippiesRunning around, playing gamesMess around in your bed, I'll blow your headI'll put you through a changeWhat you've done to othersI'll do unto you[Verse 2]And then I met my sensitive outlawHe was the best thing I had ever seenI wanna be his wife forgiving my lifeI was so blind I could never have seen, noSo I joined up with my outlawAnd headed for California

Verse 3]He treated me worse than I ever imaginedHe even say he don't want me aroundKept it up so long, I couldn't be strongHe run me right into the groundAfter five long yearsHe picked me up and then he slapped me down[Verse 4]When I told my friends about himThey all were on my sideAnd I could see through the haze he looked so crazyI put my head right down and I criedFor my poor loverI cried like a mother for my poor lover

Verse 5]Well, I felt so sad about itBut I knew I couldn't do him no goodHe was so far gone while standing all aloneI left him, I knew I shouldI knew I couldn't do him no good[Verse 6]And now I live out on a mountain topAnd I'm almost thirty-fiveAnd I've found my peace and I've found my releaseAnd I'm happy just to be alive

And I might go back to my FloydIf I think it's the thing to doHe gave up murder and theft right after I leftAnd you know I still love him too[Outro]Just like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youJust like your woman loves youWell, they call me Avenging AnnieI'm avenger of womanhoodI spend my whole life telling liesLead you on and mess you over, yeah

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Yes it is a holiday rerun. But we have more people around the OLD SCHOOL table than we did at this time last year. So let’s feast on some fascinating tunes, all written by hungry people from different eras and angles. Some became hits, some were forgotten, but each was delicious upon first listen, no matter in what millennia the needle dropped.

Chances are you will be spending the holiday around people with whom you don’t usually sample music. You know Uncle Harry’s politics, and what he thinks of little Suzy’s tat, but what does he listen to?

This show works great during the dinner prep, but could also serve as background chomping music. Elvis, Dee Dee Sharp, Hank Williams, Jimmy Buffett, the Kinks, Cab Calloway, Talking Heads, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Beach Boys, Doris Day and many, many more. Professor Mikey goes for the eclectic salad around the holiday. No holiday makes you rounder than Thanksgiving.

If you’ve never seen the newsletter, take out a free subscription at professormikey.substack.com. If you don’t do podcasts go over to Professor Mikey’s Old School on YouTube and flip through the stacks. Theme shows, singles, odd takes, rarities, skips, pops. Think of it as radio unplugged.

Anyway, this is not a show for quiet eating, although if you turn it down low I suppose it will work. This is an episode about getting in that kitchen and making some noise with the pots and pans, like Big Joe Turner says in “Shake, Rattle and Roll.”

Food prep is a joyous time. You’ve got to keep a lot of plates in the air, then fill them up with goodies. Yes we have songs about turkeys and mashed potatoes, but there’s also some lively tunes about hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza, thanks to Dean Martin.

So here is what you hear when you are In the Mood for Food. Check that ham, baste that turkey, shake that salt, and get her done. I’m on holiday so I’m going to put down the microphone and pick up the fork. The playlist is on the newsletter at Professormikey.Substack.Com. Pretty sure you also have a phone that can tell you what is playing. I have to check my pecan pie. I burnt the hell out of the one last year.

Have a bountiful holiday that puts a yummy in your tummy.

Let’s rock that kitchen…1

LET’S TURKEY TROT Little Eva

FOOD The Turtles

JAMBALAYA Hank Williams

CRAWFISH Elvis Presley

TURKEY IN THE STRAW Burl Ives

SWITCHEN IN THE KITCHEN Don Covay

EGGS AND SAUSAGE (IN A CADILLAC WITH SUSAN MICHELSON) Tom Waits

BEANS AND CORNBREAD Louis Jordan

HAM ‘N’ EGGS A Tribe Called Quest

MASHED POTATO TIME Dee Dee Sharp

EVERYBODY EATS WHEN THEY COME TO MY HOUSE Cab Calloway

CALL ANY VEGETABLE Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention

VEGETABLES The Beach Boys

HE’S A CHEF Rocket from the Crypt

THAT’S AMORE Dean Martin

SUPPER TIME Barbra Streisand

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL Big Joe Turner

HUNGRY Paul Revere and the Raiders

STAY HUNGRY Talking Heads

TACOS, ENCHILADAS AND BEANS Doris Day

MOMMAS IN THE KITCHEN BUT WE’VE GOT POP ON ICE Slim Gailard

CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE Jimmy Buffett

HOT DOGS AND HAMBURGERS John Mellencamp

CHEESECAKE Louis Armstrong

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD Oliver! Original Broadway Soundtrack

YES, WE HAVE NO BANANAS Louis Prima

MAXIMUM CONSUMPTION The Kinks

DcYUM, YUM, YUM Joe Tex

SUPPERTIME Levi Stubbs, Little Shop of Horrors Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

GROCERIES, SIR The Dukes

BREAKFAST FOR TWO Country Joe McDonald

CHRISTMAS DINNER Tennessee Ernie Ford

Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. Consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. And have a bountiful and safe holiday!

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On the day rock and roll was born, it made no news. That’s because the event itself wasn’t exactly a birth, but a morphing of so many different styles of music, it confused the most hardcore rock historians.

Rock and Roll was a true clash down by the river. It was a cosmic fusion of African American rhythm and blues with elements of swing, boogie-woogie, urban blues, Latin rhythms, Country, Western, Rockabilly, and Tin Pan Alley. Bringing that together in bits and pieces was a fresh new blank generation of teens who had to rebel against something after World War II. To be young in the mid-’50s to early ’60s and not be a rock fan was to be “square.“

The term itself can be found back among the flappers and the drugstore cowboys in the Roaring Twenties. The forgotten but fabulous Trixie Smith recorded “My Baby Rocks Me with One Steady Roll” in 1922. Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed took to the airwaves in 1951 with a rhythm and blues radio show “Moondog’s Rock and Roll Party.”

Today we rev up the Old School time machine magic bus to hover around the very early 50s, long before Elvis recorded Hound Dog in 1956. For many years that was considered the first rock and roll song, even though Elvis fans could make a better case with That’s All Right Mama recorded at the yellow Sun Records in Nashville studio on July 5, 1954.

But for this lesson we reach back to 1951 and only go up to 1954. And I think all these songs are rock and roll. Think of this show as the Pre Rock Pre Roll. Professor Mikey here. Take your seats unless you feel like dancing.

You know when they dig for mummies in Egypt, the newer mummies are closer to the top? Crazy Man Crazy is not the first rock record but it is certifiable and well as verifiable that it is the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national Billboard American charts, peaking at #12 on their Juke Box chart[1] for the week ending June 20, 1953, and #11 for two weeks on the Cash Box chart beginning for the week of June 13.

Much of the mystery we have been tracking on this episode of Old School “Pre Rock Pre Roll” has had to do with terminology and trying to track down what was being called when. Exactly how the term rock and roll was popularized shook out over time. It is also important to note that not everyone was embracing the new sound that cut across many lines.

I wanted you to hear a little Alan Freed while we are swimming in the early 50s waters. Freed was a recording artists with a local reputation, but his real fame came from his making the new music the centerpiece of his radio show.

The music was new and enthusiastic but an old and boring cultural disease was at the root of much of the controversy.

This sound byte was recorded May 4, 1957–four months before Dick Clark also started appearing on 21-inch living room glass screens. THE BIG BEAT hosted by Alan Freed was the first national broadcast of a rock music television show. You’ll hear the showman himself, bursting with promotion and enthusiasm as he introduces 14 year old Frankie Lymon with his group The Teenagers. What you won’t hear, or see, is young Lymon dancing with a member of the audience who happened to be white and female. That was enough to get the show cancelled by the network only four weeks after it premiered.

Jumping back into this rather loose chronology, things start getting hot in 1954 for this genre in search of a perfect title. Here is Etta James and she is sweet 16.

Of all the tunes we will listen to on this episode, that one is 1957, after that rock and roll term was officially adopted by millions of music lovers around the world.

The Clovers from 1954, a great year for Cadillacs. Professor Mikey here. Today we have heard just a handful of the songs that were probably rock and roll before the term was officially adopted. It was and exciting time for music, as well as the world. The Americans as well as the Russians were testing bigger and better bombs every week. On a different scale, down in Montgomery Alabama, Rosa Parks was about to decide she wasn’t going to give up her bus seat to any more white men. In Minnesota, Bob Dylan was thinking about moving to New York. The times they were a changing.

The kind of music that would transcend into real rock and roll was filling the airwaves. There was too much experimenting going on to think about formalities and trivial naming ceremonies. The music was fun, great to dance to, and deserving of the volume control turned up to 11. Completely unexpected was what rock and roll was doing for society, bringing people together on 33, 45, and 78. It was surely a time of pre rock and pre roll.

Any music you may have heard in this session resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. Podcast carriers compensate artists directly. If you are an artist who feels your work has been improperly used or misrepresented, please contact our producers at professormikey.substack.com and we will file your music in files labeled what might have been.

Unexpurgated episodes of Old School are available on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Pandora or wherever you get your podcasts. Several episodes are also ready to rock and ready to roll on Professor Mikey’s Old School on YouTube.

One more question that doesn’t have a definitive answer. What was the first rock and roll song? Many of our current music scholars point to one song, coming out of Sam Phillips Sun Studio that was recorded in 1951, long before Elvis walked in the door. Lets take a ride in a Rocket 88.

Thanks for listening, let the whole episode play especially in traffic and join us again soon for Old School where the past is a blast.

PRE-ROCK PRE-ROLL Playlist

CRAZY MAN CRAZY Bill Haley and His Comets (1953)

BEBOPPER Hank Jones Trio and The Gordons (1951)

SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL Big Joe Turner (1951)

LOVIN’ JIM Little Mickey Champion (1952)

HOUND DOG Big Mama Thornton (1953)

MONEY HONEY Clyde McPhatter (1953)

BAM BALAM The Dewdroppers (1953)

MYSTERY TRAIN Junior Parker (1953)

WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers (1957)

THE WALLFLOWER Etta James (1954)

WOODCHUCK Billy the Kid Emerson (1954)

I JUST WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU Muddy Waters (1954)

MELLOW DOWN EASY Little Water (1954)

YOUR CASH AIN’T NOTHING BUT TRASH The Clovers (1954)

ROCKET 88 Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats (1951)

SPECIAL:

“THE BIG BANG OF ROCK AND ROLL”

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Robin Trower Timeline🎸

1945 (March 9): Robin Trower is born in Catford, London, England.

1962: Trower starts his music career and joins a band called The Paramounts.

1967: Joins Procol Harum as the replacement for original guitarist Ray Royer.

1967–1971: Trower gains fame as the lead guitarist for Procol Harum. He contributes to albums like “Procol Harum” (1967), “Shine on Brightly” (1968), “A Salty Dog” (1969), and “Home” (1970).

1971: Leaves Procol Harum to pursue a solo career.

1973: Releases his debut solo album, “Twice Removed from Yesterday.”

1974: Releases the highly successful album “Bridge of Sighs,” which includes the acclaimed title track and contributes to establishing him as a solo artist.

1970s to 1980s: Continues releasing successful albums, including “For Earth Below” (1975), “Long Misty Days” (1976), “In City Dreams” (1977), “Caravan to Midnight” (1978), and “Victims of the Fury” (1980).

1980s to 1990s: Trower continues to release albums regularly, including “B.L.T.” (1981), “Truce” (1982), “Back It Up” (1983), “Passion” (1987), “Take What You Need” (1988), and others.

2000s: Releases albums like “Go My Way” (2000), “Living Out of Time” (2003), “Another Days Blues” (2005), and “Seven Moons” (2008) with Jack Bruce.

2010s: Continues his musical career with albums like “The Playful Heart” (2010), “Roots and Branches” (2013), “Something’s About to Change” (2015), and others.

The sun don't shineThe moon don't move the tides,To wash me cleanThe sun don't shineThe moon don't move the tides,To wash me cleanWhy so unforgiving and why so coldBeen a long time crossing bridge of sighsCold wind blowsThe Gods look down in anger,On this poor childCold wind blowsAnd Gods look down in anger,On this poor childWhy so unforgiving and why so coldBeen a long time crossing bridge of sighs

Bridge of Sighs Lyrics as written by Robin Trower

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Famous 17th Centurians

Certainly, here are ten famous individuals who lived in the 17th century, along with their birth and death years:

1.William Shakespeare (1564–1616) - English playwright, poet, and actor.

2.Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) - Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician.

3.Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) - Dutch painter known for his masterful use of light and color.

4.Rene Descartes (1596–1650) - French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist.

5.Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) - English military and political leader.

6.Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) - Dutch painter and one of the greatest artists in history.

7.John Milton (1608–1674) - English poet, best known for his epic poem “Paradise Lost.”

8.Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) - French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher.

9.Molière (1622–1673) - French playwright and actor known for his comedic plays.

10.Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727) - English mathematician, physicist, and astronomer, famous for his laws of motion and universal gravitation.

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As the Rolling Stones were entering their psychedelic phase, they received a maximum hassle from the police. After being arrested as part of an allegedly framed drug bust in February 1967 at Keith Richards' estate, Mick Jagger penned the lyrics to "We Love You" from a holding cell, offering thanks to the band's supporters, fans, and the editorial page of the London Times. In his flower-power portrait, the authorities are neo-fascists, the rockers are above it all: "We don't care if you hound we/And love is all around we/ You will never win we/Your uniforms don't fit we/We forget the place we're in 'cause we love you." Nicky Hopkins pounds the piano, John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing in the background, and you can even hear the jail door slam at the beginning. The Stones. We Love You…

BONUS Pulp Non Fiction:

HOW THE ACID KING HELPED BUST THE STONES

[Intro]We don't care if you only love weWe don't care if you only love we[Verse 1]We love youWe love youAnd we hope that you will love we too[Verse 2]We love theyWe love theyAnd we want you to love they too[Bridge]We don't care if you hound weAnd love the dogs around weLove can't get our minds offWe love you (We love you)You will never win weYour uniforms don't fit weWe forget the place we're in'Cause we love you (We love you)Of course we do[Verse 3]I love youI love youAnd I hope that you are grooving, too

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By the time The Music Machine released their third single, the glory days of “Talk Talk” from just a year before was a quickly fading memory. It was April of 1967, things were gearing up for the summer of psychedelics although the press would call it the Summer of Love. A song about tooling down the highway, written by lead vocalist Sean Bonniwell with one hand on the wheel on the way to a recording session, would seem out of place with the times. Too bad, it’s a garage classic. Here’s The Music Machine farewell, which rose to number 111 on the Billboard pop charts, “Double Yellow Line.”

1967

Want you, strung out on your memoryMiss you, more than you believeNeed you, half of me I left behindWith you, when I had to leaveNow my mind's across, the double yellow lineHang-ups, everybody's got a littleHang-up, so how're you gonna actChanges, I hope you know I'm going thoughChanges, put me where I'm atWith my mind across, the double yellow lineWasting, timeGot to, findA way back, across the, double yellow lineWant me, anyway a little bitMiss me, keep me in your mindNeed me, but baby let me warn you thoughDon't cross, the double yellow lineDon't cross the double yellow lineDouble yellow lineDouble yellow lineDon't cross, the double yellow lineDouble yellow lineDouble yellow lineDouble yellow lineDouble yellow line

Hey Kids! Attend Old School online classes anytime on YouTube!

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Setting the clocks back in autumn is always mysterious. But the idea of what it mans for time to actually change calls for an appropriate imaginary radio set.

That’s it. Bits, pieces, and surprises woven into a talk free 23:25 segment to welcome the seasonal change, and that necessary extra hour of sleep.

Enjoy what comes next!

~Professor Mikey

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David Grisman plays many instruments besides the mandolin, but that’s the one that made him famous. While attending NYU back in 63, he joined the Even Dozen Jug Band which included Maria Muldaur and John Sebastian. From there he was one of the Kentuckians, then part of the highly progressive Earth Opera. Then he met Jerry Garcia and started appearing with the Grateful Dead. The David Grisman Quintet began life in 1976. Today we pick up on them in 1980 after a few personnel changes, in the band at this point are violinist Darol Anger as well as Mark O’Connor who played anything that could be strung. Grisman called his music “new grass” at this point, as well as dawg music, that being d-a-w-g. It’s acoustic and fast. The David Grisman Quintet and Dawgma…

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The ultimate destiny of Tommy Bolin is one of music’s big mysteries, because he never got past the drugs or age 25. Born in Sioux City Iowa, he was kicked out of school because he wouldn’t cut his hair. This led to a move to Boulder Colorado, where he joined a local legend that went national called Zephyr. Leaving that band at a time that he was becoming interested in jazz fusion, he was picked by drummer Billy Cobham to appear on the Spectrum album. From there, he did stints with the James Gang and Deep Purple, before recording two solo albums. Just as his star was ascending, it exploded. Bolin was found dead of a heroin overdose in Miami in December of 1976, shortly after opening a show for Jeff Beck. Here’s a little funk, a little jazz, a little metal, all at once…Tommy Bolin and The Grind from 1975’s Teaser…

I walked all day tryin' to find me workI must have knocked on one-hundred doorsWould have swallowed my pride for some moneyAnd be satisfied sweepin' the floors

Mister Broken-GlassMister Silver-And-GoldMister Bustin'-My-AssMister All-You-Can-Hold

I spent last night sleepin' on a park bench'til a copy came and moved me alongTold him I was botherin' nobodyYes, he told me I was dead wrong

Mister Broken-GlassMister Silver-And-GoldMister Bustin'-My-AssMister All-You-Can-Hold

Everywhere, I get the same kind of answer"Not now" or "Maybe then"Well, me time is runnin' out on me people,Yes, me peopleIf you're down and without a friend

Mister Broken-GlassMister Silver-And-GoldMister Bustin'-My-AssMister All-You-Can-Hold

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Jeffery Cook / John Tesar / Stanley Sheldon / Tommy Bolin

The Grind lyrics © Equestrian Music, Music Sales Corporation

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[][]That’s what I get for trying to replicate a sidecar on Halloween.

Without too much technical explanation, let’s just say Jack the Ripper clones himself and not only stays on the track where he is supposed to be, but also appears over the top of “Cemetery Stomp” from the creepy surfer sensations The Essex. The result was a confusing monster mash that raised audio Hell during the first 10 minutes of the original podcast.

Hearing the results might frighten anyone, especially children and small pets.

So this on has that error corrected so you hear pristine versions of Screaming Lord Sutch (born David Edward Sutch, 10 November 1940 – 16 June 1999) as well as the gothic surf stirred by The Essex.

Pardon the confusion, it is already that time of year.

best,

Professor Mikey

It starts in a 1959 graveyard, lit by a Morningstar…

Here are two songs Professor Mikey dug up from the groove yard of ghoulish golden goodies. The first one rises from the graveyard on a hot night in the Singing River Studio in Biloxi, Mississippi. For this 1959 single, Willie Morrell was possessed enough to change his name to Jackie Morningstar. Then we move west and a little further in time, when a little known surf band called The Essex accidentally stumble onto a genre that centered around sun, sand, vampires and zombies. Jackie Morningstar and Rockin in the Graveyard, followed by The Essex and Cemetery Stomp. It’s a double shot of Halloween on Old School.

In a small town, there was a ghastly tradition every Halloween. The local teens would gather in the cemetery, and as the clock struck midnight, they’d start “ROCKING IN THE GRAVEYARD” to wake the restless spirits. Jackie Morningstar’s catchy tune became their anthem, and even the ghosts couldn’t resist.

2.“CEMETERY STOMP” by The Essex (1963):

The Essex, a group of thrill-seeking teens, decided to throw a secret party in an old, haunted cemetery. With the moon high in the sky, they cranked up “CEMETARY STOMP,” and as they danced among the tombstones, they discovered that even ghouls have a groove.

3.“HALLOWEEN SPOOKS” by Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross (1959):

Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross were known for their vocal harmonies that could raise the dead. They performed “HALLOWEEN SPOOKS” so well that it attracted all kinds of supernatural creatures to join in, creating the ultimate ghostly choir.

Old School is all abuzz with costume ideas, overdosing on Starbursts and Three Musketeers, and toilet papering Professor Mikey’s crib. Today, a rather lightweight but entertaining ghostly tune that goes back to the late 50s, and the remarkable jazz trio of Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and and Annie Ross. They formed in 1958 and were voted the Best Vocal Group by the readers of Downbeat magazine for 59, 60, 61, 62, and 63. A jazz group with a sense of humor. That’s frightening enough, but it doesn’t compare to the downright dropdead horror that you are sure to experience when you hear Lambert Hendricks and Ross do “Halloween Spooks.”

4.“JACK THE RIPPER” by Screaming Lord Sutch (1964):

In a shadowy corner of London, a group of ghouls decided to have a sinister dance-off. They called it the “JACK THE RIPPER” showdown, with Screaming Lord Sutch as the master of ceremonies. The winner got to keep their soul for another year.

Screaming Lord Sutch technically isn’t a member of the British Invasion because he never had a hit record in Great Britain or the US. Still, he was one of the first horror rockers, he employed band members before they were famous like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Nicky Hopkins, and Mitch Mitchell. He released pre-Beatle rock with studio wizard Joe Meek, ran for Parliament several times, founded the National Teenage political party, and started his own pirate radio station, Radio Sutch, in 1964. Here he is with the story of Jack the Ripper, Sreaming Lord Sutch on Old School…

5.“RACE WITH THE DEVIL” by Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps (1957):

Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps were renowned for their fiery performances. One Halloween night, they had a “RACE WITH THE DEVIL” contest against the demons of the underworld, and the band’s blistering rock ‘n’ roll won, sealing the demons’ fate.

6.“MONSTER MASH PARTY” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett (1961):

Bobby “Boris” Pickett threw the wildest Halloween party ever. Creatures from all walks of the afterlife, including Dracula and the Mummy, gathered for a “MONSTER MASH PARTY.” It was a graveyard smash with dancing, howling, and monstrous fun.

7.“MY CRYSTAL SPIDER” by Sweetwater (1968):

Sweetwater’s lead singer had a mysterious encounter with a crystal spider in the woods one Halloween. She sang “MY CRYSTAL SPIDER” to share the eerie tale of her arachnid friend who wove webs that foretold the future.

8.“AFTER HALLOWEEN” by Fairport Convention (1975):

Fairport Convention’s members were so dedicated to Halloween that they kept the festivities going into November. They celebrated “AFTER HALLOWEEN” with an epic bonfire, music, and plenty of pumpkin spice, ensuring the spirit of Halloween lived on.

Yes there are many great Halloween songs clanging around the Old School. And, after the apples have been bobbed, the trick or treaters have been sugarfied, the vampires have gone back to sleep and the witches have parked their brooms, there’s one great post-Halloween song. Fairport Convention had formed in 1968 and successfully meshed the sounds of the present with the sounds of the past…rock and roll meets the music of Robin Hood. In 1975 they were a finely tuned machine, now featuring the lead vocals of Sandy Denny only a short time before her tragic end that came at age 31 after injuries suffered in a fall. From Rising of the Moon, their 13th album, Fairport Convention and “After Halloween.”

ROCKING IN THE GRAVEYARD Jackie Morningstar 1959

CEMETARY STOMP The Essex 1963

HALLOWEEN SPOOKS Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross 1959

JACK THE RIPPER Screaming Lord Sutch 1964

RACE WITH THE DEVIL Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps 1957

MONSTER MASH PARTY Bobby “Boris” Pickett 1961

MY CRYSTAL SPIDER Sweetwater 1968

AFTER HALLOWEN Fairport Convention 1975

The tradition of bobbing for apples has ancient roots and is believed to have originated in various parts of the world. In Celtic cultures, it was part of the Samhain festival, which marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Bobbing for apples was a way to celebrate the season and engage in divination. Apples were associated with various forms of magic and the afterlife, making them a fitting choice.

The game made its way to America through Irish and Scottish immigrants. Over time, it became a popular Halloween activity. In the game, apples are placed in a large tub of water, and participants attempt to catch an apple using only their teeth, without using their hands.

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Substack faithful:

You (and Apple, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher) have the original version, so listen to that one when you need bewitching.

Just to clear things, not all songs are cleared by YouTube for worldwide distribution, so having 3 of those caused the original version to get blocked on the service. This is a trim, but since people only watch YouTube videos for 30 seconds there is still plenty of programming to enjoy in most corners of the globe.

If you are hearing this on YOUTUBE please subscribe. It costs nothing and it means everything.

Thanks so much!

Professor Mikey

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The Witches of Eastwick. Ronald Dahl ‘s Witches. The witch of Blackbird Pond pond. Wendy the good witch. Sabrina the teenage witch. Marvel’s Scarlet Witch.

No matter how many buckets of water you empty, how many stakes you ignite, how many houses you drop on them, the wonderful witches of pop culture never fly completely away. They cast spells, ring bells, read books, and light candles. Samantha Stevens used to wiggle her nose to tidy up her 1962 living room.

With all their hocus pocus, they hardly have time to put down the broom, to kick back and relax. Where do they go to bend an elbow with their friends, enjoy an autumn brew, and maybe light up a Salem?

For that answer, we have come to the groove yard of golden goodies. Music celebrates the weird sisters, rarely discriminating between good and bad witches.

Obviously Professor Mikey has spent a little too much time in the witches brew pub. I blame that midnight happy hour and the eye of newt calamari. And the music! The juke boxes Blair witch projects long after the witching hour.

Old School loves to trick or treat at the Witches Brewpub. Keeps you out of Halloween traffic, clarifies multiple levels of focus, and thumps floorboards with a music too fun to be forgotten. After a few tall ones, you note the devil’s jukebox is exhaling brimstone, hemlock and headbangers. Serious observations, swinging cats, witched up rockabilly thugs, enchanted troubadours, all celebrating the risings of the moon on a time of bewitched and bothered rock and roll. All these song were created inspired by enchanted women of healing, magic, and strength. And flight.

🅆🄸🅃🄲🄷'🅂 🄱🅁🄴🅆🄿🅄🄱 🄿🄻🄰🅈🄻🄸🅂🅃

THE WITCH The Sonics 1964 MAD WITCH Dave Gardner 1957 WITCHCRAFT Frank Sinatra 1957 WITCH QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS Redbone 1971 SHE’S MY WITCH Kip Tyler 1958 MY GIRLFRIEND IS A WITCH October Country 1968 THE SALEM WITCH TRIAL Kiriae Crucible 1968 THE WITCHWOOD The Strawbs 1971 WITCH’S PROMISE Jethro Tull 1970 BURN WITCH, BURN Circus 1967 WITCHCRAFT IN THE AIR Betty LaVette 1962 WITCH HUNT Rush 1981 WITCH GIRL The Mystrys 1966 YOU MUST BE A WITCH The Lollipop Shop 1968 SEASON OF THE WITCH Steve Stills/Al Kooper 1968 DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD Sammy Davis Jr. 1966

Witches Brew from the Witches Brewpub

Ingredients:

• 1.5 quarts lime sherbet

• Green food coloring, optional

• 1 2-liter bottle lemon-lime soda (like Sprite), chilled

• 2 cups pineapple juice, chilled

• Dry ice, gummy worms, and gummy eyeballs for garnish, optional

• 1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

• In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg until smooth.

• Add the lime sherbet to the bowl and stir until it is mostly melted.

• Add the lemon-lime soda and pineapple juice to the bowl and stir until everything is well combined.

• If you want to add green food coloring to give it a more witchy look, add a few drops now.

• If you want to add dry ice for a spooky smoke effect, be sure to follow all safety precautions when handling it.

• Serve in glasses with gummy worms and gummy eyeballs as garnish if desired.

Enjoy your Witches’ Brew with pumpkin!

1.Wicked Witch of the West: From L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz,” this iconic character is known for her green skin and flying monkeys.

2.The Sanderson Sisters: Winnie, Mary, and Sarah Sanderson are the witches from the movie “Hocus Pocus.”

3.Gandalf and Saruman: Wizards in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” series, they are often referred to as wizards but share many characteristics with traditional witches.

4.Bellatrix Lestrange: A prominent dark witch in the “Harry Potter” series created by J.K. Rowling.

5.Elphaba: The green-skinned protagonist of Gregory Maguire’s novel “Wicked,” which also inspired a popular musical.

6.The Witch in “Snow White: The evil queen who uses magic to try to eliminate Snow White.

7.Circe: A character from Greek mythology known for her magical abilities, featured in various works of literature.

8.The White Witch (Jadis): A character from C.S. Lewis’s “The Chronicles of Narnia” series, known for her ice-cold magic.

• Sycorax is an unseen character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest (1611). She is a vicious and powerful witch and the mother of Caliban, one of the few native inhabitants of the island on which Prospero, the hero of the play, is stranded.

• The Grand High Witch. In The Witches (1990), based on the 1983 book of the same name by Roald Dahl, the Grand High Witch is the all-powerful leader of the world's witches. She maintains children smell like dog droppings.🐕💩

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Professor Mikey here, welcome to a special Old School After School Special, a rare live performance from California surf rockers Jan and Dean!

Jan Berry and Dean Torrence met and formed their duo at University High School in West LA. Jan was also friends with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and those two wrote Jan and Dean’s first number one hit, Surf City.

In late October 1964 Jan and Dean hosted the The filming of The TAMI Show which brought together several major artists including The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, James Brown and The Famous Flames, The Supremes, and Chuck Berry for the big screen.

EXTRA: See the complete T.A.M.I. SHOW here!

Now we catch up with them a few months later, March 12, 1965, once again at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Jan Berry’s tragic life changing car accident was a year in the future, so this show captures the two at their peak performance level.

The album was called Command Performance, Jan & Dean/Live In Person, and was held from publication for ten years. Note: this is a vinyl rip from a disc that’s been sealed for almost a half century.

Set the controls for 1965, wax you boards, and get ready to surf in the ocean or on the sidewalk. Jan and Dean in concert on the Old School After School Special…

Jan Berry’s accident:

Car: Little red Corvette, 1966

When: April 12, 1966

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Conditions: Clear and dry

Where: Sunset Blvd and Whittier Drive, Beverly Hills CA 90210, near

9901 Sunset Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

TV Movie: Dead Man’s Curve (CBS, 1974)

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Welcome to Old School, coming at you today from somewhere between the Animal Zoo and the wildlife preserve that is rock and roar radio.

There are over 8.7 million species of creatures on this planet, and every one of them has a song to sing. Whether you're a night owl, a party-loving parrot, or king of beasts, the animal planet has its own chart-toppers and divas.

The animal kingdom has woven itself into our music. David Attenborough said it well : “The whole of life is coming to terms with yourself and the natural world.”

Couple of rules. There are so many great dog, cat, and bird songs, I’ll save them for future episodes. Here we are going to keep it wild and untamed. From creatures of the land to those beneath the sea, Old School has it covered.

I can hear this podcast being played in traffic for people escaping the rat race. Or many it’s getting played in the waiting room at the vet. Or while they are cleaning the cages at the zoo.

From the jungles, from the woods, from the zoos locked up neighborhoods. Welcome to Episode 55 of Professor Mikey’s Old School, Animal Planet Rock. Someone told me its all happening at the zoo. I do believe it, and so does Spirit from their 1970 album The Twelve Dreams of Dr Sardonicus.

ANIMAL PLANET ROCK PLAYLIST

Animal Zoo SPIRIT 1970

Mickey’s Monkey SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES 1963

I’m an Animal THE ANIMALS 1968

Shock the Monkey PETER GABRIEL 1982

The Lion Sleeps Tonight THE TOKENS 1962

Ride the Tiger JEFFERSON STARSHIP 1974

Tigerman RUFUS THOMAS 1953

Eating the Bear JOAN ARMATRADING 1981

Hungry Like the Wolf DURAN DURAN 1982

Animals TALKING HEADS 1979

Elephant Talk KING CRIMSON 1981

Octopus SYD BARRETT 1970

Animals TALKING HEADS 1979

Man Gave Names to All The Animals BOB DYLAN 1979

They All Ask’d For You THE METERS 1975

Do Animals Like Music?

• Birds: Some studies have suggested that birds, particularly songbirds, can be influenced by music. For example, certain bird species may sing more when exposed to specific types of music. However, individual preferences can vary among birds.

• Cats: Cats are known for their sensitivity to sounds. While there's no conclusive evidence that cats prefer one genre of music over another, some pet owners have reported that their cats seem to respond positively to calming or classical music.

• Dogs: Dogs' reactions to music can vary widely. Some studies have shown that dogs may be more relaxed when exposed to classical music, while others may prefer silence or sounds of nature. Dogs are also known to respond positively to music specially composed for their hearing range.

• Cows: There have been anecdotal reports of cows showing increased milk production when exposed to certain types of music. However, this is a subject of ongoing research, and results can vary.

• Fish: There is limited research on the musical preferences of fish, but some studies have suggested that fish may react to certain types of music with changes in behavior.

• Elephants: Elephants have shown an ability to distinguish between different musical genres, and some captive elephants have exhibited positive responses to classical music.

We will return to Animal Planet Rock sometime in the near future here on Old School. Right now I need to get out and listen to some of nature’s music. If you’d like to do something for our furry feathered friends, there are lots of ways to accomplish that. On my free newsletter, the article attached to this podcast has some tips as well as a link top a list of 50 ways you can help the animals in your community.

If you’d prefer to Venmo the lions tigers bears and more, you can reach out to any of the following:

Animal Welfare Institute

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue

Alley Cat Allies

Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee

Marine Mammal Centre

American Humane Society

The Humane Society of the United States

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

The Jane Goodall Institute

The African Wildlife Foundation

EXTRA

NOT MISSING LINKS!

50 WAYS YOU CAN HELP ANIMALS IN YOUR COMMUNITY

(Courtesy of The Humane Society of the United States)

NINE ANIMALS NAMED FOR ROCK BANDS

For Real 🛸 pinkfloydi

This lopsided crustacean has a massive pink claw that is able to stun or kill small fish with just the sound of its snap. Unsurprisingly, it is named after one of the loudest bands in rock, Pink Floyd, with a suitably sonorous song from their 2014 album The Endless Riverto accompany it.

(Courtesy BBC Science Focus)

Professor Mikey’s Old School is produced for educational purposes, and expects this episode to be available in public libraries for years to come.

Any music you may have heard in this session resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. Podcast carriers compensate artists directly, but if you the artist feel your work has been improperly used or misrepresented, please contact our producers at professormikey.substack.com.

One more before we leave the orbit of Animal Planet Rock. Here’s The Meters from New Orleans, and They All Asked For You. Remember we are born free and meant to stay wild. Thanks for tuning in to Old School!

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Professor Mikey here with an innocent but slightly dirty episode of Old School.

I understand YouTubers expect music instantly. If you are new to Old School, realize we are able to play songs of vintage cool in their entirety because Professor Mikey checked the educational box. SO I tell quick but educational stories. Today, the subject is a bit off color, and it has nothing to do with techni-covered vinyl.

The Fifties were more than I Love Lucy, Ivory Snow, and the New York Yankees. They were Davy Crockett, ‘55 Chevies, and Howard Johnson’s.

As popular culture bounced in atom age patterns, a postwar world absorbed itself in peace and creativity. A global Greatest Generation had sacrificed too much in history’s worst war. But to the victors belonged the spoils: affordable housing, color television, and rock and roll.

Until he went to the Army in 1958, Elvis ruled the decade, which angered certain people. This “white man who could sing like a black man” was not a winning formula to many, so they tried to take down Presley in any way they could. One way was to go after the music itself, and all that it represented.

To many, this was brain rotting filth. Something to be hauled out in the trash alongside bikini bathing suits and gruesome and violent comic books. This music had a beat that was suggestive and sexual, wild and rowdy. In one famous media move, the performance of the top cat from Tupelo could only be seen from the waist up. Those wiggling hips violated community standards.

Bawdy songs were as old as pianos. They offered adult humor with sophomoric punchlines.

Censors blocked what they could, but an occasional song containing blue material could liven up a club performance, or become the instant hit of a record party.

Wink wink nudge nudge didn’t apply to everything, but when radio stations banned certain releases from their Top 40 lists the station itself became more famous for what it didn’t play than for what made it to the airwaves.

On this show we will delve into some of those questionable songs with naughty lyrics and bad intent. Rock and roll was being born, and it would be an inaccurate deception to pretend there wasn’t a lot of sex going on between the sheets of music.

As time passed, our popular music became more civilized. Bad language was welcomed into the art form, and the only questions about content was how much it might sell. What we are going to hear are some downright silly examples of the tunes that could get you banned in Boston or f****d in Florida.

Fair warning. Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll, coming right up. This is Professor Mikey’s Old School, Episode 54 RAUNCH AND ROLL: 50s Naughty Bop.

One Night of Sin ELVIS PRESLEY

Let Me Bang Your Box THE TOPPERS

60 Minute Man THE DOMINOES

Take Out Your False Teeth Daddy MARGIE DAY

A Rocket in My Pocket JIMMY LLOYD

Get Hot or Go Home JOHN KIRBY

Bang Bang JANIS MARTIN

The Girl Can’t Help It LITTLE RICHARD

Jail Bait ANDRE WILLIAMS

It’s Ain’t the Meat, It’s the Motion THE SWALLOWS

Short Shorts THE ROYAL TEENS

Ain’t I’m a Dog? RONNIE SELF

Hot Dog CORKY JONES (BUCK OWENS)

Keep On Churning WYNONIE HARRIS

My Man Stands Out JULIA LEE AND HER BOYFRIENDS

Big 10-Inch BULLMOOSE

Great Balls of Fire JERRY LEE LEWIS

As the years went rocking by, songs with secret sex references faded from earshot. The architects of rock and roll influenced the next wave, paving the way for the Beatles to launch their career with “Please, Please Me” and the Stones to sweeten the charts with Brown Sugar. In our progressive times, explicit language is up to the artist, as well as the retailer and the FCC.

Professor Mikey’s Old School is produced for educational purposes, and expects this episode to be available in public libraries for years to come.

Any music you may have heard in this session resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. Podcast carriers compensate artists directly, but if you the artist feel your work has been improperly used or misrepresented, please contact our producers at professormikey.substack.com.

You can hear Professor Mikey’s Old School wherever you get your podcasts, and many episodes are archived on YouTube where a subscription would always be appreciated. This has been Episode 54 of Old School, “Raunch and Roll: 50s Naughty Bop.” and we leave you with the late Jerry Lee Lewis, and a famous song all about personal confidence.

Professor Mikey, we’ll catch you next time.

Now on YouTube!

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This is an old FM underground DJ trick, intended to blow the listener’s mind. Playing the same song twice by different artists catches most listeners off guard, especially if they haven’t been paying attention and missed the segue.

Donovan wrote the original in 1966 for the Sunshine Superman album that was released in September.. It was a fanboy offering to Mama Cass Elliot, beloved member of the Mamas and Papas. The story goes that Mama Cass often threw star studded hippie parties at her home in Laurel Canyon, offering all the stoner goodies that get mentioned in the song. In addition to the song being an homage to Cass Elliot, Donovan name checked the Jefferson Airplane.

Two years later, the Airplane returned the favor during a November 1968 concert at the Fillmore West. The arrangement wasn’t very different, but it definitely flew the friendly skies of Trans Love Airways.

Here’s the way DJs used to pair the two versions into a slightly longer flight. Chances are you too will attain cruising altitude when you hear the result. From Donovan and the Jefferson Airplane, here’s Fat Angel.

THE FAT ANGEL

He will bring happiness in a pipe,He'll ride away on his silver bikeAnd apart from that he'll be so kindIn consenting to blow your mind.Fly Translove Airways, get you there on time.Fly Translove Airways, get you there on time.He will bring orchids for my lady,The perfume will be of an excellent styleAnd apart from that he'll be so kindIn consenting to blow your mind.Fly Translove Airways, get you there on time.Fly Translove Airways, get you there on time.He will bring happiness in a pipe,He'll-a ride away on his silver bikeAnd apart from that he'll be so kindIn consenting to blow your mind.Fly Jefferson Airplane, get you there on time.Fly Jefferson Airplane, get you there on time.He will bring happiness in a pipe,He'll ride away on his silver bikeAnd apart from that he'll be so kindIn consenting to blow your mind.Fly Translove Airways, get you there on time.Fly Translove Airways, get you there on time.We'll be flying at an altitude of thirty-nine thousand feetCaptain High at your service.

The Fat Angel Lyrics as written by Donovan Leitch

Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

General Comment

As I understand it, Donovan wrote this song for Cass Elliot of The Mamas and The Papas -- hence the "Fat Angel" title.

Elliot was a much beloved figure among musicians in the psychedelic sixties. Top rock stars, American and British, would congregate at her home in Laurel Canyon, to hang out and get high.

I believe the lyrics refer to the scene at her house. The rider on the silver bike is, I imagine, a stylish drug dealer who travels by motorcycle to bring his wares for all plus flowers for Mama Cass.

"Captain High at your service," indeed.

Perhaps that was even the dealer's tag line which he announced upon arrival and Donovan tucked away all these details in his mind for when he later wrote this song.

LuckyTownon September 10, 2014 Link

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Bands at play in 1979 had no idea what the Eighties would bring, so they sharpened their own cutting edges.

Today a quick sampling from three bands that were already mentally set for the next decade. You can almost hear the 80s in their music, bumping like a safe heartbeat on an ultrasound.

The Runaways burst upon the Hollywood club scene of 1979. Dismissed at the time as a marketing gimmick, they have since grown in stature as the first all-female band to make a substantial impression on the public by playing loud, straight-up, guitar-driven rock & roll. All were teens in the stable of promoter/manager Kim Fowley, who played up the sleazy jailbait imag. The Runaways' sound and attitude broke new ground.

Adam and the Ants were a British new wave punk rock band formed in the late 1970s. Lead singer Stuart Goddard aka Adam Ant had the revolutionary Johnny Depp pirate-like appearance going well before the famous Disney films appeared. With his hopping Ants, he achieved significant success in the early 1980s with albums like “Kings of the Wild Frontier” and blurred the lines between punk and glam.

The post punk Gang of Four hailed from Leeds England, where they confused a lot of people. Take their name. Many think it comes from China's Chairman Mao. Actually, it's the big four Structuralist theorists who were in fact French intellectuals. But screw philosophy, we are here to rock. The band forms in 1977, comes to New York, sees Television and The Ramones in concert, and begin recording in earnest the following year. From their debut album Entertainment, released in 1979, The Gang of Four takes a poke at revisionist history with Not Great Men.

Three rockers from the twilight of the 70s, destined to appear on 80s mixtapes and at least one future Old School. Here is Hat Trick ‘79.

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Betty Bigby was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1911, and relocated early on to California.  Her father was the leader of a brass band, but she learned the piano from her uncle.  At 15 she married a banjo player named Hall, then divorced him ten years later.  She played with jazz bands throughout the 40s. 

She married Jasper Jones around that time, and her professional name became Betty Hall Jones.  She recorded extensively for Capitol from 1947 to 1949.  One of her more popular songs came out in 1949, when she recorded an answer song to Stick McGhee’s “Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-Oh-Dee.”  It’s quite a song, Betty not only gives a thumbs up to beer and liquor and a thumbs down to vino, she foreshadows rap with a little talking blues.  Betty Hall Jones and Buddy Stay Off Of That Wine…

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Welcome to a special holiday edition of Old School.

All holidays need mixtapes. Especially if they include get togethers, outdoor barbecues, or just some meditation time on how good it feels not to be at work.

Where this is going. You don’t have to be observing Labor Day to listen to a set of songs all about working. In fact I assembled much of this for a union rally to draw attention to an important strike. So in addition to work songs, you might hear some money songs.

These labor intensive tunes all came about after 1894 when Labor Day became a federal holiday.

These songs drip with strength, prosperity, and well-being.

The eight-hour workday didn’t become the modern labor standard by accident. Back when the government first tracked workers’ hours in 1890, they found that full-time manufacturing employees worked a backbreaking 100 hours each week.

Years of pressure from laborer organizers finally paid off. Back in 1835, the Philadelphia carpenters were the first to lay down their hammers and demand an 8 hour work day. A mere 31 year later On August 20, 1866, it became a reality.

Here a sampling of songs that really work. Some call out specific jobs, some are about overtime, some are about evil bosses, office romances, and stupid work schedules. All these songs and no one has ever written one about the annual performance review

Kick back. Work another day. Enjoy the fruits of the laborers who came before you. Professor Mikey need to grab a paper plate and let the music do the talking while I get a burger and turn up the speaker..

Have a fabulous holiday, get a good job, win the lottery. Anything is possible as long as you work at it. Work work work.

This is Old School #52 and it is dedicated to the Working Stiffs…

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Vanilla Fudge formed in New York in 1966 and forged their own unique blend of metal, psychedelia, and self-importance. They broke away from their mold of doing Beatles and Supremes covers in 1968 for their second LP, a concept album produced by Shadow Morton called The Beat Goes On, wherein they offered up a psychedelic stew that featured everything from the philosophy of Sonny Bono to the voice of Winston Churchill.

The point was that time, and music, keep marching on. In addition to works by Mozart, Stephen Foster, Lieber and Stoller, and Lennon and McCartney, there is a heavy but strange homage to Ludwig van Beethoven, two of his solo piano works, Für Elise and Moonlight Sonata, and imagined through the blasting Hammond B3 of Mark Stein. The Vanilla Fudge do Beethoven on Old School

According to various tentacles of modern electronic sources, The story behind Beethoven’s Für Elise is not very clear. Ludwig never published the piece during his lifetime and the original manuscript was lost. However, there are some theories and speculations about who Elise was and why Beethoven wrote this piece for her:

One of the most popular theories is that Elise was actually Therese Malfatti, a woman who rejected a Beethoven moonlight proposal in 1810. Therese was a skilled pianist and a student of Beethoven’s bestie and Mozart’s perpetual pickle, Anton Salieri. Beethoven might have written it as a gift but the title was misread by Ludwig Nohl, who discovered and published the piece in 1867.

Another theory is that Elise was Elisabeth Röckel, an opera singer and a close friend of the composer. She performed in several operas that Beethoven admired, including Mozart’s The Magic Flute. She was also the sister of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a Beethoven rival.

• And behind Door #3 is Elise Barensfeld, a 13-year-old that Beethoven met in 1810 in the spa town of Teplitz. She asked him to write something for her, and according to a letter she sent to her brother in 1865, Ludwig the Magnicent composed the piece on a napkin for her.

There was no rock music for Beethoven, but there was candy, which begs his opinion about vanilla and fudge.

For instance Beethoven craved Kaesespaetzle, a dish of cheesey noodles topped with crispy onions, which could translate to a preference for cheese-based candies, such as cheesecake bites or cheese fudge.

Beethoven’s favorite dishes were Turkish, Hungarian, German, and Bohemian. One might find traces of Turkish delight, paprika candy, or gingerbread scattered across the midnight keyboard.

Now what about the super once-in-a-Blue Moonlight Sonata?

A front runner among theories is that Beethoven wrote this for his pupil Countess Julie “Giulietta” Guicciardi, who also received one of those Beethoven proposals in 1801, one that was rejected by her family. Obviously , her father worried that she was being courted by a drummer.

The piece was dedicated to her in 1802. The title “Sonata quasi una fantasia” (“sonata almost a fantasy”) suggests that Beethoven was all unfulfilled love and longing.

Still another theory is that Beethoven wrote the piece for friend, patron, student, and wannabe groupie Baroness Josephine von Brunsvik. Beethoven had a secret affair with her in 1804-1805 while she was married to another man and a mother of four. Beethoven filled her inbox with long letters.

Most likely is Beethoven was more worried about his health over his love life. In his early 30s he had his first hearing loss, which brought on depression. He also had money problems and was fighting a legal battle over custody of his nephew Karl.

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Sandra Barry was a British pop star who went through many incarnations. As Sandra Alfred she appeared on TV in the 50s on Dave King’s show. Next came the “St Trininans” film comedies, and a change of names to Mandy Mason. In 1964 she became Sandra Barry, a name she would stick with, recording with a band called The Boys whose members would later regroup and become The Action. From there she joined the Jet Blacks, which featured bassist John Paul Jones, disappeared for awhile, then returned in 1973 as Alice Spring singing for Slack Alice. Don’t try to find her in the phone book, just enjoy this ditty from swinging London, 1964. Sandra Barry and the Boys and “Really Gonna Shake…”

Sandra Barry (née Alfred) was an English actress, singer, and record producer. She debuted as an actress in the film “The Belles of St Trinian’s” in 1954. She later performed and recorded under the stage names Sandra Alfred, Mandy Mason, Sandra Barry, and Alice Spring.

As Sandra Barry, she released the single “Really Gonna Shake” in 1964, backed by guitar band The Boys (who would later go on to become cult mod band The Action)

REALLY GONNA SHAKE Sandra Barry & The Boys

THE BOYS: Ain't seen ya baby for a whole darn week So come on, little darlin' Lift up your feet, let's shake

SANDRA: No, no, I don't wanna shake

THE BOYS: C'mon and shake

SANDRA: Ah, no, I don't wanna shake

THE BOYS: Don't mess with her they say 'Cause we're really gonna do the shake

SANDRA: When we're together, boy we're really made But ev'ry time we dance you only wanna shake

THE BOYS: C'mon shake

SANDRA: Ah, no, I don't wanna shake

THE BOYS: C'mon shake

SANDRA: No, no, I don't wanna shake

SANDRA: Don't matter what the music is You only want to do the shake

SANDRA: Well, you shake it through the night Right to the early mornin' Listen to me, I'm a-given you a warnin' If I'm gonna shake the whole night through I don't wanna shake it with you

THE BOYS: Ain't seen ya baby for a whole darn week So come on, little darlin' Lift up your feet, let's shake

SANDRA: No, no, I don't wanna shake

THE BOYS: C'mon and shake

SANDRA: Ah, no, I don't wanna shake

THE BOYS: Don't mess with her they say 'Cause we're really gonna do the shake

SANDRA: Oh, alright, I'll shake it then! Let's it shake it through the night Right to the early mornin' Listen to me, I'm a-given you a warnin' If I'm gonna shake the whole night through Well, I wanna shake it with you

SANDRA: I ain't gonna sit by the phone anymore I'm gonna get right up I'm gonna step on that floor and shake

THE BOYS: Shake, shake it, shake it, shake

SANDRA: Yeah, I'm gonna shake

THE BOYS: Shake, Shake it, shake it, shake

SANDRA: My knees are twistin' Now we're really gonna do the shake Ah Yeah! My knees are twistin' Now we're really gonna do the shake Okay Boys! My knees are twistin'

ALL: Now we're really gonna do the shake

(Transcribed by Mel Priddle - July 2006) (Contributed by EUROPEAN OLDIES)

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Novelty records served a special niche in 1950s pop music. They reminded us not to take the world too seriously, and that clever lyrics in stupid songs could sell zillions of copies then be forgotten forever. Eisenhower was in the White House, Elvis was in the Army, it was time to play. Take the case of The Nitwits from Waterbury, Connecticutt. They changed their name to the Playmates, signed with Roulette records in 1958, then rose to the number 4 position on the Billboard Top 100 with a song about fast cars and the funny sounds their horns make. Here’s the song, written by Carl Cachetti and Donald Claps of the Playmates, from December 1958, Beep Beep…

[Very slowly]Beep beep beep beepHis horn went beep beep beepWhile riding in my CadillacWhat to my surpriseA little Nash Rambler was following meAbout one third my sizeThe guy musta wanted to pass me upAs he kept on tooting his hornI'll show him that a Cadillac is not a car to scornBeep beep beep beepHis horn went beep beep beep

[Slowly]I pushed my foot down to the floorTo give the guy the shakeBut the little Nash Rambler stayed right behindHe still had on his brakeHe musta thought his car had more gutsAs he kept on tooting his horn (beep beep)I'll show him that a Cadillac is not a car to scornBeep beep beep beepHis horn went beep beep beep

[Normal speed]My car went into passing gearAnd we took off with gust (whoosh)Soon we were going ninetyMusta left him in the dustWhen I peeked in the mirror of my carI couldn't believe my eyesThe little Nash Rambler was right behindYou'd think that guy could flyBeep beep beep beepHis horn went beep beep beep

[Quickly]Now we were doing a hundred and tenThis certainly was a raceFor a Rambler to pass a CaddyWould be a big disgraceThe guy musta wanted to pass me upAs he kept on tooting his horn (beep beep)I'll show him that a Cadillac is not a car to scornBeep beep beep beepHis horn went beep beep beep

[Very quickly]Now we're going a hundred twentyAs fast as I can goThe Rambler pulled along side of meAs if we were going slowThe fella rolled down his windowAnd yelled for me to hear"Hey buddy how do I get this car outta second gear?"

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Is there any more depressing time of year than end of summer? I know I shouldn’t throw a loaded word like depression around. I’m not that kind of doctor. In fact I’m not a doctor at all, I profess. Hence the professor.

And I am, most completely, a summer nut. I love hot weather, I love swimming pools, I love staying up all night watching movies and listening to rock and roll and sleeping until the pools open.

But the end of summer is so long and drawn out. As soon as the 4th of July is over, they start dragging out the school supplies. Is there any more phrase that drops like a thud as does the refrain “back to school.” No. It means so much. New stiff jeans, the search for the perfect backpack, the mental stress of getting ready for 9 months of classes beginning at 7:30. It does a number on you.

There are a ton of songs about how wonderful summer is, but only a modest handful about the curtain coming down on the hottest season of all. They are mostly sad as hell, but also oddly comforting. There’s a promise in most of them that summer will come again, we will be back to baseball and cookouts and 90 day romances soon enough.

That’s the subject of this one. It’s a mood piece, right around commuter length for most people. Put it on and think about all your favorite summers. Chances are a few of these will take you right back to so July you wished would never end.

Here is a little collection to stuff into that last pool bag of the summer. Summertime blues laments of several genres that all hit around late August or early September from better times—the late 40s into the early nineties. Almost 50 years of saying goodbye to a handful of retrofit summers. This is Old School #51. Summer’s almost gone.

Almost.

Summer’s Almost Gone THE DOORS (1968)

The Boys of Summer DON HENLEY (1984)

See You in September THE CHIFFONS (1963)

Summertime is Past and Gone BILL MONROE & HIS BLUEGRASS BOYS (1947)

Theme from “The Endless Summer” THE SANDALS (1966)

A Summer Song CHAD AND JEREMY (1964)

Strangers on the Shore ACKER BILK (1961)

Summer Wind FRANK SINATRA (1965)

The Shadow of Your Smile (Theme from “The Sandpiper”) TONY BENNETT (1965)

Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer STEVIE WONDER (1971)

Summer Rain JOHNNY RIVERS (1968)

Caroline, No BRIAN WILSON, THE BEACH BOYS (1966)

I hope you have enjoyed these wistful songs that say goodbye to the summer. Remember you can hear Old School on Spotify, Apple, and wherever you get your podcasts. Just recently we have been able to hold class on YouTube where you can find us at Professor Mikey’s Old School. If you haven’t subscribe there please consider. I know subscribe is a scary word, but it’s free, and it’s just a way to vote for what you like to listen to. It’s not a school board, or a PTA, or even a bake sale. But it is a way to keep the classes rocking in the Old School so thanks so much.

Professor Mikey’s Old School is produced for educational purposes. The music we heard resides in the public domain, or was used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976, or is covered legally within agreements between podcast providers and copyright owners.

Before we go I’d like to thank FeedSpot.com for naming Old School #6 on the Top 20 Best Memorabilia Podcasts worth listening to in 2023. Thats very cool, thanks so much!

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Pennsylvania born Michael Hurley migrated to the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 60s where he found himself writing songs for, performing with, but never becoming an official member of the Holy Modal Rounders. Hurley has preferred his solo career over the years. He sings, plays guitar, paints his album covers, and remains comfortable beyond the fringe of popular music. From 1971’s “Armchair Boogie,” here’s Michael Hurley with “The Werewolf.”

Oh the Werewolf, Oh the werewolfComes a-stepping alongHe don't even break the branchesWhere he's been goneYou can hear his long hollerFrom way across the moorThat's the holler of a werewolfWhen he's feeling poorHe goes out in the evening whenThe bats are on the wingAnd he's killed some young maiden before the birds singFor the werewolf, For the werewolfHave sympathy cause the werewolfHe's somebody like you or meOnce I saw him in the moonlightWhen the bats were flyingAll alone I saw the werewolfAnd the werewolf was cryingCrying "Nobody, nobodyNobody knowsHow much I love the maiden as I tear off her clothesCrying nobody, nobodyKnows my painWhen I see that it's risen, that full moon again"

When I see that moon movingThrough the clouds in the skyI get a crazy feeling and I wonder whyOh the werewolf, oh the werewolfComes traveling alongHe don't even break the branchesWhere he's been goneFor the werewolf have pity, not fear, and not hateBecause the werewolf might be someoneThat you've known of lateOh the werewolf, oh the werewolfComes traveling alongHe don't even crush the leavesWhere he's been gone

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Blues rock, psychedelic power chords, a deep appreciation of Indian music, those are some of the things the second guitar legend to join the Yardbirds brought to the group. With Eric Clapton gone, Jeff Beck was free to pull the band into new sonic territories, blasting through anything that might have been linked to a comfort zone.

Here’s a song from 1966 that sounds like it could have been recorded in the last couple of years, because there is a very familiar lick that got borrowed by the band Jet. From the 1966 release Roger the Engineer, the Yardbirds and “Lost Woman”.🦹🏻‍♀️

Don't know where to run toDon't know where to hideSee my future comingLike the rising of the tideBut I lost youLost you womanThe only womanWoman who was my kind

Made me lose my moneyYou made me lose my mindIt's people like you, babyDon't you rule mankindBut I lost youLost you womanThe only woman

Woman who was my kind

But if you come backI won't be the sameWhat you did to meYou can hardly call humaneBut I lost youBut I still love youThe only womanWoman who was my kind

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Jim Mccarty / Jeff Beck / Keith Relf / Chris Dreja / Paul Samwell-smith

EXTRA “Lost Women of Enlightenment Science”

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Thanks for your patience! This is an edit of the original you received yesterday. Only in America can a huge corporation raise a copyright issue regarding the national anthem. But it is time for peace, love and remembrance. It’s the exact same show except for a little difference toward the end.

Peace and love, enjoy your Woodstock weekend!

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It appears that we have arrived. I set the controls for the Magic Old School Bus to set us down at the front of the traffic for this trip back to Woodstock so we can have a good spot for me to hang the microphone out the window.

Woodstock was a once in many lifetimes phenomenon that has yet to be equalled. Nobody could plan what it ultimately became, or sketch out the results ahead of time.

“Young Men with Unlimited Capitol Looking for Interesting, Legitimate Investment Opportunities.” — Classified ads in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, March 1968

The results were too big for one movie even if it was the director’s cut, too big for a boxed set, to big for over a half century of recollections. Too big for a cow pasture in upstate New York, the one we know as Yasgur’s farm.

Less than a month after one generation had taken us to the moon, the next would bring us down to earth.

Woodstock did a lot of things wrong. There wasn’t enough food or sanitation. There was no shelter, so the crowd got soaked It was set up in the beginning as a commercial venture, to film some of the best music acts of the day, and hope to recoup the losses in the movie houses. So much had gone wrong 24 hours into the event, the promoters were sure they had lost millions, yet they were giggling along with everyone else.

This of course was because an astounding number of people had showed up. There had been other rock festivals. But at Bethel ground zero, the sheer number of people flooded the system, shut down the highway, and created a temporary hippie city out in the middle of nowhere. A city whose purpose existed solely to hear live music, expand one’s consciousness, and perhaps get close to the hundreds of thousands of soulmates who happened to be milling around.

At the time some of the acts were huge, but many were new and starting out. All of them, regardless of success, were considered the underground music of the time. Stars included The Who and Janis Joplin. Crosby Stills and Nash had just added Neil Young, Woodstock was their second live performance. Santana was a new band. The Jefferson Airplane and Creedence Clearwater Revival had put songs in the Top 10, but Sweetwater and Bert Sommer were virtual unknowns. Blood Sweat and Tears represented one end of the musical food chain, The Incredible String Band the other.

In this time of streaming and podcast dreaming, I was thinking it would be cool to make an 8 hour loop for sleepers. The music is definitely loopy at times, but at three o’clock in the morning when Sly Stone took the stage, nobody was sleeping.

Theground rules are minimum. This is mostly a music memory mediation meditation . I want to walk around and pick up some crowd sounds, like NPR does when they interview somebody somewhere that they wash dishes.

The bands you hear will be in the order they appeared. So we start on Friday Aug 15, and pack up Monday the 18th around noon when the closer finally gets on. I’ll let you know where we are in time every now and then, but you’ll have Shazam and Chip Monck for that. Although there is a fun conversation with the late Joe Cocker on what it looked like from his tie dyed vantage point.

So as they said after the big thunderstorm during Santana on Saturday afternoon, let’s dive in. We are about to get ourselves back to rock history’s most celebrated secret garden. Keep it chill and mellow. There are 60 pay phones here, and 400,000 people. We are stardust, we are golden. And Richie Havens is taking the stage. Let us now submerge into a podcast we like to call WOODSTOCK STREAM (A HIPPIE DREAM).

Straight from Wikipedia, here is a complete list of artists and their set lists. All times Eastern.

Friday, August 15 to Saturday, August 16

The first day officially began at 5:07 p.m. with Richie Havens and featured folk artists.

Richie Havens

Richie Havens, seated onstage, singing and playing an acoustic guitar

Richie Havens – guitar, vocals

Paul "Deano" Williams – guitar, vocals

Daniel Ben Zebulon – congas

5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

"From the Prison"

"Get Together"

"From the Prison" (reprise)

"I'm a Stranger Here"

"High Flying Bird"

"I Can't Make It Anymore"

"With a Little Help from My Friends" (Beatles cover)

"Handsome Johnny"

"Strawberry Fields Forever / Hey Jude" (Beatles covers)

"Freedom (Motherless Child)" (improvised lyrics[5])

Swami Satchidananda

6:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

Swami Satchidananda gave the invocation for the festival.[6]

Sweetwater

Nansi Nevins – vocals, guitar

Fred Herrera – bass, vocals

Alex Del Zoppo – keyboards, vocals

Albert Moore – flute, vocals

R.G. Carlyle – guitar, bongos, vocals

Elpidio "Pete" Cobian – congas

Alan Malarowitz – drums

August Burns – cello

6:15 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

"Motherless Child"

"Look Out"

"For Pete's Sake"

"Day Song"

"What's Wrong"

"My Crystal Spider"

"Two Worlds"

"Why Oh Why"

"Let the Sunshine In"

"Oh Happy Day"

Bert Sommer

Bert Sommer – guitar, vocals

Ira Stone – guitar, keyboards, harmonica

Charlie Bilello – bass

7:15 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.

"Jennifer"

"The Road to Travel"

"I Wondered Where You'd Be"

"She's Gone"

"Things Are Goin' My Way"

"And When It's Over"

"Jeanette"

"America"

"A Note That Read"

"Smile"

Tim Hardin

Tim Hardin – vocals, guitar

Richard Bock – cello

Ralph Towner – guitar, piano

Gilles Malkine – guitar

Glen Moore – bass

Muruga Booker – drums

8:30 p.m. – 9:15 p.m. (time disputed)

"How Can We Hang On to a Dream?"

"Once-Touched by Flame"

"If I Were a Carpenter"

"Reason to Believe"

"You Upset the Grace of Living When You Lie"

"Speak Like a Child"

"Snow White Lady"

"Blues on My Ceiling"

"Simple Song of Freedom"

"Misty Roses"

Ravi Shankar

Ravi Shankar – sitar

Alla Rakha – tabla

Maya Kulkarni – tambura

12:00 a.m. – 12:45 a.m. (His performance totaled over 42 minutes, partially during a rainstorm)

"Raga Puriya-Dhanashri/Gat In Sawarital"

"Tabla Solo In Jhaptal"

"Raga Manj Kmahaj (AIap, Jor, Dhun In Kaharwa Tal)"

Melanie

Melanie Safka – guitar, vocals

1:00 a.m. – 1:30 a.m.

"Close to It All"

"Momma Momma"

"Beautiful People"

"Animal Crackers"

"Mr. Tambourine Man"

"Tuning My Guitar"

"Birthday of the Sun"

Arlo Guthrie

Arlo Guthrie – vocals, guitar

John Pilla – guitar

Bob Arkin – bass

Paul Motian – drums

1:45 a.m. – 2:15 a.m.

"Coming into Los Angeles"

"Wheel of Fortune"

"Walkin' Down the Line"

The Story of Moses

"Oh Mary Don't You Weep"

"Every Hand in the Land"

"Amazing Grace"

Joan Baez

Joan Baez – vocals, guitar

Jeffrey Shurtleff – guitar, vocals

Richard Festinger – guitar

3:00 a.m. – 3:45 a.m. [8][nb 1]

"Oh Happy Day"

"The Last Thing on My Mind"

"I Shall Be Released"

"Joe Hill"

"Sweet Sir Galahad"

"Hickory Wind"

"Drug Store Truck Driving Man" (duet with Jeffrey Shurtleff)

"One Day at a Time"

"Take Me Back to the Sweet Sunny South"

"Warm and Tender Love"

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"

"We Shall Overcome"

Saturday, August 16 to Sunday, August 17

The day opened at 12:15 p.m. and featured some of the event's psychedelic and guitar rock headliners.

Quill

Dan Cole – vocals

Jon Cole – bass, vocals

Norman Rogers – guitar, vocals

Phil Thayer – keyboards, saxophone, flute

Roger North – drums

12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

"They Live the Life"

"That's How I Eat"

"Driftin'"

"Waiting for You"

Country Joe McDonald

Country Joe McDonald – guitar, vocals

1:20 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. (unscheduled performance;[9] day/time disputed[10])

"Janis"

"Donovan's Reef"

"Heartaches by the Number"

"Ring of Fire"

"Tennessee Stud"

"Rockin' Round the World"

"Flyin' High"

"I Seen a Rocket"

"The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag"

"I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag (Reprise)"

Santana

Carlos Santana – guitar

Gregg Rolie – vocals, keyboards

David Brown – bass

Michael Shrieve – drums

Michael Carabello – timbales, congas, percussion

José Areas – trumpet, timbales, congas, percussion

2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

"Waiting"

"Evil Ways"

"You Just Don't Care"

"Savor"

"Jingo"

"Persuasion"

"Soul Sacrifice"

"Fried Neckbones and Some Home Fries"

John Sebastian

John Sebastian – guitar, vocals

3:30 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.

"How Have You Been"

"Rainbows All Over Your Blues"

"I Had a Dream"

"Darling Be Home Soon"

"Younger Generation"

Keef Hartley Band

Keef Hartley – drums

Miller Anderson – guitar, vocals

Gary Thain – bass

Jimmy Jewell – saxophone

Henry Lowther – trumpet, violin

4:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

"Spanish Fly"

"She's Gone"

"Too Much Thinking"

"Believe in You"

"Halfbreed Medley: Sinnin' for You / Leaving Trunk / Just to Cry / Sinnin' for You"

The Incredible String Band

Mike Heron – vocals, guitar, piano, various instruments

Robin Williamson – vocals, guitar, piano, violin

Licorice McKechnie – organ, vocals

Rose Simpson – bass, recorder, vocals, percussion

6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

"Invocation"

"The Letter"

"Gather 'Round"

"This Moment"

"Come with Me"

"When You Find Out Who You Are"

Canned Heat

Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson – guitar, harmonica, vocals

Bob "The Bear" Hite – vocals, harmonica

Harvey Mandel – guitar

Larry Taylor – bass

Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra – drums

7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

"I'm Her Man"

"Going Up the Country"

"A Change Is Gonna Come / Leaving This Town"

"Rollin' Blues"

"Woodstock Boogie"

"On the Road Again"

Mountain

Leslie West – guitar, vocals

Felix Pappalardi – bass, vocals

Steve Knight – keyboards

N.D. Smart – drums

9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

"Blood of the Sun"

"Stormy Monday"

"Theme for an Imaginary Western"

"Long Red"

"For Yasgur's Farm" (song was untitled at the time)

"Beside the Sea"

"Waiting to Take You Away"

"Dreams of Milk and Honey / Guitar Solo"

"Southbound Train"

Grateful Dead

Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals

Bob Weir – guitar, vocals

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan – keyboards, harmonica, percussion, vocals

Tom Constanten – keyboards

Phil Lesh – bass, vocals

Bill Kreutzmann – drums

Mickey Hart – drums

10:30 p.m. – 12:05 a.m.

"St. Stephen"

"Mama Tried"

"Dark Star"

"High Time"

"Turn On Your Love Light"

Creedence Clearwater Revival

John Fogerty – vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano

Tom Fogerty – guitar, vocals

Stu Cook – bass

Doug Clifford – drums

12:30 a.m. – 1:20 a.m.

"Born on the Bayou"

"Green River"

"Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)"

"Bootleg"

"Commotion"

"Bad Moon Rising"

"Proud Mary"

"I Put a Spell on You"

"Night Time Is the Right Time"

"Keep on Chooglin'"

"Susie Q"

Janis Joplin and the Kozmic Blues Band

Janis Joplin – vocals

Terry Clements – tenor saxophone

Cornelius "Snooky" Flowers – baritone saxophone, vocals

Luis Gasca – trumpet

John Till – guitar

Richard Kermode – keyboards

Brad Campbell – bass

Maury Baker – drums

2:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m.[11]

"Raise Your Hand"

"As Good as You've Been to This World"

"To Love Somebody"

"Summertime"

"Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)"

"Kozmic Blues"

"I Can't Turn You Loose"

"Work Me, Lord"

"Piece of My Heart"

"Ball and Chain"

Sly & the Family Stone

Sly Stone – keyboards, vocals

Freddie Stone – guitar, vocals

Jerry Martini – saxophone

Cynthia Robinson – trumpet

Rose Stone – keyboards, vocals

Larry Graham – bass, vocals

Gregg Errico – drums

3:30 a.m. – 4:20 a.m.

"M'Lady"

"Sing a Simple Song"

"You Can Make It If You Try"

"Everyday People" (Only No. 1 hit at Woodstock)

"Dance to the Music"

"Music Lover"

"I Want to Take You Higher"

"Love City"

"Stand!"

The Who

Roger Daltrey – vocals

Pete Townshend – guitar, vocals

John Entwistle – bass, vocals

RKeith Moon – drums

5:00 a.m. – 6:05 a.m.; set included most of Tommy

"Heaven and Hell"

"I Can't Explain"

"It's a Boy"

"1921"

"Amazing Journey"

"Sparks"

"Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)"

"Christmas"

"The Acid Queen"

"Pinball Wizard" (followed by Abbie Hoffman incident)

"Do You Think It's Alright?"

"Fiddle About"

"There's a Doctor"

"Go to the Mirror!"

"Smash the Mirror"

"I'm Free"

"Tommy's Holiday Camp"

"We're Not Gonna Take It"

"See Me, Feel Me"

"Summertime Blues"

"Shakin' All Over"

"My Generation" (shortened version)

"Naked Eye" (instrumental finale only)

Jefferson Airplane

Grace Slick – vocals

Marty Balin – vocals, percussion

Paul Kantner – guitar, vocals

Jorma Kaukonen – guitar, vocals

Jack Casady – bass

Spencer Dryden – drums

Nicky Hopkins – piano

8:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m.

"The Other Side of This Life"

"Somebody to Love"

"3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds"

"Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon"

"Eskimo Blue Day"

"Plastic Fantastic Lover"

"Wooden Ships"

"Uncle Sam Blues"

"Volunteers"

"The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil"

"Come Back Baby"

"White Rabbit"

"The House at Pooneil Corners"

Sunday, August 17 to Monday, August 18

Joe Cocker and the Grease Band

Joe Cocker – vocals

Chris Stainton – keyboards

Henry McCullough – guitar, vocals

Alan Spenner – bass, vocals

Bruce Rowland – drums

2:00 p.m. – 3:25 p.m.

"Rockhouse" (without Joe Cocker)

"Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring" (instrumental)

"Dear Landlord"

"Something's Coming On"[4]

"Do I Still Figure in Your Life?"

"Feelin' Alright"

"Just Like a Woman"

"Let's Go Get Stoned"

"I Don't Need No Doctor"[4]

"I Shall Be Released"

"Hitchcock Railway"

"Something to Say"

"With a Little Help from My Friends" (Beatles cover)

After Cocker's set, a thunderstorm disrupted the events for a few hours.

Country Joe and the Fish

Country Joe McDonald – vocals, guitar

Barry "The Fish" Melton – guitar, vocals

Mark Kapner – keyboards

Doug Metzner – bass

Greg Dewey – drums

6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

"Rock & Soul Music"

"Love"

"Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine"

"Sing, Sing, Sing"

"Summer Dresses"

"Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife"

"Silver and Gold"

"Maria"

"The Love Machine"

"Ever Since You Told Me That You Love Me (I'm a Nut)"

"Crystal Blues"

"Rock & Soul Music (Reprise)"

"The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag"

Ten Years After

Edit

Alvin Lee – guitar, vocals

Chick Churchill – keyboards

Leo Lyons – bass

Ric Lee – drums

8:15 p.m. – 9:15 p.m.

"Spoonful"

"Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl" (with two false starts)

"Hobbit"

"I Can't Keep from Crying Sometimes"

"Help Me"

"I'm Going Home"

The Band

Robbie Robertson – guitar, vocals

Richard Manuel – piano, organ, vocals

Garth Hudson – organ, piano

Rick Danko – bass, vocals

Levon Helm – drums, mandolin, vocals

10:00 p.m. – 10:50 p.m.

"Chest Fever"

"Don't Do It"

"Tears of Rage"

"We Can Talk"

"Long Black Veil"

"Don't Ya Tell Henry"

"Ain't No More Cane"

"This Wheel's on Fire"

"I Shall Be Released"

"The Weight"

"Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever”

Monday, August 18

Johnny Winter

Johnny Winter – guitar, vocals

Tommy Shannon – bass

Uncle John Turner – drums

Edgar Winter – keyboards, saxophone, vocals

12:00 a.m. – 1:05 a.m.;

"Mama, Talk to Your Daughter"

"Leland Mississippi Blues"

"Mean Town Blues"

"You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now" / "Mean Mistreater"

"I Can't Stand It" (with Edgar Winter)

"Tobacco Road" (with Edgar Winter)

"Tell the Truth" (with Edgar Winter)

"Johnny B. Goode"

Blood, Sweat & Tears

David Clayton-Thomas – vocals, guitar

Steve Katz – guitar, harmonica, vocals

Dick Halligan – keyboards, trombone, flute

Jerry Hyman – trombone

Fred Lipsius – alto sax, piano

Lew Soloff – trumpet, flugelhorn

Chuck Winfield – trumpet, flugelhorn

Jim Fielder – bass

Bobby Colomby – drums

1:30 a.m. – 2:30 a.m.

"More and More"

"Just One Smile"

"Somethin' Comin' On"

"I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"

"Spinning Wheel"

"Sometimes in Winter"

"Smiling Phases"

"God Bless the Child"

"And When I Die"

"You've Made Me So Very Happy"

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

David Crosby – guitar, vocals

Stephen Stills – guitar, vocals

Graham Nash – guitar, vocals

Neil Young – guitar, keyboards, vocals

Greg Reeves – bass

Dallas Taylor – drums

3:00 a.m. – 4:00 a.m., with separate acoustic and electric sets.

Acoustic set

"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"

"Blackbird" (The Beatles cover)

"Helplessly Hoping"

"Guinnevere"

"Marrakesh Express"

"4 + 20"

"Mr. Soul"

"Wonderin’"[14]

"You Don't Have to Cry"

Electric set

"Pre-Road Downs"

"Long Time Gone"

"Bluebird Revisited"

"Sea of Madness"

"Wooden Ships"

Acoustic encore

"Find the Cost of Freedom"

Electric encore

"49 Bye-Byes"

Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Paul Butterfield – vocals, harmonica

Buzz Feiten – guitar

Rod Hicks – bass

David Sanborn – alto saxophone

Gene Dinwiddie – tenor saxophone, vocals

Trevor Lawrence – baritone saxophone

Keith Johnson – trumpet

Steve Madaio – trumpet

Phillip Wilson – drums

6:00 a.m. – 6:45 a.m.

"Born Under a Bad Sign"

"No Amount of Loving"

"Driftin' and Driftin'"

"Morning Sunrise"

"All in a Day"

"Love March"

"Everything's Gonna Be All Right”

Sha Na Na

Donny York – vocals

Rob Leonard – vocals

Alan Cooper – vocals

Frederick "Dennis" Greene – vocals

Dave Garrett – vocals

Rich Joffe – vocals

Scott Powell – vocals

Joe Witkin – keyboards

Henry Gross – guitar

Elliot "Gino" Cahn – guitar

Bruce "Bruno" Clarke – bass

Jocko Marcellino – drums

7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.

"Get a Job"

"Come Go with Me"

"Silhouettes"

"Teen Angel"

"(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame"

"Wipe Out"

"Book of Love"

"Teenager in Love" (The sole song from the festival for which no recording has yet surfaced.)

"Little Darlin'" (Only a recording of the last 44 seconds is currently known to exist.)

"At the Hop"

"Duke of Earl"

"Get a Job (Reprise)"

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix – guitar, vocals

Larry Lee – guitar, vocals

Billy Cox – bass, vocals

Mitch Mitchell – drums

Juma Sultan – percussion

Gerardo Velez – congas

9:00 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.

"Message to Love"

"Hear My Train A Comin'"

"Spanish Castle Magic"

"Red House"

"Mastermind"

"Lover Man"

"Foxy Lady"

"Jam Back at the House"

"Izabella"

"Gypsy Woman"/"Aware of Love"

"Fire"

"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"/"Stepping Stone"

"The Star-Spangled Banner"

"Purple Haze"

"Woodstock Improvisation" (title is posthumous)

"Villanova Junction" (title is posthumous)

"Hey Joe" (encore)

Source materials

Much of the incidental material in this podcast was gleaned from over 50 years of gathering sound bytes and other audio material. My conversation with Joe Cocker took place in early 2012 and is part of a larger discussion that includes his impression of the John Belushi impression and his retirement years in Colorado.

Special thanks to the musicians and producers who participated in the following recordings:

Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and more, various artists © 1970 and 2009 by Cotillion and Rhino Records

Woodstock Two, various artists © 1970 and 2009 by Cotillion and Rhino Records

Woodstock 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm © 2009 by Rhino Records

Santana: The Woodstock Experience © 2009 by Columbia/Legacy

Jefferson Airplane: The Woodstock Experience © 2009 by RCA/Legacy

Johnny Winter: The Woodstock Experience © 2009 by Columbia/Legacy

Sly and the Family Stone: The Woodstock Experience © 2009 by Epic/Legacy

Janis Joplin: The Woodstock Experience © 2009 by Columbia/Legacy

Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music, The Director’s Cut, © 2009 by Warner Brothers, Edition No 066331 of 140000

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Professor Mikey here. For the next few minutes we are going to get lost in 1965.

It’s quite easy to put together a playlist from 65, which incidentally was the second year of total Beatle global domination. Ask any wikitedious jukebox generator algorithm boss jock and they will tell you the only songs that mattered were:

Satisfaction by the Stones. Yesterday, Help, and A Hard Days Nights from the Liverpudlians. Downtown by Petula Clark. You’ve Lost That Lovin Feeling from the Righteous Brother and their shaman of a Svengali Phil Spector. And some monumental soul. Stop in the Name of Love from the Supremes, I Can’t Help Myself Sugar Pie Honey Bunch from the Four Tops, My Girl from the Temptations. Oh and Like a Rolling Stone from Bob Dylan. A 7 minute song which top 40 radio played 50% of because there was no such thing as Underground.

The Beatles had thrown a seismic monkey wrench into the works. If you weren’t a Beatle, one solution was to be a Beatle imitator but that only went so far. The other was to stick with your convictions and become the artist you started out to be.

Which meant they probably got lost in 1965.

But I love these songs that made no greatest hits lists. And I love that I may be playing them for someone who may be hearing them for the first time. Or someone who listened to the radio 24/7 almost 60 years ago.

We start with Don Covay, who invented a Steppenwolf classic three years before they were cubs. Then four babes from Queens who enjoyed eleven Top 100 hits from August of 64 to June of 66. Marge and Mary Ann Ganser and Betty and Mary Weiss. Before they took a ride on the back of the bike that belonged to the Leader of the Pack.

Written by the powerhouse duo of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, authors of Da Do Ron Ron, Chapel of Love, and Be My Baby.

This is Out in the Streets, a great place to be when you are lost in 1965.

Then we find ourselves in the thick of it, and grab a bit of what is all around us. The Turtles before they were Happy Together. Country Charlie Rich conflicted about going rock and roll, so he goes novelty. The Sorrows wave the British Invasion flag. Lesley Gore’s first comeback. Tom Donahue’s Beau Brummels, the most limey sounding band ever from Haight Ashbury. Beloved Otis Redding. Crazy Roy Head with the kickoff song from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Moulty the one-handed drummer with the Barbarians. The Pretty Things about the time they became a Bowie song. And the future in a bottle. Doctor, it’s the Strangeloves, or how I learned to love the turntable.

It’s too bad that years aren’t comets. Having 1965 come around every now and then would be way fun. But the music stays with us. In libraries, in sound closets, on digital playlists, and in the always breezy curriculum of Professor Mikey’s Old School. My office hours are weird but the Old School podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, and Substack. Many episodes are archived on youTube where you could and should subscribe anytime.

It’s free because this podcast is produced for educational purposes. Many don’t even realize they are learning then boom, they have a new favorite song. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976, or is provided by the podcast service you are tuned to.

I’m Professor Mikey, stay safe, listen well, support music and I’ll be talking at you next time on Old School.

RETROFIT and Professor Mikey’s OLD SCCHOOL is a reader-supported publication that celebrates a revolution in music whose impact has been embraced by younger generations. To receive new posts and support consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Curtis Mayfield made his first impression on music as a member of the Impressions in the 1960s, writing and recording such hits as “It’s All Right” and “I’m So Proud.” He began his solo career in 1970 but really hit his stride in 1972 with the soundtrack to Superfly.

His sound was completely unique, part gospel, part funk, part street, part Heaven, all soul. Mayfield’s artistry circled around what was going on in his life, in his world, and his time. Today we hear a very strange tale from his 1974 album Sweet Exorcist.

There’s a martial arts craze going on, so he spins a tale about a kid from the ghetto, living a hard life, made even harder by the fact that he was named Kung Fu.

Our days of comfort, days of nightDon't put yourself in solitudeWho can I trust with my lifeWhen people tend to be so rude?My mama borned me in a ghettoThere was no mattress for my headBut, no, she couldn't call me JesusI wasn't white enough, she saidAnd then she named me, (y'all), Kung FuDon't have to explain it, no, Kung FuDon't know how you'll take it, (here), Kung FuI'm just trying to make it, (love), Kung FuI've got some babies and some sistersMy brother worked for Uncle SamIt's just a shame, ain't it, Mister?We being brothers of the damnedBut loving brings about a differenceYou are my love...I do believeShall we join hands for tomorrow?Don't carry nothin' up your sleeveKeep your head high, Kung FuI will 'til I die, yeah, Kung FuDon't be too intense, no, Kung FuKeep your common sense, yeah, Kung Fu

Don't be mistaken for a secretThere is no secret part of youYou bet your life if you think wicked (don't think wicked child)Someone else is thinking wicked, tooKeep your head high, Kung FuI will 'til I die, yeah, Kung FuDon't be too intense, no, Kung FuKeep your common sense, yeah, Kung FuOur days of comfort, days of nightDon't put yourself in solitudeWho can I trust with my lifeWhen people tend to be so rude?My mama borned me in a ghettoThere was no mattress for my headBut, no, she couldn't name me JesusI wasn't white enough, she saidAnd then she named me, (y'all), Kung FuDon't have to explain it, no, Kung FuDon't know how you'll take it, (here), Kung FuI'm just trying to make it, (love), Kung Fu

(y'all), Kung FuYeah, Kung Fu

DONT LET THE SUMMER PASS WITHOUT MAKING A SPLASH IN 1983!

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Welcome to a special double feature on Old School. Presenting two hard hitting social commentaries from 1968 and 1972, in a way you’ve never heard them so stick around.. The Pusher was written by Hoyt Axton, whose mother wrote Heartbreak Hotel for Elvis. He didn’t record his version until after Steppenwolf had made it a hit with a little help from it’s placement in Easy Rider.

James Brown co wrote King Heroin along with Charles Bobbit, Manny Rosen, and David Matthews. It’s not a dance tune but it is a serious pondering of a global problem that has yet to go away.

Whether you know them both, of this is your first time, listen to it with fresh ears and a slightly different mix.

James Brown joins forces with John Kaye and Steppenwolf…

Lyrics

You know I've smoked a lot of grassO' Lord, I've popped a lot of pillsBut I've never touched nothin'That my spirit could killYou know, I've seen a lot of people walkin' 'roundWith tombstones in their eyesBut the pusher don't careAh, if you live or if you die

God damn, The PusherGod damn, I say The PusherI said God damn, God damn The Pusher man

You know the dealer, the dealer is a manWith the love grass in his handOh but the pusher is a monsterGood God, he's not a natural manThe dealer for a nickelLord, he'll sell you lots of sweet dreamsAh, but the pusher ruin your bodyLord, he'll leave your, he'll leave your mind to scream

God damn, The PusherGod damn, God damn the PusherI said God damn, God, God damn The Pusher man

Well, now if I were the president of this landYou know, I'd declare total war on The Pusher manI'd cut him if he stands, and I'd shoot him if he'd runYes I'd kill him with my Bible and my razor and my gun

God damn The PusherGod damn The PusherI said God damn, God damn The Pusher man

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Hoyt Wayne Axton

The Pusher lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Ladies and gentlemenFellow AmericansLady AmericansThis is James Brown

I wanna talk to you about one of ourMost deadly, killers in the country todayI had a dream the other night, and IWas sittin' in my living room

Dozed off to sleepSo I start to dreamin'I dreamed I walked in a place andI saw a real strange, weird object

Standin' up talkin' to the peopleAnd I found out it was heroinThat deadly drug that go in your veinsHe says

I came to this country without a passportEver since then I've been hunted and soughtMy little white grains are nothin' but wasteSoft and deadly and bitter to taste

I'm a world of power and all know it's trueUse me once and you'll know it, tooI can make a mere schoolboy forget his booksI can make a world-famous beauty neglect her looks

I can make a good man forsake his wifeSend a greedy man to prison for the rest of his lifeI can make a man forsake his country and flagMake a girl sell her body for a five-dollar bag

Some think my adventure's a joy and a thrillBut I'll put a gun in your hand and make you killIn cellophane bags, I've found my wayTo heads of state and children at play

I'm financed in China, ran in JapanI'm respected in Turkey and I'm legal in SiamI take my addicts and make 'em steal, borrow, begThen they search for a vein in their arm or their leg

So, be you Italian, Jewish, Black or MexI can make the most virile of men forget their sexSo now, no, my man, you must, you know, do your bestTo keep up your habit until your arrest

Now the police have taken you from under my wingDo you think they dare defy me, I who am kingNow, you must lie in that county jailWhere I can't get to you by visit or mail

So squirm, with discomfort, wiggle and coughSix days of madness, you might throw me offCurse me in name, defy me in speechBut you'd pick me up right no if I were in your reach

All through your sentence you've become resolved to your fateHear now young man and woman, I'll be waitin' at the gateAnd don't be afraid, don't run, I'm not chasedSure my name is Heroin, you'll be back for a taste

Behold, you're hooked, your foot is in the stirrupAnd make, haste, mount the steed and ride him wellFor the white horse of heroin will ride you to Hell, to HellWill ride you to Hell until you are deadDead, brother, dead

This is a revolution of the mindGet your mind togetherAnd get away from drugsThat's the manBack, back

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Charles Bobbitt / Charles Fred Bobbitt / Dave Matthews / James Brown / Manny Rosen

Theme From King Heroin lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc

Need more? The hits (and misses) just keep on coming! Some of these you may have never heard, but you will never forget them!

Thanks to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics for the following info:

Since 2010, the number of Americans who die from overdosing on heroin has more than quadrupled.

Key Findings

14K

The number of Americans who die annually from overdosing on heroin.

902k

The number of Americans who use heroin annually.

6.25M

The number of Americans who use heroin within their lifetime.

Heroin Usage Statistics

From 2019 to 2020, heroin usage has increased among all people aged 12 or older. A large majority of people who used heroin first misused prescription opioids.

• 902,000 Americans use heroin annually.

• 6.25 Million Americans will use heroin at least once in their lifetime.

• Heroin makes up 4.5% of all illicit drug use in the lifetime of Americans aged 12 or older.

• Heroin makes up 1.5% of all illicit drug use annually among Americans aged 12 or older.

• 103,000 Americans first start using heroin annually.

• 80% of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids.

Heroin Usage among Grade School Children Statistics

Heroin usage has shown up as early as middle school in minimal amounts. Less than 1% of students in either high school or middle school use heroin on an annual basis.

• 2% of highschool students have used heroin in their lifetime.

• 0.5% of 8th graders reported using heroin within their lifetime.

• 0.2% of 8th graders, 10th graders, and 12th graders combined reported using heroin in the last 12 months.

Heroin Use Disorder Statistics

Among the U.S. population aged 12 or older, less than 1% had a heroin disorder which still translates to hundreds of thousands of Americans. More people receive treatment for using heroin in a year than the number of people who have a substance abuse disorder with heroin.

• 691,000 Americans aged 12 or older had a heroin disorder in 2020.

• 0.2% of Americans aged 12 or older had a heroin disorder.

• Americans with a heroin substance abuse disorder made up 1.7% of the total population with a substance abuse disorder.

• 755,000 people aged 12 or older received substance use treatment for heroin.

• The population with a heroin substance use disorder is the 8th largest population with a substance use disorder.

Heroin Overdose Deaths Nationwide Statistics

Deaths due to heroin overdoses have significantly increased since 2010. From 2012 to 2014 the rate of heroin overdose deaths nearly doubled. After 2014, the death rate remained in the tens of thousands.

• 14,019 die annually from overdosing on heroin.

• Over nearly a decade, the annual death rate due to heroin overdose has risen by over 10,000 people.

• 8,746 people die annually from overdosing on heroin and synthetic opioids other than methadone.

• 5,273 people die annually from overdosing on heroin without taking synthetic opioids other than methadone.

• 2.7 deaths occur annually from overdoses on heroin and synthetic opioids other than methadone for every 100,000 people.

• 1.7 deaths occur annually from overdoses on heroin without taking synthetic opioids other than methadone

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Here’s another edition of the earliest Old Schools! No themes, just a hodgepodge of glistening but aging vinyl that stayed under the radar of mass popularity.

For Episode 4, we touch down in Kim Fowley’s humid and dismal Los Angeles by night. Luckily we have the Popsicles to cool us off. Then we dial it back to Chicago in the DiMaggio summer, where Lil Green has scored some pre-war weed. Finally, we end up on a mystic mountaintop with Eric Burdon’s New Animals, who have come seeking enlightened. If you meet the Buddha on the road, he’s bound to have a podcast!

ENDLESS TEEN PARTY The Popsicles

KNOCKING MYSELF OUT Lil Green

CLOSER TO THE TRUTH Eric Burdon and the New Animals

Three songs from different eras and the unique mindsets have only one commonality. They have their own particular oddball quirkiness. They weren’t intended as novelty songs and yet…pretty darn novel.

Welcome to Old School #5 Madison Bones!

THE MADISON TIME PART 1 Ray Bryant Combo

Ray Bryant was a solid jazz cat who had a modest hit with the Madison Time in 1960. Then the song realized the dream of a second coming. For this one, it was in the unlikely hit Hairspray (1988). Then it got yet another boost when the movie became a musical then came back as another movie in 2007!

Here’s the video from the first movie, a rarity from a 1960 local dance show, and and instructional DVD feature because you can’t sit down!

SPAZZ The Elastik Band

The Elastik Band provided a politically incorrect low for the psychedelic era in 1967. Tasteless as it is, it does enjoy a groove of sorts, a one hit wonder destined for the boneyard.

ROCKIN’ BONES Ronnie Dawson

Which takes us to a Texas rocking lone star who was hitting the Billy Idol look in the ancient Fifties. Ronnie Dawson was Ronnie Dee for his first record, “Action Packed” in 1958. For his second song in 1959 he was already fretting at least his teen mortality. But like Ray Bryant, Ronnie Dawson had a fabulous second act, touring rockabilly crazed Europe in the 1980s! He’d seen the needle in the stylus and the damage done!

Remember, you can hear the podcast at the top of the page. While you are there you can download this episode to cozy up next to your other podcasts. Also you can arrange to have Old School delivered directly to that app. So if you pull the email plug for a while you wit miss any episodes!

The Madison Time (part 1)Ray Bryant

It’s the madison time hit it You're lookin' good -A big strong line When I say hit it,I want you to go two up and twoBack with a big strong turnAnd back to the madisonHit itta(Instrumental)You're lookin' goodNow when I say hit it,I want you to go two up and twoBack double crossCome out of it with the riflemanHit itta(Instrumental)CrazyNow when I say hit I want the strong"M" erase it and back to the madisonHit it(Instrumental)Walk on you're lookin' good(Instrumental)Now then when I say hit, it'll be "T" time(Instrumental)Hit it(Instrumental)Big strong lineNow when I say hit it I want the big strongCleveland box and back to the madison(Instrumental)Hit it(Instrumental)CrazyNow when I say hit it,I want the big strong basketballWith the Wilt Chamberlain hook(Instrumental)Hit it -- 2 pointsNow this time when I say hit it,I want the big strongJackie Gleason and back to the madison(Instrumental)Hit it - and away we goNow then when I say hit, birdland 'til I say stopHit it -- how 'bout a little stiff leg there?You're lookin' goodNow when I say hit it come out of the birdland back to the madison(Instrumental)Hit it - crazyWhen I say hit it, go 2 up and 2 back double cross and freezeHit it(Instrumental)And hold it right thereComments

For fifty years, I’ve been bewildered. Why wasn’t “Feel Older Now” by The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie (Flo and Eddie y’all) a huge hit of 1972, like Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” or Roberta Flacks’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”

It is joyous, it is mad, it is weird. Maybe that affected the record sales. Also there was the blossoming of the Watergate scandal. Who had time for two refugees from the power pop giants The Turtles, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan? Clearly they had moved on from lollipops and roses hits like “Happy Together.”

Clearly, Mark and Howard had taken the LSD Frank Zappa had offered them, grown their beards out sloppy, and adopted the scuzzy hippie look of their new band, The Mothers of Invention.

What happened in those time is told well by Howard Kaylan in Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.

Yes they smoked pot in the Lincoln bedroom. They may have imbibed a bit during the sessions for this blasting ballad that features the whimsy of growing old backed by bitterness, regret, and amplifiers stacked to the moon.

FEEL OLDER NOW Phlorescent Leech and Eddie

I talk about seeing Jackie Wilson in person on a golden oldie tour in the podcast. What a presence. Wilson was an incredible performer who brought such passion and joy to his music. The video is him doing one of gymnasium nation’s greatest hits. In the show is his professional debut from 1956. Jackie wails. As Van Morrison said, “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)”.

REET PETITE Jackie Wilson

Wrapping OS#6 we have a great tune from the industrial pioneers led by Genesis P-Orridge and Casey Fanni Tutti. They began life as COUM Transmission, and performed as Death Factory before hitting on the name we remember them for.

ADRENALINE Throbbing Gristle

All this energy destroys me Killing my security Sitting here you make me shiver Sitting here I lose all fear Making love in different places Jealousy brings you So near

It still helps me be happy It still helps make me free Yet it still helps me be happyA And it still helps made me free

Adrenalin, adrenalin paper-thin adrenalin paper-thin adrenalin

Sitting here you make me shiver Sitting here you see my fear I am split in different places I am split from everything Longing for security

Paper-thin adrenalin Paper-thin adrenalin Waiting for the life you give

Here we are just sitting prettyHere we are just sitting pretty

Paper-thin adrenalinPaper-thin adrenalinPaper-thin adrenalin

Longing for security

I am split in different placesI am split from everythingYet it still helps make me happySitting with adrenalinAnd it still helps make me happySitting with adrenalin

Can I be alive once more?Sitting with adrenalinSitting with adrenalinSitting with adrenalinSitting with adrenalin

Need more? Here’s Volume 1 from YouTube:

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Frederick Knight was born in Alabama in 1944, and in 1972 he scored large on the R&B charts with the falsetto moaning and wailing we are about to hear. Success agreed with this knight, however, and before he was through he had written and produced Anita Ward’s disco sensation “Ring My Bell.”

Here we check Knight the performer, with a lesson in how bad life can get, although we know he cried all the way to the bank. Frederick Knight and “I’ve Been Lonely for So Long.”

I've been lonely for so longDon't seem like happiness will come alongI've been lonely for so longDon't seem like happiness will come along

These ain't rain clouds over my headEverybody's throwing rocks in my bedJust can't seem to get ahead in lifeOoh, nothin' I do ever turn out for the right

Won't somebody help me please

'Cause I've been lonely for so longDon't seem like happiness will come alongI've been lonely for so longDon't seem like happiness will come along

I lay awake every nightTryin' to figure out how to make things rightThere's got to be a better way I knowTo shake this monkey off 'cause he's makin' me so

Won't somebody help me please

'Cause I've been ooh, lonely for so longDon't seem like happiness will come alongI've been lonely so longDon't seem like happiness will come along

Yes, I know what it feels like to be lonelyTo have your friends turn their backs on youTo never know the real meaningOf peace of mind, oh

Just can't seem to get ahead in lifeOoh, nothin' I do ever turn out for the right

Won't somebody help me please

'Cause I've been lonely for so longDon't seem like happiness will come alongI've been lonely for so longDon't seem like happiness will come along

I've been down so longI've been down so longI've been down so longI've been down so long

I get lonely, I get lonelyI get lonely, I get lonelyI get lonely, lonely

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Jerry Weaver / Posie Knight

I’ve Been Lonely (For So long) lyrics © Concord Music Publishing LLC

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Bill Gibbons came out of a garage in Houston, Texas, where he played in bands like The Saints and The Coachmen. In 1966, along with Tom Moore, Don Summers, and Dan Mitchell, they came together as the Moving Sidewalks.

In 1967 , when much of the world had fallen for psychedelics, the band released their most famous track on the Tantara label. It was a high point in their short history, almost as good as when they opened for Jimi Hendrix when he experienced Texas in 1968. Here’s the Moving Sidewalks, with some real elevator nastiness called The 99th Floor!!

When I woke up this morning,I didn't feel so goodThen my baby told me,I'll make you feel like you should

So we got on an elevator,And then we shut the doorBaby, we won't stop,We won't stop tillWe get to the ninety-ninth floor

Next thing that came to meCame much to my surpriseThen I began to realizeThat you were telling me no lies

So come on, come on,Come on, baby,Let's do it some moreSaid that we won't stop,We won't stop tillWe get to the ninety-ninth floor

Come on, baby...Come on and treat me rightLet's go to the ninety-ninth floorAnd make me feel so right...

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Bill Gibbons

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Larry and Lorrie Collins, a brother and sister rockabilly act born in Tulsa and Talequah, Oklahoma, found themselves national celebrities when they appeared on weekly television on Tex Ritter’s Town Hall Party beginning in 1958. At that time Lorrie was a 17 year old sweetheart of the rodeo, and Larry was cowpunk 15, a flat topped shorty ripping it up on an electric double neck guitar.

PS, Ricky Nelson fell in love with Lorrie when he saw her on television, and she was his first girlfriend, both in real life and on The Ozzie and Harriet Show. Together they made beautiful music together.

From their first album, here’s the Collins Kids with “Mercy.”

My baby is a rare kindHe really sends chills up my spineMy baby loves me, yes, indeedMy baby is the one for meMercyWhat my baby does to me, me, me, yeah, meMercyWhat my baby does to me, me, me, meWhen my baby embraces meHe sure don't know what he does to meWhen he whispers that he loves me soHe makes my pulse go, go, goMеrcyWhat my baby does to me, me, mе, yeah, meMercyWhat my baby does to me, me, me, meAw, let's get it nowMercy, how my baby pleases meHe's just as sweet as he can beBut, mercy, when he teases meOh, he sure don't know what he does to meMercyWhat my baby does to me, me, me, yeah, meMercyWhat my baby does to me, me, me, meMercy me

Dial up OLD SCHOOL on YouTube!

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Back in time we go to the London club scene of 1964, where pop is being met head on by an R&B scene that leaves the mods and rockers to chose sides. Animals manager Mike Jeffries discovered this band, and they were produced by Animals keyboard man Alan Price. The Hipster Image comes and goes, but in this instance the band is almost as good as their name. Here they are with “Can’t Let Her Go.”

Hipsters Through Time…

Hipster Image Biography

(Courtesy of ALL MUSIC by Bruce Eder)

A hot mod band of the mid-'60s discovered by Animals managers Mike Jeffries and, with one 1965 single produced by Alan Price, Hipster Image managed to become a major band on the London club scene without ever charting a record.

Established around Keele University in northern Staffordshire, England, the group comprised Colin Cooper (vocals/saxophone), Eric Leese (keyboards), Tony "Dirk" Durkin (bass), Frank Proudlove (vocals/saxophone), and Keith Webb (drums). They issued two soul numbers -- "Little Piece of Leather" and "All for You" -- onto a flexidisc issued at the university, which got them noticed by Jeffries and into a recording studio in London. Typical of Decca's judgement, the B-side, "Make Her Mine," was the better of the two songs and a popular club single.

Despite these breaks, the band was never able to sustain itself and ultimately broke up, although its four surviving songs have since emerged on CD, and "Make Her Mine" is an acknowledged classic, appearing on numerous Northern soul and mod compilations.

In 2020, the previously recorded 1965 track "True" was unearthed from the vaults and issued alongside a handful of other unreleased songs.

AI casts a hipster movie:

Yes, I’m familiar with the term “hipster image.” It typically refers to a style or appearance associated with a subculture known as hipsters. Hipsters are often characterized by their non-mainstream fashion choices, eclectic tastes, and a preference for independent or alternative culture. The term “hipster image” can encompass various elements, including vintage clothing, indie music, artistic pursuits, and an emphasis on individuality.

Try this. Imagine you have to cast a modern hipster couple in anew movie. Who would you pick?

If I were to cast a modern hipster couple in a movie, I would consider actors who embody the hipster aesthetic and have showcased versatility in their performances. Here are a few actors who could potentially fit the roles:

1. Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt:

Known for their roles in indie films and their quirky personalities, they could bring the right mix of whimsy and charm to portray a hipster couple.

1. Aubrey Plaza and Michael Cera:

Both have played offbeat characters in independent films and have a distinct sense of humor, making them potential choices for a hipster couple with a dry and ironic wit.

1. Lena Dunham and Adam Driver:

With their involvement in the TV series “Girls,” they have demonstrated an understanding of modern hipster culture and could bring authenticity to such roles.

Remember, casting choices ultimately depend on the specific requirements of the movie and the chemistry between the actors.1

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The Balloon Farm came out of New York City, where they took their name from a trendy nightclub allegedly christened by Bob Dylan, who swore he could seen cartoon balloons floating above all the heads. Their big song featured a fuzz guitar and a swirling Hammond B3.

It took it a while to catch on, released in October of 67, but finally hitting the charts in March of 68. Other musical footnote, the group’s leader, Mike Appel, went on to write songs for the Partridge Family.

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Then he switched to business, and became Bruce Springsteen’s manager. From the Balloon Farm, A Question of Temperature.

There's a sudden rise in the mercuryThere's a thumpin' in my heart, it just had to beHeat wave, hurricane, whirling in my headCool disposition, just hanging by a thread

Is it a question of love, haIs it a state of mind, no, no, no, noIt's a question of, it's a question ofIt's a question of, it's a question ofOf temperature, yeah

I wake up in the morningGo to sleep at night with the feverShe says, I won't hang you upAnd I say, baby, I believe ya

Is it a question of love, haIs it a state of mind, no, no, no, noIt's a question of, it's a question ofIt's a question of, it's a question ofOf temperature, yeah

I'll tell it like it is, girl you gotta keep your distance'Cause the doctor says I've got a very low resistanceNon-stop elevator pushing to the topNo second chance for a temperature drop

Is it a question of love, haIs it a state of mind, no, no, no, noIt's a question of, it's a question ofIt's a question of, it's a question ofOf temperature, yeah

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: D. Henny / E. Schnug / M. Appel

If you bonded with the Balloon Farm, you are likely to enjoy a tour in a rocking UFO:

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Otis Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia and raised in Macon. He dropped out of Ballad Hudson High when he was a sophomore, joined Little Richard's band, and sent his mother $25 a week. He eventually wrote a song called "Respect" that was recorded by Aretha Franklin.

1967 was the monumental year of his life, as well as being the last. The year he turned 26 he recorded a series of great duets with Carla Thomas, blew away the crowd at the Monterey Pop Festival and six months later lost his life in a plane crash.

Here he is in his prime, from an album he recorded with Carla called King and Queen. Lowell Fulson and Jimmy McCracklin wrote it, Otis Redding and Carla Thomas made it their own…Tramp!

TrampWhat you call me?TrampOh you didn'tYou don't wear continental clothes or Stetson hatsWell I tell you one doggone thingIt makes me feel good to know one thing

I know I'm a loverMatter of opinion, babyThat's all right, Mama wasSoPapa tooAnd I'm the only childLovin' is all I know to do

You know what, Otis?What?You're countryThat's alrightYou straight from the Georgia woodsThat's goodYou know what? You wear overallsAnd big old brogan shoesAnd you need a haircut, tramp

Haircut? Woman, you foolin'Ooh, I'm a loverMama was, Grandmama, Papa tooThey'll make you oneOh, that's alright

And I'm the only son of a gun, yeah, this side of the sunTrampThat's right, that's what you are

You know what? I'm no tramp

You know what, Otis?I don't care what you say, you're still a trampWhat?That's rightYou haven't even got a fat bankroll in your pocketYou probably haven't even got twenty-five cents

I got six Cadillacs, five LincolnsFour Fords, six Mercuries, three T-Birds, MustangOoh, I'm a loverYou're true about meMy Mama was, my Papa too

I tell you one thingWell tell me

I'm the only son of a gun, yeah this side of the sunAlrightYou're a tramp, OtisNo I'm notI don't care what you say, you're still a trampDon't call me that

Look here, you ain't got no moneyI got everythingYou can't buy me all those minks and sablesAnd all that stuff I wantI can buy you minks, rats, frogs, squirrels, rabbitsAnything you want, woman

Look, you can go out in the Georgia woods catch them, babyOh, you foolin'You're still a trampThat's alrightYou a tramp, Otis, you just a trampThat's alright

You wear overalls, you need a haircut, babyCut off some of that hair off your headYou think you a lover, huh?

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Lowell Fulsom / Jimmy Mccracklin

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It feels that for every 200 bands that released one album and broke up, leaving behind promises of what might have been and precious rarities that camp forever in the back bins at the indy record stores, there was one or two who made it big.

The Association had all the success any band could ask for, but it probably cost them the recognition they deserved for a deeper side.

For two years they appeared on television lip syncing hits like “Cherish” and “Windy,” all the while keeping the edginess as something known only to the album buyers. Despite the LA pop and gloss, this band was anti war, pro psychedelic, spiritual, and dare I say progressive.

Return with us now for a prime example, from the album Renaissance, the Association and Pandora’s Golden Heebie Jeebies…

I have walked along the paths of dark and lightAnd I have seen the sunrise and I've seen the nightI've seen the calm before the storm and then the fightAnd now I see the sparrows as they begin to flyAnd all that's left for me to doIs cry

I've had my view of happiness and my view of despairI've cleaned out all the cobwebs and I've learned how to compareI've seen all of the circles and I've had my last affairAnd now I see the sparrows as they begin to flyAnd all that's left for me to doIs cry

Thinking that I was lost then finding the end to all beginningsGave to me the key, made of lead and goldenFreeing locks, Pandora's boxes, devils are expended

And I'm finally free

And when all the tears are finally criedAnd I am finally clean insideThe gentle winds will come and they will dry my mindAnd I will see the sparrow that need no longer flyAnd all that will be left for me to doIs die

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Gary Jules Alexander

Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

FYAI:

Pandora is a figure from Greek mythology. She was the first mortal woman created by the gods. According to the myth, Zeus, the king of the gods, ordered Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create Pandora as a punishment for Prometheus, who had stolen fire from the gods and given it to humans.

Pandora was given various gifts from the gods, including beauty, grace, and curiosity. She was also given a jar or box (often referred to as "Pandora's Box"), which she was instructed not to open under any circumstances. However, her curiosity got the better of her, and she opened the box, unleashing all the evils and diseases into the world.

Only hope remained trapped inside the box, providing a glimmer of optimism amidst the suffering. The myth of Pandora serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of curiosity and the existence of evil in the world.

She is believed to have existed during the mythological era of ancient Greece, which is often associated with the Bronze Age. It's important to note that Pandora is a fictional character and not associated with any specific historical period. The myths and legends surrounding Pandora have been passed down through generations, contributing to the rich tapestry of Greek mythology.

While the name Pandora is not as commonly used as some other names, there are a few notable individuals named Pandora. Here are a couple of examples:

1. Pandora Vanderpump Sabo: Pandora Vanderpump Sabo is the daughter of reality TV personality Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd. She has appeared on the reality show "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" alongside her family.

2. Pandora Colin: Pandora Colin is a British actress known for her roles in film, television, and theater. She has appeared in productions such as "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Night Watch."

The Association is a rock band known for their harmony-driven pop songs. The original members of The Association were:

1. Jules Alexander (guitar, vocals)

2. Terry Kirkman (vocals, keyboards)

3. Brian Cole (bass, vocals)

4. Russ Giguere (vocals, percussion)

5. Ted Bluechel Jr. (drums, vocals)

6. Jim Yester (guitar, vocals)

These were the founding members of the band when they achieved their initial success in the 1960s. Over the years, there have been changes in the lineup, with various musicians joining and departing the group.

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Long before their musical morphing led them into a group called Crowded House, brothers Neil and Tim Finn started the first band from New Zealand to make it big. Split Enz would conquer the world with a single called I Got You. They formed in Auckland in 1974, went through a lot of personnel changes, then in 1980 came up with True Colors, a laser-etched piece of vinyl that seemed to perfect the new wave pop sound and capture an era that was destined to last at least 36 minutes, until the album was over. Here’s the Split Enz. What more can a poor boy do?

The famous laser-etched True Colours from 1980.

My love is alien, I picked her up by chanceShe speaks to me in ultra-high frequencyThe radio band of goldGonna listen 'Til I grow old

Oo hoo hooWhat more can a poor boy do?Oo hoo hooWhat more can a poor boy do?Oo hoo hoo hoo

The crackle of the radioThe message in the evening skyYou're looking at an interplanetary RomeoI'll never see her faceBetween us there's too much space

Oo hoo hooWhat more can a poor boy do?Oo hoo hooWhat more can a poor boy do?Oo hoo hoo hoo

Oh oh oh ohOh oh oh ohOh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh ohOh oh oh ohOh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh ohOh oh oh ohOh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh ohOh oh oh ohOh oh oh oh

Keep losing you

What more can a poor boy do?What more can a poor boy do? YeahWhat more, What more

What more can a poor boy do? YeahWhat more, What moreWhat more can a poor boy do?

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Brian Timothy Finn / Edward Rayner

Poor Boy lyrics © Mushroom Music Pty. Ltd., Mushroom Music Pty Ltd, Origin Music Publishing Pty Ltd

Here’s the I GOT YOU video:

Don’t Miss:

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Legendary LA wild music man Kim Fowley was involved in sooo many projects, including records by B Bumble and The Stingers, the Hollywood Argyles, The Seeds, the Runaways, and his own slap dash solo career. He was always a bit ahead of his time, like here when he recorded what is regarded as the first psychedelic novelty record two years before the Summer of Love. It came out in Great Britain in 1965 and in the U. S. in 1966, received limited airplay, and survives today as one of the great curiosity’s of LSD. Kim Fowley and “The Trip.”

Summer time's here, kiddiesAnd it's time to take a trip, to take a tripThis world's so bad, you feel so sadYou gotta take a trip into a world so glad

A world of frogsAnd green fountainsAnd flying dogsAnd silver catsAnd emerald ratsAnd purple cloudsAnd faceless crowdsAnd walls of glass that never passAnd pictures hanging upside-down

I won't ask, where you areIt's another world, you and your girl, and all your friends, ahWill all be there, oh yeah, let's take a tripLet's take a trip

T-N-T, S.O.S, H-O-B, T-O-PIt's the top, it's the topHey, here we go now, let's climb some mountains, everybodyGet on your walking shoesWe'll start to climb some mountains, here we goLet's take a trip, let's take a trip

It's time to dream, just close your eyesIt's groovy now, yeah, I'm floatin' because I'm swimmin' in beautyIt's all around, let's take a tripFly from the ground, woah-woah yeah, let's take a tripIt's really hip, no one will know what goes onJust you and meAnd the dreams we seeOh c'mon baby, oh c'mon babyYou're doing it right, just put your head back

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Dennis Hardesty / Kim Fowley / Paul Geddess

The Trip lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

AI Liner Notes

Kim Fowley was an American record producer, songwriter, and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s ¹. He was involved as co-producer/co-publisher with a string of successful records produced in Los Angeles. With Gary S. Paxton he recorded the novelty song "Alley Oop", which reached #1 on the charts in 1960 and was credited to the non-existent group the Hollywood Argyles. In 1961 he co-produced the instrumental "Like, Long Hair", arranged by Paxton, which became a #38 hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders. He arranged "Nut Rocker" for B. Bumble and the Stingers, which became a #1 hit in the UK in 1962 and talent scouted "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow", a #48 hit for the Rivingtons ¹.

He also composed material recorded by The Byrds, Cat Stevens, Them, and Kiss, and produced the likes of Gene Vincent, Warren Zevon, Soft Machine, and Helen Reddy ². In 1975, he returned to his Svengali role by assembling the notorious Runaways, a teenage hard rock girl group featuring a young Joan Jett, Lita Ford, and Cherie Currie ².

"The Trip" is a song written and recorded by Kim Fowley. It first appeared on the A-side of Fowley's debut single as a solo artist, which was released in early 1965 on Corby Records ¹. In the composition, Fowley encourages those depressed with the world to escape it by taking LSD, pronouncing "Summertime's here, kiddies, and it's time to take a trip! To take trips!". The contents become more bizarre as he describes hallucinogenic visions of animals, and drug-induced seduction ¹.

Remarkably, despite "The Trip"'s unusual arrangement, it became a regional hit in Los Angeles, and was covered by noted deejay Godfrey in 1966, and by The Fire Escape in 1967 ¹. An advertisement in a November 1965 edition of the Los Angeles Free Press promoting the remaining copies of "The Trip" suggest the single was one of the earliest works to obviously speak about the psychedelic experience.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 6/27/2023

The Trip (Kim Fowley song) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trip_%28Kim_Fowley_song%29.

The Trip by Kim Fowley - Track Info | AllMusic. https://www.allmusic.com/song/the-trip-mt0026994375.

Kim Fowley – The Trip (1965, Vinyl) - Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/1661236-Kim-Fowley-The-Trip.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 6/27/2023

(1) Kim Fowley - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Fowley.

(2) Kim Fowley Biography, Songs, & Albums | AllMusic. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kim-fowley-mn0000099345/biography.

(3) Kim Fowley, Producer And Rock Svengali, Dies : The Record : NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/01/16/377682746/kim-fowley-producer-and-rock-svengali-dies.

(4) Kim Fowley Net Worth - Employment Security Commission. https://www.ncesc.com/kim-fowley-net-worth/.

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And now, some great confusion. Remember the band Otis Day and the Knights? Of course you do, even though they weren’t a real band. They were the house band the frat boys go to see in “Animal House.” The part of Otis Day was played by actor DeWayne Jessie, although he was lip syncing the voice of Lloyd Williams, a singer who went on to find fame in the reggae field.

The song Shama Lama Ding Dong was written for the film by Mark Davis, and it shouldn’t be confused with Rama Lama Ding Dong by the Edsels. Confused enough? There’s more. The movie was such a hit that DeWayne Jessie formed a band called Otis Day and the Knights and began touring the college circuit, raking in significant cash from Animal House wannabees. So here they are, singing the song that made the band…Otis Day and the Knights!!!

If I searched,This whole wide world,I'd never never never,Find me a girl,Who'd love me,The way that you do.Huh,'Cause You're

Shama Lama,HuhRama rama rama ding dongBaby huhYou put theOoh mou mouOh oh oh ohBack into my smile, child

Hey That is why

That is whyYou are my sugar dee dee doo

You put the

ShAma LamaBabyDing dongHeyYou put theOoh mou mouOh oh oh ohBack into my smile, child

That is why

That is whyYou are my sugar dee dee doo

And our love,This love we share,Is stronger than any otherNo-one else can compareStronger than the highest mountain,And the deepest seaHeyYou put the

Shama Lama,BabyRama rama rama ding dongHeyYou put theOoh mou mouOh oh oh ohBack into my smile, child

HeyThat is why

That is whyYou are my sugar dee dee doo

Shama Lama,BabyRama rama rama ding dongHeyYou put theOoh mou mouOh oh oh oh

That is why

That is whyYou are my sugar dee dee doo

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Mark Kevin Davis

Shama Lama Ding Dong lyrics © Usi B Music Publishing

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Professor Mikey here, parked in a DeLorean equipped with an 8-track outside a typical public swimming pool on a typical summer afternoon in 1983. It was weird getting here, but I think I found the right tunes so we should be good for an afternoon in a world ruled by Ronald Reagan, Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna and one particular lifeguard.

Like all decades, the 80s have taken a while to really kick in. MTV has been around for a couple of years. Everybody is excited about The Return of the Jedi coming out this summer. By Christmas, people will be selling their souls to get their kid a Cabbage Patch Doll.

But right now it’s hot and it’s pretty much a tubular party in the deep end. The music reflects the times. Disco is gone but the beat remains. Electricity is the star, in the drums, in the keyboards. Just about anything that can be plugged is plugged in, and it drives a sound that is thumping mad.

The idea is to recreate the soundtrack of what we were swimming to that endless summer of 1983. We go back as far as last September when the ‘82 pools closed, and don’t go past August of ‘83 so we can get the essence of a true moment in Coppertone time. And have some fun.

Also, since this is a podcast generated in a different century, we have to mind a few rules. Don’t worry, you are getting the real thing. Know though that it really is the summer of Michael Jackson. During a five day period in June, Michael sold 750,000 copies of Thriller.

Toto’s “Africa” got played a few zillion times a day on American radio, which was completely ruled by financial decisions. So I had to snip a few songs just so the moneylenders wouldn’t block the whole podcast.

But I’m pretty sure we will get by. The Eighties are essentially the Fifties with cocaine. And enough electricity to power a small midwestern city. At the pool we turn up the amps and bring the heat. It’s a Cruel Summer of never ending smashes and splashes.

Welcome to Professor Mikey’s Old School #48, Poolside ‘83.

We’ve been rocking out quite a bit here on this special wet and wild edition Old School. Like any good DJ Professor Mikey knows when it’s time to change the tempo a little. Also this is an educational program, so let’s do some sex math. You heard right. If you were born somewhere between February and April or May in 1984, there’s more than a good chance that you were made during the summer of 1983. Thinking about your parents hooking up is not top of mind for most podcasts, but the odds speak for themselves. These upcoming artists had a direct effect on a little population spike. Some might call this a slow dance, or a moonlight swim in this case.

Here are Patti Austin, James Ingram, and Marvin Gaye. And maybe your mom and your dad. And a little surprise, just like you. Poolside ‘83 and music for a night swim.

Saying goodbye to Poolside ‘83 isn’t going to be easy. It was a complicated time, but there was a lot of fun. We’ve learned complications and no fun equals, well, no fun. Remember in 1983, we were about a year from the first CDs. Money changed over time. What you could buy for a dollar in 1983 will cost you three dollars today. The idea of cel phones was around, but not like we have today. They were big clunky devices with long antennas that looked like walkie talkies from Mattel.

Hidden Valley Ranch dressing was introduced, as were the Mario Brothers.

But that summer left a playlist that craved a swimming pool, or some way to stay wet and wild. I’ll listen to this podcast anytime I need to return. You can too.

While this was getting put together, I also compiled a playlist of these and many other songs that were as available as sunshine and chlorine in 1983. Go to Professor Mikey’s Old School on YouTube and click on playlists.

Old School is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976.

This podcast is brought to you by Retrofit, a free private newsletter you can subscribe to for free or with a modest donation at retrofit.substack.com. I’m Professor Mikey, thanks for listening.

Lets spend just a few more minutes in the water and be the last ones out of the pool.

Cruel Summer Bananarama

Too Shy Kajagoogoo

Der Kommissar After the Flood

Let’s Dance David Bowie

Come on Eileen Dexy’s Midnight Ramblers

Church of the Poison Mind Culture Club

Gloria Laura Brannigan

Electric Avenue Eddie GrantAfter

Well Dressed Man ZZ Top

Baby Come to Me Patti Austin and James Ingrahm

Sexual Healing Marvin Gaye

True Spandau Ballet

King of Pain The Police

Keep Feeling Fascination Human League

Hungry Like the Wolf Duran Duran

Putting on the Ritz Taco

Sweet Dream Eurythmics

Pass the Dutchie Musical Youth

White Lines (Don’t Do It) Grandmaster Flash

Holiday Madonna

Jeopardy Greg Kihn Band

She Blinded Me with Science Thomas Dolby

Photograph Flock of Seagulls

Wild World Tears for Fears

Radio Free Europe REM

Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Bananarama

Overkill Men at Work

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November of 1964.  The Bad Boys go into the studio in London, to experiment with a bit of UKRandB.  Beatlemania is rampant, the Stones are battling for second place along with Herman’s Hermits and Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas.  It’s a wild scene of mods and rockers and this band will disappear completely after cutting a single called Owl and the Pussycat.  Even better is the forgotten flipside.  That’s What I’ll Do.  The Bad Boys.

Bad Boys Discography

1964: The Owl and the Pussycat/That's What I'll Do (Piccadilly Records)

1965: Satisfaction/Mr. Tambourine Man (Pye Records)

1966: Gol/She's A Breakway (Style, STMS 633)

1966: Balliamo il jerk/Finché ti incontrerò (Style, STMS 634)

1966: Kicks/She's A Breakway (Style, STMS 635)

1966: Il mio amore è un capellone/Runnin' and Hidin' (Style, STMS 643)

1967: Shaly nº 1/Quel ragazzo triste sono io (Style, STMS 648)

1967: Che vita la mia/Cerco la verità (Style, STMS 658)

1968: Da da da/Nasco da oggi (City, C 6215)

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Todd Rundgren formed the band Utopia in 1974, and had an on again off again relationship with the group, depending upon his solo projects and what he was producing for other people. In 1980, Utopia released a strange but charming Beatle satire. Unlike The Rutles, who concentrated on ribbing the personalities of the Fab Four, this album digested, parodied, produced and disseminated the whole of Beatlemania, from the depths of the Cavern to the meditative mountain peaks of India, in a series of songs that run less than a half hour for both sides.

It’s like a visit across an alternate universe. Here’s Utopia from Deface the Music, and Everybody Else is Wrong.

At the edge of the worldThe sun pouring downWe must be heading homeI completely agreeI've just been waiting for the right words to come along

Everybody else is wrongDoesn't everyone concur, oh noThank you for the vote of confidenceI feel so much surer now thatEverybody else is wrong

In the prime of one's lifeOne must be awareIt's such a weary jobBut I've made up my mindI've just been waiting for the right choice to come along

Please don't turn out the lightMy pen is on fireThe masterpiece revealedPut your wallets in handIf you've been waiting for the answer to come along

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: John Wilcox / Kasim Sulton / Roger Powell / Todd Rundgren

Everybody Else Is Wrong lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc

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We don’t know a lot about Catfish Knight and the Blue Express. Their producer was Angelo DiFrenzo. They released one song in October of 1968 which in part seems to be an homage to the Rolling Stones Paint It Black but maybe that’s because death is in the air.

But then there’s a little Johann Strauss at work here, because, as crazy as it is, it is in a waltz tempo. I know. The suspense is killing you. Fear not, the grim reaper is about to spin. Catfish Knight and the Blue Express and “Deathwise.”

PS: Subscribing to the Professor Mikey Old School Channel on YouTube is a good way to easily share these tunes, especially with friends who don’t want to deal with podcast apps.

There are many benefits of subscribing to a YouTube channel, both for the viewers and the creators. Here are some of them:

• You can get regular updates on new content from the channels you like. You can also choose to receive notifications whenever a new video is uploaded by turning on the bell icon1. This way, you don’t have to miss any videos from your favorite educational channels.

• You can support the creators by helping them grow their channel and reach more audiences. The subscriber count is important for YouTubers as it helps them monetize their channel and get more advertisers2. By subscribing to a channel, you show your appreciation and encouragement to the creator.

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So, if you enjoy watching educational videos on YouTube, subscribing to the channels you like is a great way to enhance your experience and support the creators.😊

There is no such thing as too many subscriptions. To receive new posts and podcasts via email, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

You should subscribe to Professor Mikey’s Old School if you are interested in listening to eclectic joints from the 50s-90s from many genres and many directions. Professor Mikey hosts this educational, underground, pirate radio podcast that features stories, unexpected twists, and themes that transcend1. You can enjoy his indescribably delicious selection of music and learn more about the history and culture behind the songs. You can also interact with him and other subscribers by leaving comments and feedback on his YouTube channel1 or YouTube Music channel2. If you are looking for a unique and entertaining way to discover old school music, Professor Mikey’s Old School is the channel for you.🎶

COMING SOON: “POOLSIDE ‘83”

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The Ikettes were the creation of Ike Turner in the early 1960s, the girl group who backed up the Ike and Tina Turner Review. Ike never paid them much, they never saw any residuals, yet today they are considered one of the more influential R&B girl groups of all time.

Meet Delores Johnson (aka Flora Williams), Eloise Hester, and Joshie Armstead with a song they recorded during JFK’s first year in the white house, 1961. The Ikettes with I’m Blue, the Gong Gong Song, on Old School.

Gong gong gong gong gong gong gong gong gong gong gong yeah(I'm blue ue ue ue ue ue ue blue be doo be doo)Gong gong gong gong gong gong gong gong yeah)

I want to tell a all you people(I dropped a penny in the well wished that you would come back soon)I couldn't believe what I heard

I hope her reading was wrong(I hope she was wrong 'cause you been gone too long from home)Hey gong gong gong gong gong gong yeah

Gong gong gong gong gong gong gong yeah(I'm blue ue ue ue ue ue ue blue be doo be doo be doo)Gong gong gong gong gong gong gong gong yeah

I can't sleep at night for thinking of you(Every night about 2 my love for you comes tumbling down)I can't stand being here alone

I hope her reading was wrong(I hope she was wrong 'cause you been gone too long from home)Hey gong gong gong gong gong gong yeah

Hey! gong gong gong gong gong gong yeah(I'm blue ue ue ue ue ue eu blue be doo be doo be doo)Gong gong gong gong gong gong gong gong yeah

Mm mm mm yeah(I'm blue ue ue ue ue ue ue blue be doo be doo be doo)

Gong gong gong gong gong gong gong yeah

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Ike Turner

I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song) lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

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Loudon Wainwright III says the thing that influenced him to become a folksinging humorist was seeing Bob Dylan live at Newport in 1962. A direct descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, he is the son of the editor of Life Magazine, the former husband of Kate McGarrigle and the father of Martha and Rufus Wainwright, and is one of the inspirations of the Doonesbury character Jimmy Thudpucker. And he loves his cat.

. From his 1971 “Album II,” “My Friend the Cat” from Loudon Wainwright |||

Me and my friend the catInto the night we satWe were sitting at speedsKnown only to fewIncredible distance we travelled us to

If only you'd been thereYou'd know what I meanIf only you'd been thereIf only you'd seen

For the Ides of March were upon us thenAnd it's been a year since I didn't know when

Me and my friend the catWell we talked about this, about thatWe were talking in circlesYou would never have guessedThat this was the targetAnd that was the quest

If only you'd been thereYou'd know what I meanIf only you'd been thereIf only you'd seen

Februar is over and time marches onYesterday, Yesteryear got up and goneMe and my friend the catWell the two of us chewed the fatWe were chewing togetherThe blubber was bitIt gagged in our throatsOut foamed a fitIf only you'd been thereYou'd know what I meanIf only you'd been thereIf only you'd see n

Tomorrow was St Patrick's DayI'm a layman now, I don't have to pray

Produced By

Milton Kramer & Loudon Wainwright III

Written By

Loudon Wainwright II

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Chances are future music archaeologists are going to be turned inside out by this one. But here’s how a song that became better known as a band evolved. Neil Innis and his English art school buddies formed the Bonzo Dog Dada Band, which became the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band before they just shortened it to the Bonzo Dog Band. It was the 60s, after all.

They sounded like what Frank Zappa raised in a British music hall. Paul McCartney heard them, and would produce some of their music under the name Apollo C. Vermouth. They appeared in the Beatles film Magical Mystery Tour, singing a sleazy striptease song that would inspire another band a few decades down the line.

From their first album “Gorilla” in 1967, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band perform Death Cab for Cutie.

That night Cutie called a cab-Baby don't do itShe left her East Side drum so drab-Baby don't do itShe went out on the townKnowing it would make her lover frown-Death cab for Cutie-Death cab for CutieSomeone's going to make you pay your fare

The cab was racing through the night-Baby don't do itHis eyes in the mirror, keeping Cutie in sight-Baby don't do itWhen he saw Cutie it gave him a thrillDon't you know Baby, curves can kill-Death cab for Cutie-Death cab for CutieSomeone's going to make you pay your fare

Cutie, don't you play with fateDon't leave your lover aloneIf you go out on this dateHis heart will turn to stone

Bad girl Cutie, what have you done-Baby don't do itSlipping sliding down Highway 31-Baby don't do itThe traffic lights changed from green to redThey tried to stop but they both wound up dead-Death cab for Cutie-Death cab for CutieSomeone's going to make you pay your fareSomeone's going to make you pay your fareSomeone's going to make you pay your fareSomeone's going to make you pay your fare

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Neil Innes / Vivian Stanshall

Death Cab for Cutie (2007 Remaster) lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Wixen Music Publishing

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The Charlie Manson-Beach Boys connection begins on a late summer night in 1968, when drummer Dennis Wilson drops a couple of female hitchhikers at his house on Sunset Boulevard, one that was once owned by Will Rogers.

Wilson returned from a recording session at 3 a.m. to find that the girls had invited a dozen friends over, including a strange guy who preached brotherhood and cosmic dribble. Over the next few weeks Wilson was intrigued by Manson’s music, and even took him to producer Terry Melcher’s house on Cielo Drive.

Melcher didn’t care much for it, and the story goes that Manson returned to the house the next year to settle the score. By that time Melcher had moved out and Sharon Tate had moved in. Wilson’s friendship with Manson dissolved over the next year, disintegrating into death threats every time Wilson refused to fork over a thousand or so in spare change.

Part of Manson’s wrath came from a song he wrote called “Cease to Exist.” Dennis liked it, but changed the words around, then dropped Manson’s name from the author credit. Here’s the finished product, Never Learn Not To Love…The Beach Boys sing Charles Manson.

Cease to resist, come on say you love meGive up your world, come on and be with meI'm your kind, I'm your kind, and I see

Come on come on, ooo I love you pretty girlMy life is yours, and you can have my worldI'm your kind, I'm your kind, and I see

Never had a lesson I ever learnedI know I could never learn not to love youCome in now closerCome in closer closer closer ahhhh

Submission is a gift given to anotherLove and understanding is for one anotherI'm your kind, I'm your kind, and I see

Never had a lesson I ever learnedI know I could never learn not to love youCome in now closerCome in closer come in closer ahhhh

Ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhhAhhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahhhhhh

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Dennis C. Wilson

Never Learn Not to Love lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc

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Two decades before MTV and music videos, ABC television carried a weekly musical show for all the hip kids who could talk their parents into watching something in black and white in what was turning into a color television world. Shindig had a Top 40 DJ as the host, a dancer named Terri Garr, and a house band that at one time or another included Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, and Delany Bramlett. The Shindogs were definitely a made for TV band, yet they leave us one great song that is very LA and even got played on the radio. From 1965, The Shindogs and Who Do You Think You Are…

The Shindogs were the house band on the ABC musical variety TV show Shindig! (1964). The band consisted of several legendary blues and rock n’ roll musician/songwriters from the American South. Members were James Burton, Delaney Bramlett, Glen D. Hardin, Chuck Blackwell, and Joey Cooper.

Shindig! was an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O’Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles, who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley, British producer Jack Good, and production executive Art Stolnitz. Shindig! focused on a broader variety of popular music than its predecessor and first aired for a half-hour every Wednesday evening, but was expanded to an hour in January 1965.

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There’s an old saying about country rock. The Byrds invented it, the Flying Burrito Brothers perfected it, and the Eagles took it to the bank. Today a great tune from phase two, the first Burrito Brothers album, The Gilded Palace of Sin. They weren’t really brothers, they weren’t even burritos, but the boys made waves. Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman had been with the Byrds before splitting away to delve deeper into redefining the honky tonk sound complete with long hair and sequins. The duo added pedal steel guitarist "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow and bassist Chris Ethridge to the band and set about recording their debut album with a variety of session drummers. That first album sold 40,000 copies in 1969 and won them global recognition.

Capping off the session was a sentimental ballad based around the events of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, when democracy itself took time out to riot in the streets. How that could become a tear jerker was just a part of the genius of Gram Parsons. The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Hippie Boy.

I was walking down the street the other dayAnd a sight came before my eyesIt was a little hippie boy, I must have been twice his sizeHis appearance typified his strange breedGaudy clothes, long stringy hair hanging downI'd seen perhaps a thousand in my early trips to town

As he walked beside me on down the blockI noticed no unpleasing smellHe might have been on the weed or even LSDBut if he was I couldn't tell

So we walked together that way through this neighborhoodFinally he turned around to meAnd he, he said, "Friend, you know we're a million miles apartBut you know something we can enjoy the sunshine and the weatherSo why don't we put our differences asideAnd just talk to each other?"

"You see this box beneath my armTo you it's plain, it has no charmBut to someone dearest to my heartThis box has played a tragic part"

"This little one can't tell you himself about his life and how he diedBut if anyone else could speak for him, I guess I'm qualifiedThis boy was in Chicago, he didn't know why he was thereHe was with his family and friends and he didn't really care"

"You might have been one of thoseWho saw the struggle there on your television screenThe tragic thing is so much else happenedThat no one else could have seen"

"A stranger handed this boy a dollar to do a simple choreTo carry a package to a nearby hotelAnd when he returned he'd get two moreBut when he came back he sort of lost his wayWalking through the crowdOne of them things you ask yourself, how the Lord allowed"

"But when he was found he was like he is nowDreaming sweet and stillAnd in his little hand was a crumpled dollar billNow, you can take that dollarGet four cents on it, compound it quarterly at any downtown bankSo they can back some hot new tank or atom bomb"

"What I'm gonna tell you now, you can stay or you can leaveYou kind of listened to my story so far, but just one more thingIt's the same for any hippie, bum or hillbilly out on the streetJust remember this little boy and never carry more than you can eatNow, could you help us sing this song, please?"

There will be peace in the valley, for him now we prayI will think of the little hippie boy that way, that way

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Gram Parsons / Chris Hillman

Hippie Boy lyrics © Irving Music, Inc.

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Buster Bloodvessel formed the band Bad Manners in 1976 while he was in school in London. None of the members had any formal music training, they didn’t even know how to play instruments, but they loved the ska movement and that was all that mattered. 

They hit their stride in the early 80s with stunts, like when Buster got them banned from British TV’s Top of the Pops for dressing as Henry VIII, or when he mooned a crowd in Italy only to find out later the Pope was in the audience.  Here are some bad bad boys, recorded live in 1981…Bad Manners with Inner London Violence…

Rude Boy went in handsome hats

Policeman knocking with a rat-a-tat-a-tat

Them bored around the streets at night

They're not looking but they find a fight

I say inner London violence

Policemen coming there's no relief

Even your best friend is a thief

Soon locked up in your council flat

Machine gun go a rat-a-tat-a-tat

I say inner London violence

Hey hey hey

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Bad Manners

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IN 1963 Chicago bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson toured Europe, backed up by a recently formed band called the Yardbirds. The performances were not released until early 1966, after a string of Top 40 hits by the Yardbirds. This was the first incarnation of the legendary group, featuring Eric Clapton on guitar.

Here they are live, recorded at the famed Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, Surry, UK on Dec 8, 1963, Sonny Boy Williamson and the Yardbirds.

BYE BYE BIRD

Yeah, we know these soundsThese sounds belong to one manOne man from Mississippi, USAOne man known as the wizard of the harpOne man known as the menaceAnd his name is Sonny Boy WilliamsonBye bye birdBye bye birdBye bye birdBye bye birdBye bye bird, I'm goneBird, I'm goneBird, I'm goneBird, I'm goneBird, I'm goneI'm gone, (child, you find?)(Back home?)

MR DOWNCHILD

Listen downchildPlease take a fool's adviceListen downchildPlease take a fool's adviceDon't newer let no one womanMan misuse you twice time she smilesSays she don't love no one but youEverytime she smilesSays, she don't love no one but youEverytime she smilesSays, she don't love no one but youYou better watch out buddy boy, little girlLove to drop a chunk on youI tried so hard to not even think about my past lifeI tried so hard even think about my past lifeBecause I don't want to ever ever make a mistake in lifeBaby, I and you could be so happyWe can be so lovin' tonightFrom now on darlingYeah, We can be so happy be so lovey from now onFrom now onBecause if I ever make a mistake in lifeI know I'd ruin my happy home.

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The term “heavy metal” wasn’t being used when Blue Cheer formed in San Francisco in the late 1960s. The power trio’s original personnel, singer/bass guitarist Dickie Peterson, guitarist Leigh Stephens, and drummer Paul Whaley, just knew they wanted their rock and roll loud with lots of feedback. They named themselves not after the laundry detergent, but after a particular variety of LSD devised by underground chemist Owsley Stanley. They are known for a blasting cover of Eddie Cochran’s Summertime Blues, but we’re going to go deeper into their debut album. From 1968’s Vincebus Eruptum Eruptum, this is “Out of Focus” from Blue Cheer.

Alright!A cold, cold darknessAnd past confusionIs quickly callingYeah, all of my illusionsNow won't somebody tell me what's wrongTell me what's wrong with me.From withinThe magic madnessSaid Lord, I could feel deep in my heartA little bit of gladnessNow won't somebody tell me what's wrongTell me what's wrong with me.Won't somebody tell me what's wrongCause Lord, I been searchin'Searchin' so longOh, won't somebodyOh, won't somebodyTell me what's wrong with me.Alright!Won't somebody tell me what's wrongCause Lord, I been searchin'Whoa so goddamn longOh, won't somebodyOh, won't somebodyTell me what's wrong with me.And then from outOf a mystic dreamThere came an angel (What a baby, oh yeah)She spread her wings (Spread 'em babe, Spread it all).Now don't nobody tell me what's wrongTell me what's wrong with me.

Source: LyricFinD Songwriters: Dickie

Out of Focus lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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IAN Whitcomb sounded more like British vaudeville than British invasion. He formed a group called Bluesvillee in Dublin, never really caught on in the UK, but hit #8 on the American pop charts in that golden year of 1965 with a very strange song called “You Really Turn Me On.” Historical footnote, a few people were turning on at that time, but that weren’t using the term yet.

WIKI bio stuff:

Their next record release, again credited as Ian Whitcomb & Bluesville, "You Turn Me On", was largely improvised at the end of a recording session in Dublin. Released as a single on the Tower label, it reached Billboard's number 8 spot in July 1965 – it was the first Irish-produced record to reach the US charts[3] – but did not chart in Britain.[4][6] During his summer vacation in 1965, Whitcomb went to America to appear on such television programs as Shindig, Hollywood A Go-Go and American Bandstand. Whitcomb played the Hollywood Bowl with The Beach Boys in 1965 and then toured with The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, and Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.[3]

"N-E-R-V-O-U-S!", Whitcomb's next release, was recorded in Hollywood and reached No. 59 in Billboard and No. 47 in Cash Box. He returned to Dublin for his history finals and received a BA degree. In 1966 he turned to early popular song: His version of a 1916 Al Jolson comedy number, "Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go with Friday on Saturday Night?" was a West Coast hit, reviving the ukulele before the emergence of Tiny Tim.[7]

After making four albums for the Tower label, Whitcomb retired as a pop performer, later writing that he "wanted no part of the growing pretentiousness of rock with its mandatory drugs and wishy-washy spiritualism and its increasing loud and metallic guitar sounds."[3] However, in 1969 he produced Mae Weston her album called Great Balls of Fire for MGM Records. He then returned to the UK and was commissioned by Penguin Books to write a history of pop music, After the Ball, published in 1972. He appeared on several BBC TV shows and was an early presenter of the BBC show The Old Grey Whistle Testin 1971.[3]

Whitcomb settled in California in the late 1970s. He starred in and wrote L.A.–My Home Town (BBC TV; 1976) and Tin Pan Alley (PBS; 1974). He wrote Tin Pan Alley, A Pictorial History (1919–1939) and a novel, Lotusland: A Story of Southern California, published in 1979. He also provided the music for a documentary film, Bugs Bunny: Superstar (UA), which was narrated by Orson Welles. For Play-Rite Music he cut 18 piano rolls that were included in an album, Pianomelt. His other albums reflected his research into the genres of ragtime, Tin Pan Alley, vaudeville and music hall. These, beginning with Under the Ragtime Moon (1972), were released on several record labels including Warner Bros. Records, United Artists and Decca Records. During that time he also wrote and produced singles for Warner Bros.' country division, most notably "Hands", a massage parlour story, and "A Friend of a Friend of Mine".

In the 1980s Whitcomb published Rock Odyssey: A Chronicle of the Sixties: Ian Whitcomb, a memoir of the 1960s and described by The New York Times as the best personal account of this period. He also published Ragtime America (Limelight Editions, 1988), followed by a memoir of life as a British expatriate in Los Angeles, Resident Alien (Century, 1990). He wrote extensively on music, culture, and books for a diverse range of magazines including Radio Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Daily Telegraph, The London Magazine. He produced a British documentary on black music, Legends of Rhythm and Blues (part of the series Repercussions, made by Third Eye Productions for Channel Four in 1984).[3] He also hosted a radio show in Los Angeles for 15 years, taking the program from KROQ-FM to KCRW and finally to KPCC-FM.[8]

He continued recording, producing a series of CD collections: Treasures of Tin Pan Alley, Al Jolson songs, and Titanic- Music As Heard On The Fateful Voyage. His liner notes were nominated for a Grammy. His songs are heard in the films Bloody Movie (1987), Cold Sassy Tree (1989), Encino Man (1992), Grass(1999), Man of the Century (1999), Stanley's Gig (2000), After the Storm (2001), The Cat's Meow (2002), Last Call (2002), Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes (2002), Lonesome Jim (2005) and Fido (2006).

We lost Whitcomb at the age of 78 in 2020, not from Covid but from complications following a stroke in 2012. For his entire life he remained a champion of music, a scholar of vinyl and rare recordings, and a showman in the classic sense.

And it’s pretty difficult to not smile when you hear his signature tune.

Come on now honey, you know you really turn me onCome on now honey, you know you really turn me onAnd when, and when you doUh huh, huh, huh, uh, uh, that's my song

Come on now baby, come on and do the jerk with meCome on now honey, come on and do the jerk with meAnd if, if you doUh huh, huh, huh, uh, uh, that's my song

Come on now baby, you know you really turn me on, ahCome on now honey, you know you really turn me on, ah, yeahAnd when, and when you doUh huh, huh, huh, uh, uh, that's my songLet's go!

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Flashback and throwback to 1971 when one of rock and roll’s favorite couples celebrated birth with an album called Sunfighter. Paul Kantner and Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane fame named their daughter China and put her on the cover of the album, being held in the sunset of a blood red ocean.

I think it’s pretty amazing that rock and roll has been telling us for 50 years and more how we are wasting the planet, how we are running through all our resources, how everything in the future is going to be screwed up. Rock and roll was right!

The album itself was rank with themes of overcrowding and greed. Here’s the leadoff song, that includes the line “where are the bodies for dinner, I want my food.” Silver Spoon, from Paul Kantner and Grace Slick.

Throw down all yourSilver spoonsEat all of the raw meatWith your hands

Pick it up piece by piecePick it up piece by piecePick it up piece by piece

Where are the bodies for dinner?I want my food!

What if you were starving to deathAnd the only food you had was meWhat would you say to the cannibal questionWould your answer be perfectly free?

My old mama told you never to eat your friendsWith your fingers and handsBut I say you ought to eat what you willShove it in your mouth any way that you can

You think that I will come to your mouthLooking for a homeBut I get stuck sideways in your throatLike a good old chicken bone

Where are the bodies for dinner?I want my food!

Stay out the kitchen childrenThe cook is cleaning his gunHe just got back from the open marketShooting his food on the run

My old mama told you never to eat your friendsWith your fingers and handsBut I say you ought to eat what you willShove it in your mouth any way that you can

Sharpen your teeth for the family feastLet all the hungry drool roll down your chinHide the human and bring out the beastLet all the animal games begin!

Where, a-where are the bodies for dinner?I want my food!

You could leave to dine on your friendsPour their bones into a cannibal soupMuscles like steak and blood like wineSave the brains to feed to troops

Hey, your mama told you never to eat your friendsWith your fingers and handsBut I say you ought to eat what you willShove it in your mouth any way that you can

Scarlet juices oozing slowBoiling in a human seaIs it human dinner you're talking about?Then slice me tender raw and lean

Where, where are the bodies for dinner?I want my food!

Oily fingers can hardly waitBodies slumped, face in plateWake up the drunks, the coffers onThe fourteenth course has come and gone

Why so longAll day suckerI want your candyYour candy has come and goneAnd its left youWith your mouth wide openJust hummingCannibal songsCannibal songs

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Grace Slick

Silver Spoon lyrics © Mole Music Co

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EXTRA

Silver Spoon by BTS

They call me 뱁새욕봤지 이 세대?빨리, chase 'em황새 덕에 내 가랑인 탱탱

So call me 뱁새욕봤지 이 세대?빨리, chase 'em금수저로 태어난 내 선생님

알바 가면 열정페이학교 가면 선생님상사들은 행패언론에선 맨날 몇 포 세대

룰 바꿔, change, change황새들은 원해, 원해 maintain그렇게는 안 되지, bang, bang이건 정상이 아냐, 이건 정상이 아냐

아, 노력, 노력 타령 좀 그만둬아, 오그라들어, 내 두 손발도아, 노력, 노력, 아, 노력, 노력아, 노랗구나 싹수가 (역시 황새!)

노력 타령 좀 그만둬아, 오그라들어, 내 두 손발도아, 노력, 노력, 아, 노력, 노력아, 노랗구나 싹수가

실망 안 시켜(역시 황새야) 이름 값 하네(역시 황새야) 다 해 먹어라(역시 황새야) 황새야

They call me 뱁새욕봤지 이 세대?빨리, chase 'em황새 덕에 내 가랑인 탱탱

So call me 뱁새욕봤지 이 세대?빨리, chase 'em금수저로 태어난 내 선생님

난 뱁새 다리 넌 황새 다리걔넨 말하지 "내 다린 백만 불짜리"내게 짧은데 어찌 같은 종목 하니?They say "똑같은 초원이면 괜찮잖니!"(Never, never, never)

룰 바꿔, change, change황새들은 원해, 원해 maintain그렇게는 안 되지, bang, bang이건 정상이 아냐, 이건 정상이 아냐

아, 노력, 노력 타령 좀 그만둬아, 오그라들어, 내 두 손발도아, 노력, 노력, 아, 노력, 노력아, 노랗구나 싹수가 (역시 황새!)

노력 타령 좀 그만둬아, 오그라들어, 내 두 손발도아, 노력, 노력, 아, 노력, 노력아, 노랗구나 싹수가 (역시 황새야)

내 탓이라니? 너 농담이지공평하다니? Oh, are you crazy?이게 정의라니? You, you must be kiddin' me!You must be kiddin' me, you, you, must be kiddin' me!

아, 노력, 노력 타령 좀 그만둬아, 오그라들어, 내 두 손발도아, 노력, 노력, 아, 노력, 노력아, 노랗구나 싹수가 (역시 황새!)

노력 타령 좀 그만둬아, 오그라들어, 내 두 손발도아, 노력, 노력, 아, 노력, 노력아, 노랗구나 싹수가

실망 안 시켜(우린 뱁새야) 이름값 하네(우린 뱁새야) 같이 살자고(우린 뱁새야) 뱁새야

They call me 뱁새욕봤지 이 세대?빨리, chase 'em황새 덕에 내 가랑인 탱탱

So call me 뱁새욕봤지 이 세대?빨리, chase 'em금수저로 태어난 내 선생님

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Ho Weon Kang / Dong Hyuk Shin / Namjun Kim / Do Hyung Kwon

Silver Spoon lyrics © Hybe Co. Ltd.

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Janis Ian was the daughter of a music teacher born in New York City in 1951. Influenced by aritists such as Odetta and Billie Holiday, she started writing music at age 12. At age 15 she legally emancipated herself from her parents, then wrote a song about interracial romance while waiting for her school counselor. Society’s Child was released three times between 1965 and 1967. The subject matter was a little too strong for some radio stations, but when conductor Leonard Bernstein discovered the song and put Ian on his television show, the world changed for both the singer and the song. Here’s Janis Ian, from 1967, and “Society’s Child.”

Come to my door, baby, face is clean and shining black as nightMy mother went to answer, you know that you looked so fineNow I could understand your tears and your shameShe called you "boy" instead of your nameWhen she wouldn't let you insideWhen she turned and said, "but honey, he's not our kind"She says I can't see you anymore, babyCan't see you anymoreWalk me down to school, baby, everybody's acting deaf and blindUntil they turn and say, "Why don't you stick to your own kind?"My teachers all laugh, their smirking staresCutting deep down in our affairsPreachers of equalityThink they believe it, then why won't they just let us be?They say I can't see you anymore, babyCan't see you anymoreOne of these days I'm gonna stop my listening, gonna raise my head up highOne of these days I'm gonna raise my glistening wings and flyBut that day will have to wait for a whileBaby, I'm only society's childWhen we're older things may changeBut for now this is the way they must remainI say I can't see you anymore, babyCan't see you anymoreNo, I don't wanna see you anymore, baby…

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Decades have a tendency to hang on for a little. The 60s waited almost 4 years to get started. But if anything the 80s not only started on time, one might argue they were geared up and ready to blow (Siri change that to “go”) in late 1978, definitely 1979. But The Vapors were right on time in 1980. And they are ready for you to visit any time.

“Turning Japanese” from The Vapors are more Surrey Pop than J-Pop. Nothing gets lost in translation.

Singles. One story. One song. One round trip.

Turning Japanese THE VAPORS

I've got your picture of me and youYou wrote "I love you", I wrote "Me too"I sit there staring and there's nothing else to doOh, it's in color, your hair is brownYour eyes are hazel and soft as cloudsI often kiss you when there's no one else around

I've got your picture, I've got your pictureI'd like a million of ya over myselfI want a doctor to take your pictureSo I can look at you from inside as well

You've got me turning up and turning downAnd turning in and turning 'round

I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think so

I've got your picture, I've got your pictureI'd like a million of them over myselfI want a doctor to take your pictureSo I can look at you from inside as well

You've got me turning up and turning downAnd turning in and turning 'round

I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think so

No sex, no drugs, no wine, no womenNo fun, no sin, no you, no wonder it's darkEveryone around me is a total strangerEveryone avoids me like a psyched Lone RangerEveryone

That's why I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think so

Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think soTurning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think so (think so, think so, think so)Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning JapaneseI really think so

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: David Fenton

Turning Japanese lyrics © Emi Music Publishing Ltd

If you are tuned into YouTube, consider subscribing. If you have a comment or request, leave it as a comment. I’ve started a playlist with the singles so you could play or shuffle anytime.

Many of the Old School archives are on YouTube. Through Spotify or Apple, search Retrofit Old School. And thank you!

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For the double album LOVE IS, Eric Burdon and the New Animals opened with a cosmic go at a mysterious two-year-old classic.

The stories around the original Phil Spector production of “River Deep, Mountain High” are true horror show.

Take after take in serious LA Gold Star studio heat. No air conditioning. Phil swore he could hear it in his porcelain bowl size headphones. Tina tossed her shirt and sang a few hundred takes in her bra. Wrecking Crew wrecked. Confusion, clashing personalities (especially Phil and Ike Turner), and Dennis Hopper snapping pictures.

For Eric Burdon’s version, also recorded in LA, he decided it was all about Tina Turner.

Enjoy. It’s a long song, plenty of time to subscribe to the Old School You Tube Channel.

River Deep, Mountain High When you were a young girlDid you have a rag dollThe only doll you ever ownedWell you can treat meThe way you used to treat that rag dollBut hurry up cause I'm gettin' oldAnd I get older baby, day by dayAnd it gets stronger baby, let me sayAnd it goes deeper baby,Than you'll ever knowStand back baby, and watch my love growAnd do I love you, my oh myRiver deep, mountain highIf I lost you would I cryBet your life, babyWhen you were a young girlDid you have a puppyThat always followed you aroundWell you can treat meThe way you used to treat that puppy, babyI swear I'll never put you down, no I won'tAnd I get thankful baby, in every wayAnd it gets less painful baby, let me sayAnd I'm gonna love you every night and dayLook out baby, my love way is comin' your wayYes it isAnd do I love you my oh myRiver deep, mountain highAnd if I lost you would I cryBet your life, babyI love you baby like a flower needs the springI love you baby like Aretha Franklin needs to singAnd I love you baby like a schoolboy loves his pieI love you baby, river deep, mountain highWell take it higher, higher

By Phil Spector, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich

Trivia: The “New Animals” featured Andy Summers, late of Soft Machine and nine years before he joined The Police.

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“THIS IS A TEST…this is only a test.”

Officially OLD SCHOOL SINGLES is a new section on the Retrofit newsletter. Hopefully you’ve been checking out the long form Old School episodes, which will continue, they are just more of a giant Tetris and AI can’t quite do them yet. But I’m sure where there is hope there is a “Sugary Sleep Baroque Playlist for Dreaming” full of Boccherini and electronic riptides hatching somewhere as easily as the sparks that hotwired the great turtle Fords and Chevys Neal Cassady’s rode to Central City. They turned the engines, then powered the AM radios that gifted the soundtracks of generations. Chrome and cowboy boot kicked, thumping metal dashboard war radios which are now about to become things of the past.

But the music goes on.

So many great songs that I run across flashes of brilliance, discovery, power chords, and nonsense on a daily basis. SINGLES is a way to shine the light on solitary tunes designed for the short attention spans, the five or six minute drives, the typical commercial breaks, whatever ever reason you may be needing a handful of seconds for filler that sound so much better than sped up lists of side effects.

As usual, these will show up first in Substack, the newsletter you are reading which you can subscribe to for free and see them show up slightly more regularly than the behemoth-a-thons, although those won’t go away. Professor Mikey continues to deep dive into a half century of records and CDs.

Old School SINGLES should show around podcast sites so you should see them on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and whatever place works for your podcasts. That’s why I need to run a test at this stage.

And new to the list is the Professor Mikey’s Old School channel on YouTube. It’s like running a rock station on Mars from here, but it’s kind of fun.

Thanks so much for listening and having put in some serious detention in this creaky and getting older by the minute school. I’ll explain more later.

A subscribe on YouTube would definitely help. I like to play good requests and learning about new old bands is such a kick. I think it’s so cool that vinyl refused to die. This is fun working under the pretext of education. And the web is the weirdest radio ever.

I can’t tell you how to fix a toilet or drywall, but I can find a song you once loved the best, or one you can’t believe you missed, or one you just need to hear to help put the pieces together on the great and wonderful puzzle of joy we know as music.

So we start at the end with Elliott Murphy’s epic vision “The Last of the Rock Stars” (1973). I have no idea what it did on the charts or how it went over in Milwaukee but I do know it confronts like Dylan and takes you elsewhere. Probably on a motorcycle. Probably with a guitar. And definitely with a harmonica.

And it’s just a single.

“Had this been an actual alert…”

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Hey Old School enrollees! Welcome to a special abridged edition of Old School #47 Raining on Prom Night. This was designed for those who don’t think they have 100 min to devote to a 1961 soggy prom experience, and for YouTube, where the bots are working overtime blocking entire episodes over copyright issues.

Without preaching, DJs are having a tough time in this digital age not because they are trying to rip off the musical artists they enjoy, but because so many publishing houses have blocked certain songs. Artists are the last people to get paid, and that goes triple for DJs, who love and want to promote the music. I’ll preach on this another time, but this version contains all cleared songs.

It’s a maze out there. Many tunes are blocked from Russia, like that’s going to have an effect on their senseless war on Ukraine. I’m fine with that.

Most songs, especially the old ones I play for people who want to remember the old days, and even bigger for young people who want to piece together the threads they are weaving for their own journey of music discovery, have been sucked up in long ago massive deals that left artists as well as publishers without residuals or claim to the music that came from their hearts.

YouTube is caught up in this silliness. You’ll find 50 versions of Johnny Angel by Shelly Fabres posted by Joe Blow and Winning For Old Farts and god knows whoevre else on YouTube, but when Professor Mikey puts it in an Old School it causes the whole show to be banned like a kid’s book in Florida.

So enjoy this show. YouTube gets far more exposure than Substack, and I’m trying to cast a wide net here. Back up one newsletter if you want the whole episode, or better yet tune in on your favorite podcast developer Spotify and Apple, who want to make sure the descendants of Shelly and her Angel Big Poppa get a check for 58 cents this year.

Bongos!

—The Rest here is from the original post in case you missed it.

FOR a beat down of pure syrupy nostalgia, there’s nothing like an Old School prom night. Unless it’s an old basketball court gymnasium prom night. Or a Kiwanis Hall.

Everyone is in their teens which means they will never look better. Small town princesses in their royal gowns, awkward guys all greased back and stiff in their rented tuxedos. Becoming a grownup is a mystery just a few miles down the road.

Maybe if the music glides into romantic and dreamy, things might slow down a bit. The lights go low, the geometry teacher can’t see how close you are dancing.

Before the limo arrives, the weather does its thing. It starts raining on prom night. Windshield wipers swipe back and forth, spreading droplet jewels before more fall. Uncomfortable but flashy dancing shoes go splashy through the puddle. Inside you can hear the Thunder under the Marshals and the Fenders.

The rain is falling, the night is calling, some of the corsages have been in the freezers for close to 70 years. Much of this predates classic rock. So I guess it’s Baroque. It’s definitely romantic. And it’s coming down cats and dogs.

Prom culture, like teen culture, has not stood still. For this playlist we hover pretty much around the late Fifties into the early Sixties. The oldest song is from 1952, but it has such staying power it was required on prom setlists for over 20 years.

A couple of modern tunes from 1966 are present, just to keep the sass in tact. But mostly the prom sweet spot coincides with the peak years for doowop, a genre that takes to the floor after the Blues and just ahead of Soul.

The greatest hits of Doowop were associated with Proms at one time or another. Heartfelt love songs that drifted through dreamy harmonies. All the sweetness and tenderness that true love can inspire in the poetry of an uncertain era. The importance of Doowop is a big chapter in any popular music history. Tonight however we are in love with the possibilities of everything working out just right for ever and ever.

NEW SCHOOL PROM FILLER

A girl usually tries on 10 dresses before she finds the perfect prom ensemble! Corsages were meant for the waist! Teens usually spend $1,500 on their prom including tickets, limo, dresses, and flowers! 62% of prom-goers take home memorabilia to remember their prom night 15% of girls see prom as equal importance as their wedding Prom Industry earns about $4 Billion each year! The average prom proposal costs $325 Most girls shop for their dress 3 months before their prom. Source: Ambassador Limousines

Weird Prom Factoid

In 1975 Susan Ford (President Gerald Ford’s daughter) invited her peers to the White House to have their prom! Her father was not in the states that night so the Secret Service took it upon themselves to be the chaperones. It was held in the East Room. Once the night was over the students went on the Presidential yacht and cruised underneath the stars!

But there’s still a dozen or maybe two dozen (its really dark in here) couples, and this is serious heartfelt intoxicating busy time. The DJ shuts up, the only music that’s going to work for the up close and personal is one long dreamy set of heaven snt Doo Wop. The flamingoes have wet feathers because it’s still raining on prom night.

The Program

Walking in the Rain THE RONETTES

Crying in the Rain THE EVERLY BROTHERS

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation MARTY ROBBINS

At the Hop DANNY AND THE JUNIORS

Loillipop THE CHORDETT

7 Little Girls Sitting in the Back Seat THE AVONS

Born Too Late THE PONI-TAILS

WIshin’ and Hopin’ DUSTY SPRINGFIELD

Popsicles and Icicles THE MURMAIDS

It Might As Well Rain Until September CAROLE KING

Teenager’s Romance RICKY NELSON

Johnny Angel SHELLEY FABRES

Venus FRANKIE AVALON

Rhapsody in the Rain LOU CHRISTIE

Rumble LINK WRAY

He’s a Rebel THE CRYSTALS

Chico’s Girl THE GIRLS

Angel Baby ROSIE AND THE ORIGINALS

Hurt TIMI YURO

Nothing Takes the Place of You TOUSSAINT McCALL

I Love How You Love Me THE PARIS SISTERS

All These Things THE UNIQUES

I Only Have Eyes for You THE FLAMINGOS

Once Upon a Time ROCHELL AND THE CANDLES

In the Still of the Night THE FIVE SATINS

Tonight Tonight The Meello Kings

There’s a Moon Out Tonight THE CAPRIS

Remember THE EARLS

The Angels Listened In THE CRESTS

You Belong to Me THE DUPREES 1962

Eddi My Love THE CHORDETTES

Come Softly To Me THE FLEETWOODS

I Love You So THE CHANTELS

Ebb Tide THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS

For Your Precious Love THE IMPRESSIONS

For Your Love ED TROWNSEND

It’s Raining On Prom Night CINDY BULLINS from GREASDE

Blue Moon THE MARCELS

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FOR a beat down of pure syrupy nostalgia, there’s nothing like an Old School prom night. Unless it’s an old basketball court gymnasium prom night. Or a Kiwanis Hall.

Everyone is in their teens which means they will never look better. Small town princesses in their royal gowns, awkward guys all greased back and stiff in their rented tuxedos. Becoming a grownup is a mystery just a few miles down the road.

Maybe if the music glides into romantic and dreamy, things might slow down a bit. The lights go low, the geometry teacher can’t see how close you are dancing.

Before the limo arrives, the weather does its thing. It starts raining on prom night. Windshield wipers swipe back and forth, spreading droplet jewels before more fall. Uncomfortable but flashy dancing shoes go splashy through the puddle. Inside you can hear the Thunder under the Marshals and the Fenders.

The rain is falling, the night is calling, some of the corsages have been in the freezers for close to 70 years. Much of this predates classic rock. So I guess it’s Baroque. It’s definitely romantic. And it’s coming down cats and dogs.

Prom culture, like teen culture, has not stood still. For this playlist we hover pretty much around the late Fifties into the early Sixties. The oldest song is from 1952, but it has such staying power it was required on prom setlists for over 20 years.

A couple of modern tunes from 1966 are present, just to keep the sass in tact. But mostly the prom sweet spot coincides with the peak years for doowop, a genre that takes to the floor after the Blues and just ahead of Soul.

The greatest hits of Doowop were associated with Proms at one time or another. Heartfelt love songs that drifted through dreamy harmonies. All the sweetness and tenderness that true love can inspire in the poetry of an uncertain era. The importance of Doowop is a big chapter in any popular music history. Tonight however we are in love with the possibilities of everything working out just right for ever and ever.

NEW SCHOOL PROM FILLER

A girl usually tries on 10 dresses before she finds the perfect prom ensemble! Corsages were meant for the waist! Teens usually spend $1,500 on their prom including tickets, limo, dresses, and flowers! 62% of prom-goers take home memorabilia to remember their prom night 15% of girls see prom as equal importance as their wedding Prom Industry earns about $4 Billion each year! The average prom proposal costs $325 Most girls shop for their dress 3 months before their prom. Source: Ambassador Limousines

Weird Prom Factoids

In 1975 Susan Ford (President Gerald Ford’s daughter) invited her peers to the White House to have their prom! Her father was not in the states that night so the Secret Service took it upon themselves to be the chaperones. It was held in the East Room. Once the night was over the students went on the Presidential yacht and cruised underneath the stars!

But there’s still a dozen or maybe two dozen (its really dark in here) couples, and this is serious heartfelt intoxicating busy time. The DJ shuts up, the only music that’s going to work for the up close and personal is one long dreamy set of heaven snt Doo Wop. The flamingoes have wet feathers because it’s still raining on prom night.

The Program

Walking in the Rain THE RONETTES

Crying in the Rain THE EVERLY BROTHERS

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation MARTY ROBBINS

At the Hop DANNY AND THE JUNIORS

Loillipop THE CHORDETT

7 Little Girls Sitting in the Back Seat THE AVONS

Born Too Late THE PONI-TAILS

WIshin’ and Hopin’ DUSTY SPRINGFIELD

Popsicles and Icicles THE MURMAIDS

It Might As Well Rain Until September CAROLE KING

Teenager’s Romance RICKY NELSON

Johnny Angel SHELLEY FABRES

Venus FRANKIE AVALON

Rhapsody in the Rain LOU CHRISTIE

Rumble LINK WRAY

He’s a Rebel THE CRYSTALS

Chico’s Girl THE GIRLS

Angel Baby ROSIE AND THE ORIGINALS

Hurt TIMI YURO

Nothing Takes the Place of You TOUSSAINT McCALL

I Love How You Love Me THE PARIS SISTERS

All These Things THE UNIQUES

I Only Have Eyes for You THE FLAMINGOS

Once Upon a Time ROCHELL AND THE CANDLES

In the Still of the Night THE FIVE SATINS

Tonight Tonight The Meello Kings

There’s a Moon Out Tonight THE CAPRIS

Remember THE EARLS

The Angels Listened In THE CRESTS

You Belong to Me THE DUPREES 1962

Eddi My Love THE CHORDETTES

Come Softly To Me THE FLEETWOODS

I Love You So THE CHANTELS

Ebb Tide THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS

For Your Precious Love THE IMPRESSIONS

For Your Love ED TROWNSEND

It’s Raining On Prom Night CINDY BULLINS from GREASDE

Blue Moon THE MARCELS

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The Beatles released Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on June 1, 1967. The Summer of Love was on. It literally blasted out of every car, every house, every apartment, all summer long. It defied description. It was rock, it was circus music. It was pub music. It was a raga. It was symphonic, it was unhinged. It came from Liverpool, from India, it came from the sky with diamonds.

Chances are it resides in your collection in more than one form. Capitol vinyl, Apple vinyl, 8-track, 4-track, cassette, reel to reel, CD, picture disc, bootleg, boxed set, wav file, mp3, mp4, FLAC. If it holds recorded sound, there is copy of Sgt Pepper.

One of the more unusual facts is that it is one of the few record albums that has had every song it contains covered by another artist. More than one artist, I’m thinking of Cheap Trick in particular, issued their own version.

The Beatles spent an unprecedented four months and $100,000 on their new album, “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band” (Capitol SMAS 2653, mono and stereo). Like fathers-to-be, they kept a close watch on each stage of its gestation. For they are no longer merely superstars. Hailed as progenitors of a Pop avant garde, they have been idolized as the most creative members of their generation. The pressure to create an album that is complex, profound and innovative must have been staggering. So they retired to the electric sanctity of their recording studio, dispensing with their adoring audience, and the shrieking inspiration it can provide.

The finished product reached the record racks last week; the Beatles had supervised even the album cover — a mind-blowing collage of famous and obscure people, plants and artifacts. The 12 new compositions in the album are as elaborately conceived as the cover. The sound is a pastiche of dissonance and lushness. The mood is mellow, even nostalgic. But, like the cover, the over-all effect is busy, hip and cluttered.

Like an over-attended child “Sergeant Pepper” is spoiled. It reeks of horns and harps, harmonica quartets, assorted animal noises and a 91-piece orchestra. On at least one cut, the Beatles are not heard at all instrumentally. Sometimes this elaborate musical propwork succeeds in projecting mood. The “Sergeant Pepper” theme is brassy and vaudevillian. “She’s Leaving Home,” a melodramatic domestic saga, flows on a cloud of heavenly strings. And, in what is becoming a Beatle tradition, George Harrison unveils his latest excursion into curry and karma, to the saucy accompaniment of three tambouras, a dilruba, a tabla, a sitar, a table harp, three cellos and eight violins.

—New York Times, June 18, 1967

Today though, Old School presents the complete Sgt Pepper with each song recorded by a different band. It is not only a testament to the broad appeal of the Beatles, its also a great lesson how different a cover version can become, especially when the cover artist is trying to make a unique and personal statement with music that is stamped onto everybody’s brain.

It’s an alternate universe version of the most famous work from an act you’ve known for all these years. Picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies, and please don’t text while reading the news today oh boy.

A signed copy of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has been bought at auction in the US for $290,500 (£191,000). The selling price far exceeded the $30,000 (£19,700) originally estimated for the rare LP record.

Old School presents Sgt Peppers Only Covered Hearts Club Band!

Side one…

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE With a Little Help from My Friends JOE COCKER Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds WILLIAM SHATNER Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds MERCURY REV Getting Better GOMEZ Fixing a Hole CHEAP TRICK She’s Leaving Home RICHIE HAVENS Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite EDDIE IZZARD

Side Two…

Within You Without You SONIC YOUTH When I’m Sixty-Four JOHN DENVER Lovely Rita FATS DOMINO Good Morning Good Morning THE TRIFFIDS Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) EASY STAR ALL STAR A Day in the Life THE FALL Bonus A Day in the Life WES MONTGOMERY@ PLUS Super Secret Hidden Mystery Track 💿

And the pressure of performing the capper, A Day in the Life, fell on The Fall. It also came from the 1988 compilation Sgt Pepper Knew My Father, which comes up anytime the conversation gets around to Beatle and specifically Sgt Pepper Covers. It was assembled by the British New Musical Express to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the original, and to raise money for the charity Childline.

I’ll get a good link for the collection and put that, along with the other songs you heard on this edition of Old School, and put up a playlist on the YouTube Channel which you can find globally except in Russia and Belarus at Professor Mikey’s Old School.

I hope you enjoyed Old School # 46 Sgt Peppers Only Covered Hearts Club Band. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free, and it also comes in my handy newsletter where you can subscribe at Retrofit.Substack.Com

This podcast is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976.

Join me next time on Old School where it is always open enrollment and there is no co pay unless you really want to.

Like all Beatle songs, they sound better when you hear the original. There are some stellar covers, as we heard today. We would have closed the show today with this version of A Day in the Life, but missing out on the words might have blown our minds out in a car. So here is the fabulous jazz version which takes the original out of the London fog and sets it down on the night beach at Malibu. It’s by Wes Montgomery.

Thanks for listening to Old School! See you next time.

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This title may be a bit off putting, but it is there for a reason. Just by listening to our favorite music from the latter half of the 20th century, we know times have changed.

Most of these songs were recorded in a time when our country had more people than guns. That isn't the case today, and that fact alone makes some of this seem more distant than it really is.

Guns in music are as old as war itself. There was a patriotic glorification that might made right and when the chips were down the guns were drawn.

As the years progressed after World War II, a gun might get pulled in a song about the Old West. The sounds of gunfire might make for a dance beat later on. But as the world changed the role of guns in our music took on a more ominous presence.

There's no politicizing here, just facts about the music and the times they were presented. We are even going to start with a funny song about a guy who's wife is gunning for him because she caught him out drinking beer.

Stick with it if you can. We learn a lot about ourselves by the times in which we live, and the soundtrack only reflects the reality.

So take cover, here comes A high caliber playlist that takes aim on a subject that will break your heart, as the Rolling Stones will soon tell you. Lets start off with a bang as the Japan Ground Self Defence Force Eastern Army Band presents a banging conclusion to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, complete with real M101 105 millimeter Howitzers.

From out of the west, Marty Robbins and big iron gene Pitney with the theme song to the John Wayne Jimmy Stewart classic the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Sting hung his head in 1996. A big hit for Johnny Cash in 1958 is a good lesson for all, don’t take your guns to town which transcends us from the old west in to the new West.

Harry Chapin was savaged by the critics for what you are about to hear.

No singer/songwriter, not even Rod McKuen, apotheosizes romantic self-pity with such shameless vulgarity. Not only does Chapin write about it obsessively, he will, at a moment's notice, trash his own lumpish songs by bawling in a voice that is both ear-splitting and off-pitch. The most that I can say for this kind of wretched excess is that it is impossible for one to remain emotionally neutral to it. Chapin has the courage of his convictions, and the sheer insistency with which he advertises his case of emotional diarrhea does carry some energy and invoke some sympathy.

— Stephen Holden, Rolling Stone

Artistic choices are made in specific times, and when Chapin recorded Sniper for his second album release in 1972, society wasn’t being held hostage by an inevitable next mass shooting. Chapin’s song refers to the events in Austin Texas of Aug 1, 1966.

A 25-year-old Ex-Marine sharpshooter began the day by murdering his wife and mother with a knife. From there he lugged seven legally purchased guns and a machete in two foot lockers to the University of Texas campus. He fatally shot 3 people in the university’s main building, then made his way up 28 stories to the clock tower observation deck. In 96 minutes he killed eleven more while wounding 31 others before he was shot dead by Austin police. At the time the shocking even was viewed as a an American tragedy. We know now it was only a preamble.

Harry Chapin’s subjects for his story songs were often victims of bad timing and missed opportunities. Harry was a good guy, and his best song was about a father who wished he had spent more time playing catch with his son. He was a humanitarian and a key participant in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977. He died at 38 in a car accident.

As it stands Sniper is a horror story of over the top misplaced empathy. Historical note, the victims in the song have fictional names, and Harry doesn’t give the snipers name.

The first school shooting of the modern era occurred at the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego on Jan 29 1979x. A bored 16 year old who lived across the street from the school barricaded herself in her home and opened fire as parents arrived to pick up their kids at the end of the school day. Brenda Spencer killed the principal and a custodian while wounding a police officer and eight children. When a reporter asked her why she did it she delivered her now famous reply. “I Don’t Like Mondays.”

” Years after she said she didn’t remember saying it, then wrote an eerie note to Bob Geldolf of the Boomtown Rats, thanking him for making her famous. Her sentence was life with the possibility of parole after 25 years. She just turned 61, still in prison, up for parole in 2025.

Warren Zevon with the story of Roland the Headless Thompson gunner. A mercenary who lost his head in pursuit of his goals, but kept right on firing.

Today’s Old School Podcast was called Gunfusion. Most of these songs were cautionary tales about firearms, recorded in a time before things got completely out of hand. It’s fascinating to think many listeners heard these powerful tunes for the first time. Situations are never hopeless, scenarios are never inevitable. Listen to this whenever you need comfort or noise, then maybe save it on a hard drive or in a time capsule. Check back in ten years and see what happened.

This podcast was produced for educational purposes. The music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976.

Please share if it feels right, and remember to subscribe to my free newsletter at Retrofit.Substack.com. You can find the Old School podcast there as well as on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

Click HERE for the YouTube Video Playlist that includes all the podcast songs plus rarities, vinyls and video.

Bang Bang NANCY SINATRA (1966) Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) THE ROLLING STONES (1973) Saturday Night Special LYNYRD SKYNYRD (1975) Stagger Lee LLOYD PRICE (1959) Shotgun JR WALKER AND THE ALL STARS (1965) Hey Joe THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE (1966) In Search of Little Sadie BOB DYLAN (1970)Shotgun Willie WILLIE NELSON (1973) Pistol Packin’ Mama BING CROSBY & THE ANDREWS SISTERS (1943)Big Iron MARTY ROBBINS (1959)Ballad of the Well Known Gun ELTON JOHN (1972)(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance GENE PITNEYI Hung My Head STING (1996)Don’t Take Your Guns to Town JOHNNY CASH (1958)Sniper - HARRY CHAPIN (1972)Gun GIL SCOTT-HERON (1981)Millie Pulled a Gun on Santa Claus DE LA SOUL (1991)Janie’s Got a Gun AEROSMITH (1989)I Don’t Like Mondays THE BOOMTOWN RATS (1979)Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner WARREN ZEVON (1978)Tommy Gun THE CLASH (1978)

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Professor Mikey blew through the one year anniversary of the Old School podcast just as attendance was picking up with more podcast subscribers and the all new YouTube Channel. So now we have the rad but delightful situation of new listeners wanting older episodes.

Hence the first Old School Redux. This one combines the first three episode from way back in early 2022. I started with short episodes until I figured out what I was doing. I’m still on that road. Of course you can navigate back to those first three baby steps on Substack, but this one gives you a chance to hear them in one commute with out having to go clicky crazy.

Enjoy, subscribe, rock on!

Sincerely,

Professor Mikey

OLD SCHOOL #1 Are You Ready?

Pacific Gas & Electric 1970, Mink DeVille 1980, The Shangri-Las 1965

Introducing a new Retrofit podcast feature straight from the Old School!

This show began as a one-song one-off crafted for college radio audiences as well as truants. These listeners craved the deep dope that reeked of obscurity and cool. From the funky halls of this way back institution you could be the first kid on your block to hear something from 40 years ago that rang with spirit and originality. Or perhaps there’s a sample in it that collected mold on the sound shelf until a master DJ dripped it from a beaker into a beat track.

Scholars and Professor Find Musical Common Ground

For the podcast version of Old School, the plan is to tell short stories about two or three songs, then actually play these rare wonders in real time. Radical, right? It’s all done in the name of music education. Total class time: around 12 minutes but since I get to write the rules I’m keeping them short.

The sound closet I’m pulling from covers over 50 years and is stacked with albums, CDs, cassettes, videos, reel-to-reels. Lots of genres, scattered promos, unintentional rarities, lost vinyl that hasn’t felt a needle in decades. It’s an expanding universe.

The Retrofit newsletter continues with articles, photos, and other feature podcasts. The Old School podcasts will arrive in your mailboxes just as your newsletters do. Hopefully it will be that surprise bolt of inspiration from the Fifties through the Nineties you were needing.

Thanks for tuning in and please oh please share with friends! This is how your desert island joint gets found bobbing around in the podcast ocean.

You can subscribe to it as you do your other podcasts and it will show up in that cue. In case you want to hear them in sequence or whatever.

The goal is to keep it surprising and lively, to offer a take as to why the work was created, and why it didn’t make the standard forever cemetary hit lists. It’s not a countdown or programming based on sales. Please comment, offer suggestions, and send Professor Mikey on scavenger hunts into the unknown.

Once again, we open the Old School, the detention hall of the forgotten, the obscure, the unknown, the diamonds in the rust!

Are you Reddy?

This week on our first Old School podcast!

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OLD SCHOOL #2 Hold On to Your Lunacy

Here’s another edition of Old School which dropped for the first time on Retrofit yesterday. This week while we introduce this new podcast feature the Professor Mikey lesson plan calls for an episode a day Tues-Fri then take Super Bowl Weekend off!

No real schedule is set, it’s pretty much play and see, but at least once or twice a week sounds about right. Thoughts? Lemme know.

Hold on to Your Life PSYCHOTIC PINEAPPLE

Subscribed

Janitor of Lunacy NICO

Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby? BUSTER BROWN

OLD SCHOOL #3: Hard to Believe the Night Planet

Devo live is a hard charging example of the de-evolution that threatened to zap the 80s into something caring and generous. Hang on to your red helmets!

Be Stiff 🌎 Planet Earth DEV0

Mersey inspired Glenda Collins was a small part of the British Invasion, a bundle of pop protest from Joe Meek’s quirky stable. Here she is, slamming the nukes in favor of ending world hunger.

It’s Hard to Believe it GLENDA COLLINS

Bombs and missiles are here to stay It's hard to believe it, but I do They hit the moon with mice and men One day they'll send 'em back again It's hard to believe it, but I do How can they spend a million on a rocket head When there's millions on Earth in need of bread? It's hard to believe, but they do We're all in for a shock and soon When we find living creatures upon the moon It's hard to believe it, but I do I don't need a telescope to see What our future on Earth is gonna be Don't you disguise it, no, no, not for me I put my plea for all it's worth Let's first make this a better Earth I really believe it, yes I do I really believe it, yes I do I really believe it, yeah yeah, don't you? It's hard to believe it, but it's true I really believe it, yeah yeah, 'cause it's true I really believe it, yes I do

Minimalistic and sullen, the Brits who shortened their name from “Troglodytes” wowed both side of the Atlantic in 1965 with “Wild Thing.” Here they are less than a year later, so successful they don’t want to do their own yard work. Lead vocalist Reg Presley, a big influence on Iggy Pop, left us in 2013.

Night of the Long Grass THE TROGGS

Preview week for Old School, the new podcast from Retrofit, continues tomorrow with some down to earth spaciness. Remember you can hear the episode through the player at the top of this page. Even easier, click on “listen through your podcast app” at the top right and this episode can be stored with your other podcasts. You can also access previous episodes of Apple iTunes, Stitcher, and Tune In! Thanks so much for checking it out!

—

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All right! We are back to wrap up one of the wildest Spring Breaks of the 20th Century. If you haven’t heard Spring Break ‘73 Part One, you can listen to this for what radio professionals call “stand alone content.” Flip just one back in your podcaster so you can hear the segment that has Bowie, T Rex, Dr John, Smoke on the Water.

A lot of what we are soaking up has become the canon for Classic Rock Ruin My Music Radio, but they are always too busy giving away tickets to something you don’t care about to offer any context. These songs just get moved around like disc jockeys being reassigned to Cleveland.

Here in Professor Mikey’s Old School we offer context, unbelievable stories, and the most daring feat of all, whole songs.

So when we left off we’d just heard some island sweetness from the first summer of reggae as far as most of us were concerned. If you subscribe to the newsletter and Retrofit.Substack.Com you got a copy of the complete album released by Lee Scratch Perry and the Upsetters that spring, Blackboard Jungle, a masterpiece of dub. It is also available on the YouTube playlist for these spring break joints.

Spring Break 73 Part 2 starts off on the water also, with the guys who added heat and cheeseburgers to every summer. Then we are off for obscurities, lost motel keys, misplaced pool bags, and all the other sketch stuff that goes down on a normal Spring Break 73 Part 2.

With all this great 1973 music, you might be asking yourself if anything else made news that year. And you could easily answer “YES.”

On January 20 President Nixon was sworn in for a 2nd term he would not finish. The Supreme Court in Roe vs Wade by a 7-2 majority ruled in that the Constitution upholds an individual’s right to privacy and generally protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion.

On that same day Henry Kissinger flew off to Paris to initial the accords that would end the Vietnam War for the United States. And before American newspaper editors could figure a headline for such an historic day, former President Lyndon Johnson died of a heart attack at age 64.

Also in ‘73…

Secretariat became the first horse to win the Triple Crown in 25 years. Billie Jean King won the women’s single title and Wimbledon, then kicked Bobby Riggs ass in the nationally televised “battle of the sexes.” Thomas Pynchon published GRAVITY’S RAINBOW. Kurt Vonnegut wrote Breakfast of Champions. The American Psychiatric Association overturned a 100 year old position by declaring that homosexuality was not a mental illness. American Graffiti was released. And a new NFL rushing record was set by O J Simpson.

Sail On Sailor THE BEACH BOYS

Free Ride THE EDGAR WINTER GROUP

Blinded By the Light BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Rocky Mountain Way JOE WALSH

Cosmic Wheels DONOVAN

Wishing Well BAD COMPANY

O.D.’d On Life Itself BLUE OYSTER CULT

No More Mr Nice Guy ALICE COOPER

Stuck in the Middle STEALERS WHEEL

If You Want Me to Stay SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE

Do the Strand ROXY MUSIC

Trash THE NEW YORK DOLLS

Moonshake CAN

Alright Alright Alright MUNGO JERRY

Midnight Train to Georgia GLADYS KNIGHT AND THE PIPS

Ooh-La-La FACES

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE VIDEO PLAYLIST TO SPRING BREAK ‘73

This podcast is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. If you feel your music should be omitted from any show, send a written request to retrofit@substack.com.

Old School is brought to you by Retrofit, a private newsletter to which you can subscribe for free of by donation at retrofit.substack.com. I’m Professor Mikey, thanks for listening.

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Welcome to Old School as we go back in time to an important Spring Break. I’m Professor Mikey, about to see how many people and 8-tracks I can cram into a Volkswagen Baja.

Here we are a half century since the Spring Break of 1973. Whatever was imbibed, whatever was consummated, it’s all in the past, long ago and forgotten.

Except for the music.

Here are a few kegs worth of b**g tunes that blasted out of speakers in the front doors, back doors, and a woofer that blocked the rear view window. We are off for some well deserved mayhem from Ft Lauderdale to Cancun, from Maui to Lake Tahoe, from South Padre Island to Cabo.

If you were there you know what I mean. If you weren’t, welcome to some sand slicing surf pounding sick sounds of the early ‘70s. Little Darlin’ its been a long cold lonely winte r. Literally. This is the first Spring Break since the end of the war in Vietnam, so freedom comes with some extra salt around the rim.

1. The Beatles have been broken up for 3 years, disco is in the very near future. Rock and roll has yet to die, there’s some glam and some fabulous herbal reggae sounds in the air. Movies like Where the Boys Are have sanitized the rite of Spring Break, and MTV is still way in the future. Dr Dre in in 3rd grade. Eminem is in diapers, and Carmen Electra has just ruled over her first birthday party.

The music is split between AM haircuts and FM cool kids. Riding high on the Top 40 charts are butt thumpers like “The Night the Lights went out in Georgia” and “Tie and Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree.”

Thank goodness for underground radio. Led Zeppelin has a new lease on Houses of the Holy and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon is the place to be, just beginning a 10-year stay on the charts. Unfortunately I’ve left both of those off of this edition because a) you probably already have heard them on your playlist and b) copyright issues.

But thanks to some other great albums that were out at the time, we don’t have to groove to the sounds of little Jimmy Osmond.

So here we go. We are hot and loaded for a spring road trip. The target date is April. There’s a couple of long haulers left over from late ‘72. But the cutoff is May of ‘73 so you can get the full flavor of a Spring Break in the time of Nixon. Imagine a president winning by a landslide just 5 months after the Watergate break in. Man, when old people rule the world it is really something!

Let’s start off with something serious and religious, something that commemorates the time of the season

OLD SCHOOL Number 44. Spring Break ‘73!

Surfs up. But what’s that on the water?

Smoke on the Water DEEP PURPLE

Cum On Feel the Noize SLADE

Search and Destroy THE STOOGES

Panic in Detroit DAVID BOWIE

20th Century Boy T REX

Love Train THE O’JAYS

Treat Her Like a Lady THE CORNELIUS BROTHERS AND SISTER SLEDGE

Dixie Chicken LITTLE FEAT

Right Place, Wrong Time DR JOHN

Superstition BECK, BOGERT, APPICE

Pusherman CURTIS MAYFIELD

Did You Ever Love Me? FLEETWOOD MAC

SPECIAL FULL ALBUM

Blackboard Jungle THE UPSETTERS with LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY

Stir It Up BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS

I Shot the Sheriff BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS

The Cisco Kid WAR

Nutbush City Limits IKE AND TINA TURNER

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If you have listened to any of the previous podcasts, you know that Old School is not just an oldies show. Professor Mikey likes to dig into the old stuff not because of where it appeared on the charts as much as what it added to the culture. And what it sounds like and how it makes you feel after it has been sleeping in the grooves for a half century. Every record tells a story don’t it.

This show could have been a lot easier. Search songs that have happy in the title and hit go. But I was looking for attitude, which is a bit of a difference.

I don’t pit old music against new. But…songs about bedrock happiness and well being are pretty rare today, unless a country artist gets a new car or a new girlfriend. Happiness is equated to money and that’s about it. Not everything. Hey it’s pop music, right?

But there was a time in music when the audience didn’t have a lot of money so they needed songs about establishing a positive attitude with what they brought to the table.

It’s a fine line. Find happiness in nature and well-being and good deeds. Regardless of what’s up when you are asked how you are doing, you might say “it’s all good.” It’s all good used to be the mantra for everyone, although they acknowledged it with a “Fine, thank you.”

So the stage is set for positive vibrations with some serious attitude. We are going to drop the needle on a few different eras, and hear how artists equated well placed self confidence through their music while their audiences got little lessons in peace of mind. This is episode number 43 of old school. It’s All Good!

Feelin’ Alright JOE COCKER 1969

The Right Time RAY CHARLES 1959

But I Was Cool OSCAR BROWN JR 1960

Glad All Over DAVE CLARK 5 1964

I’m So Glad CREAM 1966

It’s a Good Day PEGGY LEE 1946

You Make Me Feel Good THE ZOMBIES 1964

Good Thing PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS 1966

Good Thing FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS 1989

Get on the Good Foot JAMES BROWN 1972

Oh Yeah THE SHADOWS OF KNIGHT 1966

Happy Time TIM BUCKLEY 1969

Happiness Runs DONOVAN 1968

It’s Gonna Work Out Fine IKE AND TINA TURNER 1961

It’s Wonderful THE RASCALS 1968

This podcast is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. If you feel your music should be omitted from any show, send a written request to retrofit@substack.com.

Old School is brought to you by Retrofit, a private newsletter to which you can subscribe for free of by donation at retrofit.substack.com. I’m Professor Mikey, thanks for listening.

🥳Happy birthday Nancy!

• Now on YouTube

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WHEN we start seeing UFOs, unidentified flying objects, it’s a confirmation for what kind of times we live in.

Anytime world headlines lead off with flying saucers, you can bet the world is in a bit of a slump. Long ago comets lit up the plague filled skies, and everything or everyone was an omen or a misfit.

If the times were sketch, trouble coming every day like Frank Zappa used to say, the more likely we got close encounters of the first, second, and third kind,

Sightings picked up shortly after World War II. A famous Flying saucer allegedly crashed near Roswell NewMexico, making it a desert tourist attraction long before Burning Man.

From 1947 to 1969 the Air Force investigated 12,618 sightings.

Since March of 2021 the office of the Director of National Intelligence has logged 350 new reports of UFOs.

Since last week, when we took out an alleged Chinese weather balloon, sightings of mysterious objects have increased. Reacting like good Americans, we are shooting them down and will ask questions later.

But there was a time when such sightings inspired music. Being a podcast that orbits a more innocent time, Retrofit Old School has gathered a trove of tunes, mostly from the 50s and 60s, about vehicles that came to earth and got so disappointed they tried to get refunds from Southwest Airlines.

Stay tuned, within the walls of this timeless capsule are some wack gems. Novelty songs destined for the cut out bin. Out of this world reverberations from Fender Stratocasters. Judy Garland at the Cocoanut Grove. Creedence Clearwater, Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Riley and His Little Green Men are all aboard.

The UFOs are coming, Mars is about to attack, Livestock lookout. The alleged aliens have come in peace or they have come to probe. Whatever. Our best line of defense is Old School number 42 from Area 51. Flying Saucer Rock and Roll.

Note from beyond. Embedded in the playlist are full length colorized versions of Earth vs the Flying Saucers and Plan 9 from Outer Space.

We come in peace to serve mankind

The Flying Saucers BUCHANAN AND GOODMAN 1956

Flying Saucers Rock and Roll BILLY LEE RILEY AND HIS LITTLE GREEN MEN 1957

Two Little Men in a Flying Saucer ELLA FITZGERALD 1952

Flying Saucer MILT JACKSON 1965

It Came Out of the Sky CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL 1969

The Flying Saucers Pt 2 (Back to Earth) BUCHANAN AND GOODMAN 1956

When You See Those Flying Saucers THE CHARLES RIVER VALLEY BOYS 1963

UFO Has Landed in the Ghetto RY COODER 1982

Flying Saucer Boogie EDDIE CLETRO 1952

Flying Saucer Attack THE REZILLOS 1978

Flying Saucer The Second DICKIE GOODMAN 1957

Have You Seen the Saucers? JEFFERSON AIRPLANE 1968

Purple People Eater SHEB WOOLEY 1958

Purple People Eater JUDY GARLAND 1959

Mr Spaceman THE BYRDS 1966

Waiting for the UFOs GRAHAM PARKER 1979

Flying Saucer The Third DICKIE GOODMAN 1959

Arriving UFO YES 1978

Zero Zero UFO THE RAMONES 1989

Flying saucer LITTLE WALTER 1956

Rapture BLONDIE 1981

The Old School Magic Trick Bus is drawing closer to Devils Tower Wyoming. We want to literally rap up this episode around the turn of the decade from 70s to the 80s. Not confirmed of course, but it is believed a small group of aliens were responsible for angling the music industry in a different direction, probably as a response to all these weird songs.

Not verified but it seems very possible that aliens were responsible for Deborah Harry and her Blondie guitarist David Stein were beamed down to the first rap performance they ever attended featuring Fab 5 Freddy. They were inspired to write Rapture for their Autoamerican album. As a single in 1981 it became the first song featuring rapped vocals to appear on the US charts. The video became the first “rap” big quotes clip to appear on MTV. So when you are turning in your homework, don’t say Blondie made the first rap record, say the Aliens pushed her in a certain direction and left the world confused, but with a better beat.

This podcast is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. If you feel your music should be omitted from any show, send a written request to retrofit@substack.com.

Old School is brought to you by Retrofit, a private newsletter to which you can subscribe for free of by donation at retrofit.substack.com. I’m Professor Mikey, thanks for listening.

RETROFIT is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support, consider becoming an interstellar free or paid subscriber.

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Mystery is a wonderful component of any kind of storytelling. On the written page, in music, on your phone when this number you don’t recognize keeps callilng and calling. Knowing that there is a there there, you just don’t know where.

Mystery writers make great livings. Some of them outline their stories backwards, figuring out who the murderer is that is going to be revealed on the last page, then working toward the beginning of the story. Along the way every character in the book looks guilty as hell.

A little mystery just adds to the atmosphere.

Across years of popular music, you get an occasional Mystery Man. He can be the subject of lots of questions. More often than not he is a guy that doesn’t even realize there is a song about him.

Still however, songs about mystery men are far outnumbered by Mystery Women. Women full of secrets. There are so many songs from the viewpoint of useless, completely befuddled hopeless guys that wail and moan about how much they love someone about whom they know absolutely nothing..

Except that she wears a trench coat and disappears into the fog.

Female artists who sing about Mystery Women are probably singing about themselves. But in the great unknown of personalities, nothing is for certain

.That’s the subject today. This mystery trip features killer songs that dropped clues across time and space but left crucial details hanging on the threads of suspicion. Nothing is definite, but its a lot trying to find the truth in a house of mirrors that reflect what might have been, who might have been, and whose that lady.

The Isley Brothers skip to the last page, and we are off to try to put it all together…

A mere 96 years separate this story from the musical mystery. The German novella Venus in Furs, appeared in 1870. The author, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, envisioned a hero named Severin who desired his true love to dress in animal skins and beat his ass. His name was the inspiration for the term ‘masochism” that came from the 19th century sexologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing. You know where this is going. 1966. Unknown Lou Reed, a major player in the unknown band Velvet Underground brought the shiny shiny boots of leather. Bandmate John Cale gave it the droning sound. Andy Warhol added the banana. It’s a mystery, just request not to be hit in the face when you meet up with Venus in Furs.

Who’s That Lady? THE ISLEY BROTHERS ‘73

Magdelena DANNY O’KEEFE ‘73

She’s a Mystery To Me ROY ORBISON ‘88

Summer Wine NANCY SINATRA & LEE HAZLEWOOD ‘6

Some Velvet Morning NANCY SINATRA & LEE HAZLEWOOD ‘68

Guinevere DAVID CROSBY ‘69

Suzanne JUDY COLLINS ‘66

Peggy Sue Got Married BUDDY HOLLY ‘59

Pretty Ballerina THE LEFT BANKE ‘66

See Emily Play PINK FLOYD ‘67

Venus in Furs VELVET UNDERGROUND ‘67

I Put a Spell on You NINA SIMONE ‘65

Madame George VAN MORRISON ‘68

She is Still a Mystery THE LOVIN’ SPOONFUL ‘67

Links

Mystery Tribune: 20 Must Read Mysteries from Female Authors

Wiki Female Mystery writers

Victorian/Regency Female Sleuths/Mysteries

RETROFIT is a reader-supported publication that includes Professor Mikey’s OLD SCHOOL podcast. To receive new posts and support my rock and roll lifestyle consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This podcast is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music heard in this program resides within the public domain, is licensed through the podcast carrier, or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976. If you feel your music should be omitted from any show, send a written request to retrofit@substack.com.

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It has happened every February 3 since 1959. Waking to the news of one of rock music’s earliest tragedies, the plane crash that claimed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper near Clear Lake, Iowa.

Holly was 22, Valens 17, J. P. Richardson the Bopper 28. Richardson got his seat on the plane from Waylon Jennings. Bob Dylan saw their penultimate show the night before at Duluth, Minnesota.

I saw Buddy Holly two or three nights before he died. I saw him in Duluth [Minnesota], at the armory. He played there with Link Wray. I don’t remember the Big Bopper. Maybe he’d gone off by the time I came in. But I saw Richie Valens. And Buddy Holly, yeah. He was great. He was incredible. I mean, I’ll never forget the image of seeing Buddy Holly up on the bandstand. And he died – it must have been a week after this. It was unbelievable.

Bob Dylan (to Kurt Loder, March 1984)

So many ironic threads run through the tragic conclusion to the Buddy Holly story. Here’s some visuals to go along with the audio. PS the music never died!

Rave on!

Chuck Berry and Alan Freed introduce Ricardo Valenzuela in Go Johnny Go! (1958)

The Bopper on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand

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You hear the term music discovery quite a lot these days. It’s radio speak for “Hey we played an album cut.”

Music discovery should be all about finding new stuff you’ve never heard and adding to your never ending playlist. Or uncovering something you missed the first time, probably because you weren’t here.

That gets close to a much bigger project. The constant personal voyage of self discovery. Songs that turn the camera on yourself for a much deeper session than a selfie.

The questions are tough and direct. Who am I? What am I doing? What am I doing hanging round? Where am I going. What did I do to deserve this?

There’s nothing like a good going over in a song. Spoiler alert. This is not a depressing show. In fact when it’s over you’ll probably not only feel better, but you may have a new personal theme song.

Rock and roll has never lied to you. From many eras you will find the answers to those pesky self generated questions that exist just to drive you bonkers. This goes beyond hollow resolutions and empty self promises. You are the patient, the doctor, and the life coach. This is old school Music Self Discovery.

Our first patient is a doozy. From George Orwell 1984, the year we make contact, it’s the first British top 10 for The Smiths. Everybody should be stoked and happy. Not even a shiny new purple sequined jacket is going to soothe Morrissey. He’s pissed at the world, he’s pissed at himself. It may be star time but heaven knows he’s miserable now. Professor Mikey’s OLD SCHOOL gets inside, up and personal with Music Self Discovery.

HEAVEN KNOWS I’M MISERABLE NOW The Smiths (1984)

I FOUND OUT John Lennon (1970)

READING YOUR WILL Human Expression (1965)

POOR LITTLE FOOL Ricky Nelson (1958)

LOST IN MY WORLD Los Dug Dugs (1971)

IN MY ROOM The Walker Brothers (1966)

YA YA Lee Dorsey (1961)

GIRL DON’T COME Sandie Shaw (1965)

PRETTY AS YOU FEEL Jefferson Airplane (1971)

I’M NOT LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE The Chocolate Watchband (1968)

RUN THAT BODY DOWN Paul Simon (1972)

WISE UP Aimee Mann (1999)

EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’ Harry Nilsson (1967)

This podcast is produced for educational purposes. Any and all music hard in this program resides within the public domain or is used within the guidelines of fair use provided for in Section 107 of the copyright act of 1976, a copy of which can be found in a box where the president parks his Corvette Stingray. Other permissions were acquired in Denmark on a dark and stormy day. If you the artist feel your music has been misused, unnecessarily hyped or underserved, or you would like your song yanked for any reason whatsoever please send a written request to retrofit@substack.com.

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Welcome to a Retro New Year’s celebration from the before times! Professor Mikey, a firm believer in the healing and hopeful aspects of music, takes off on another holiday musical expedition, this time to discover the heart of everybody's favorite midnight party.

What is a Lang Syne? And how Auld is it? What do Bing Crosby, Spike Jones, and Blind Lemon Jefferson have in common? Do New Year's Resolutions really work? Is the best New Year's duet of all time sung by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas? And what's Carl Sagan doing in here? Don’t say he is back to tell us not to look up!

These and other timely questions are answered in this full hour celebration of New Year's music. Plug in and buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy year. Get ready for Blues classics like Smokey Hogg's "New Year's Eve Blues" from 1948, a New Year's Eve 1970 appearance by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, an absolute wacko resolution romp with the City Slickers and many, many more. The genres melt into each other, the human condition gets a good going over, and we all resolve to be better next year!

Happy New Year, push play, and be sure to click and download New Year’s Revolution to your podcast player!

Playlist

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? King Curtis

Happy New Year Spike Jones and His City Slickers

Let's Start the New Year Right Bing Crosby

Happy New Year Blues Blind Lemon Jefferson

Auld Lang Syne John Fahey

Auld Lang Syne Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin

Auld Lang Syne The Beach Boys

Auld Lang Syne The Cucumbers

New Year's Resolution Otis Redding/Carla Thomas

What a Year for a New Year Dan Wilson

A Glorious Dawn Carl Sagan

Happy New Year Lightnin' Hopkins

New Year's Eve Blues Smokey Hogg

New Year's Resolution Blues Roy Milton Solid Senders

New Year's Resolutions Scary Gary Alan

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve Nancy Wilson

The Closing of the Year The Musical Cast of Toys feat. Wendy & Lisa

Auld Lang Syne Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians

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As this list for jamming beneath the mistletoe came together, it became clear that much of this Christmas music seems to have been drenched in rowdy egg nog . They literally slosh and stagger in a time of hair and rebellion. These are the carolers who would fight for their right to Christmas party.

Not all the songs came from the era of kissing and rocking the holidays away. You don’t have to listen long to tell that the times have changed. We are the target audience labeled Christmas Yet To Come.

But wait! A C.A.R.E. package just dropped in. It doesn’t say Amazon anywhere on it. Strange sounds tinkle like bells and bottles of Christmas cheer from beyond.

A 60s Santa goes on a Christmas Eve bender in “Santa Came Home Drunk.” Johnny Preston doesn’t want an assault weapon under the tree, he wants a guitar! The Sonics find Santa! The Damned seek a Sanity Clause!

Elvis for Christmas is the dream of poor forgotten Debbie Dabney. A jive-talking Sunset Strip parking lot attendant swings it Daddy-oh, Smegma celebrates 1983, and The Turtles cut the first track about sidewalk surfing in 1963, shortly after the debut of the Little Drummer Boy.

But I digress. Detroit Junior, Little Esther Phillips, and Miles Davis represent the 60s in a sleigh-tilting counterbalance to the 80s whims of They Might Be Giants, Captain Sensible, and Klark Kent. Johnny and John come to us from a foxhole in Viet Nam, James Brown orders Santa Claus Into the Ghetto.

There are more stories on the podcast, so hitch up the hot tub open sleigh and hear how loud the 60s and 80s revelers still sound. Happy everything, lively and quick, from Professor Mikey and Old School!

🎸Clyde Lasley and the Cadillac Baby Specials. 🎅🏼Santa Came Home Drunk (1960) Johnny Preston. I Want a Rock and Roll 🎸 Guitar (1960) The Sonics. Santa Claus (1965)👿 The Damned. There Ain’t No Sanity Claus (1980) Debbie Dabney. I Want to Spend Christmas with Elvis (1956) 💇‍♂️Edd “Kookie” Byrnes. Yulesville (1959) 🎄(1988) Smegma. Happy Holidays (1983)The Turtles. 🐢🐢Santa and the Sidewalk Surfer (1963) Detroit Junior. Christmas Day (1960)🗓 They Might Be Giants. 🐼Santa’s Beard (1988) Esther Phillips. Far Away Christmas Blues (1951) Miles Davis, Bob Dorough. 💙Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)(1962) Captain Sensible. One Christmas🧑🏻‍🎄Catalogue (1984)James Brown.🎅🏽 Santa Claus Go Straight to the 🏚Ghetto (1968) Johnny & Jon. 🚁Christmas in Vietnam (1966)👓Klark Kent (Stewart Copeland). Yo Ho Ho (1980) Graham Parker, Nona Hendryx. Soul Christmas (1994)🎹🎄

“The past is a blast.” RETROFIT is a reader-supported publication. OLD SCHOOL is the educational underground pirate radio podcast. Have a fabulous holiday that might include becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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You guessed it. Old School is out for the holiday. In this case it happens to be Thanksgiving, but really you can dial up this playlist anytime you are cooking up a storm. Every song is about eating, or thinking about eating, or food, or thinking about food, or eating.

A more appropriate dinner background might include some light American classics. Like Charles Ives composition “New England Holidays,” or William Schuman’s “New England Triptych.” But then I would have to explain a triptych. It rhymes with switch witch, but that holiday is over.

Anyway, this is not a show for quiet eating, although if you turn it down low I suppose it will work. This is an episode about getting in that kitchen and making some noise with the pots and pans, like Big Joe Turner says in “Shake, Rattle and Roll.”

Food prep is a joyous time. You’ve got to keep a lot of plates in the air, then fill them up with goodies. Yes we have songs about turkeys and mashed potatoes, but there’s also some lively tunes about hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza, thanks to Dean Martin.

So here is what you hear when you are In the Mood for Food. Check that ham, baste that turkey, shake that salt, and get her done. I’m on holiday so I’m going to put down the microphone and pick up the fork. The playlist is on the newsletter at Retrofit.Substack.Com. Pretty sure you also have a phone that can tell you what is playing. I have to check my pecan pie. I burnt the hell out of the one last year.

Have a bountiful holiday that puts a yummy in your tummy.

Let’s rock that kitchen…

LET’S TURKEY TROT Little Eva

FOOD The Turtles

JAMBALAYA Hank Williams

CRAWFISH Elvis Presley

TURKEY IN THE STRAW Burl Ives

SWITCHEN IN THE KITCHEN Don Covay

EGGS AND SAUSAGE (IN A CADILLAC WITH SUSAN MICHELSON) Tom Waits

BEANS AND CORNBREAD Louis Jordan

HAM ‘N’ EGGS A Tribe Called Quest

MASHED POTATO TIME Dee Dee Sharp

EVERYBODY EATS WHEN THEY COME TO MY HOUSE Cab Calloway

CALL ANY VEGETABLE Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention

VEGETABLES The Beach Boys

HE’S A CHEF Rocket from the Crypt

THAT’S AMORE Dean Martin

SUPPER TIME Barbra Streisand

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL Big Joe Turner

HUNGRY Paul Revere and the Raiders

STAY HUNGRY Talking Heads

TACOS, ENCHILADAS AND BEANS Doris Day

MOMMAS IN THE KITCHEN BUT WE’VE GOT POP ON ICE Slim Gailard

CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE Jimmy Buffett

HOT DOGS AND HAMBURGERS John Mellencamp

CHEESECAKE Louis Armstrong

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD Oliver! Original Broadway Soundtrack

YES, WE HAVE NO BANANAS Louis Prima

MAXIMUM CONSUMPTION The Kinks

DcYUM, YUM, YUM Joe Tex

SUPPERTIME Levi Stubbs, Little Shop of Horrors Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

GROCERIES, SIR The Dukes

BREAKFAST FOR TWO Country Joe McDonald

CHRISTMAS DINNER Tennessee Ernie Ford

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It’s dark and musty 50 years ago underground but this playlist was worth the dig.

1972 was crazy. That summer paid crooks we’re prowling inside the Watergate. Breaking and entering didn’t bother voters. In the fall the principal perp, president Nixon, got reelected by the greatest republican landslide in history. 49 states to 1.

Underground radio was in full bloom.. People were sick of hearing the same Top 40 songs over and over again. You were lucky if you lived in a market where the DJs played what they wanted, when they wanted and freedom was just another word for choosing to play Led Zeppelin over the Archies.

Great example. The top album of the year was the Stones Exile on Main Street, a two record set, and AM radio would only play Tumbling Dice. But on the underground FM side of the dial, a DJ with freedom might play a whole side of the album while stepping out to the parking lot to smoke a Doobie, brother.

Most of this I haven’t heard in, well, 50 years. I may have been a baby but I was a charter member of the National Progressive Radio Announcers of America.

Odds are you weren’t around at all. You have a hunch that you might have missed some great sounds and you might be right. Fill your tank with 36 cent a gallon gasoline, fill your heart with joy, and let’s drill down into Episode 36, Lost and Found Underground ‘72.

SWEET JANE Mott the Hoople (1972)

DANCING MADLY BACKWARDS Captain Beyond (1972)

SPACE TRUCKIN’ Deep Purple (1972)

THE SLIDER T. Rex (1972)

MARIE ANTOINETTE Curved Air (1972)

LADY OF THE LAKE Jade Warrior (1972)

STARDANCER Thomas Rapp (1972)

FROM THE MORNING Nick Drake (1972)

SANDMAN America (1972)

BARANGRILL Joni Mitchell (1972)

THE PERSECUTION AND RESTORATION OF DEAN MORIARTY Aztec Two-Step (1972)

CHILD OF MINE Fleetwood Mac (1972)

STAY Pink Floyd (1972)

ROCK AND ROLL SUICIDE David Bowie (1972)

SATELLITE OF LOVE Lou Reed (1972)

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No surprise that the scariest holiday of all comes with it’s own spooktacular tunes. It’s so fun to decorate your living space with ghosts, cobwebs, spiders, vampire gravestones, bat guano and witch brooms. But don’t leave out the scary music and the sound effects!

Long before the technology was there, I would string speaker wire up to the roof on into a tall tree so that bloodcurdling screams and monster growls could rain down upon the tricksters from out of nowhere. It was a chore though, scaring the crap out of the little ghosts and goblins while juggling vinyl and handing out 3 Musketeer bars. Thank goodness I made it to the future where I can do most of that with a hypnotic podcast of fear and laughing

.The format this week is a little different. This is 2 hours of Halloween music and atmosphere. No stories, no reminiscing, no breaks in the action. Punch up Old School #35 and let the sounds to the rest, whether you are rocking the neighborhood kiddos, or using this to fuel some demonic party or rip roaring rave.

(If you need stories and Professor Mikey rants, tune in to the previous episode Career of Evil which also works on Halloween.)

Parental discretion? Sure, there are scary sounds that could frighten really little kids. But for the normal grade school, middle school, junior high or high school student who is forced to endure bullying as well as active shooter drills on a regular basis, this is lightweight. Innocent horror in the worst of times.

From the earliest days of rock and roll through the ghostbusting 80s, here are rarities, obscurities, phantasmic favorites, haunted hits and zombie stomps. The kind of music you listen to once a year while you are eating food you eat just as often. It’s the sound equivalent of popcorn balls and candy corn.

Okay, before the sun comes up, punch up your own speaker, pair your phone or your pad, charge those devices on Frankenstein’s neck bolts if you have to, hit the list and let it roll.

The children of the night are ready for a couple of hours of highly silly possession.

Fangs for the memories. It is The Haunting of the Blue Tooth.

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ROCKIN’ IN THE GRAVEYARD Jackie Morningstar

I WAS A TEENAGE MONSTER The Keytones

VAMPIRA Bobby Bare

ZOMBIE STOMP Billy Ghoulston

JACK THE RIPPER The Elites

NIGHT OF THE PHANTOM Larry and the Blue Notes

THE SALEM WITCH TRIAL Kiriae Crucible

VOODOO PLAN The Headliners

EARTH VS FLYING SAUCERS Fred Sears

FRANKENSTEIN STOMP Lorry and the Biters

LITTLE DEMON Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

HAUNTED HOUSE Sam the Sham

BATMAN, WOLFMAN, FRANKENSTEIN The Diamonds

FRANKENSTEIN TWIST The Crystals

BE TRUE TO YOUR GHOUL The Ghouls

THE HALLOWEEN DANCE Rev Horton Heat

BURN THE WITCH Queens of the Stone Age

EVERY DAY IS HALLOWEEN Ministry

MONSTER MASH The Misfits

PET SEMATARY The Ramones

GRAVEYARD ROCK Tarantula Goul

HORROR MOVIES Dickie Goodman

MONSTER MOVIE BALL Spike Jones

THE BAT The Ventures

DRAC THE KNIFE Gene Moss and Fred Rice

THE INVASION IS COMING Invasion

PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE TRAILER

WOLFBANE Bobby “Boris” Pickett

I’M THE WOLFMAN Round Robin

AT THE HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN Big Bee Kornewgay

FRANKENSTEIN ROCK Eddie Thomas

BO MEETS THE MONSTER Bo Diddley

SHE’S FALLEN IN LOVE WITH THE MONSTER Screaming Lord Sutch

NIGHT OF THE HUNTER Kim Fowley

STRANGE THINGS Curtis Knight & the Squires (feat. Jimi Hendrix!!)

SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER Jose Luis Merino

THE WITCH The Sonics

SHE PUT A HEX ON YOU Them

EVIL HOODOO The Seeds

ROCKIN’ ZOMBIE The Crewnecks

JEKYLL AND HYDE Jim Burtgett

BORIS THE SPIDER The Kords

THE DEVIL’S RUMBLE Davie Allen and the Arrows

LUCIFER SAM Pink Floyd

THIS IS HALLOWEEN Citizens of Halloween

SPOOKY SCARY SKELETONS Andrew Gold

THE TWILIGHT ZONE The Ventures

DRACULA “YE-YE” Doctor Explosion

YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE IT’S HALLOWEEN Muse

DREAM GIRL EVIL Florence + The Machine

THE WITCH QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS Redbone

GHOST TOWN The Specials

THE ADDAMS FAMILY THEME City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

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When you get right down to it, evil is the bottom line of bad. Evil is the star of several wise sayings like “The Evil that men do.” The person who wrote that Bartlett quotation didn’t feel the need to be all gender inclusive in that observation. There’s no such thing as “The Evil that men and women do.”

Most of the joints on today’s most wicked of playlist call out evil directly. So much so that it becomes a full time job.

Our title comes from a 1974 song “Career of Evil” from the Secret Treaties album by Blue Öyster Cult.

It was two years before their career defining doomsday advice “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” The lyrics were written by an unknown Patti Smith, who was dating the blue oyster keyboard player. She was a full year from the release of her first album.

LinkedIn doesn’t really list professional opportunities for Evil, but on Old School today we will hear how cold-blooded evil appears on many killer resumes. Howlin’ Wolf sensed it. Ozzy Osbourne reckoned with it on the first Black Sabbath album. Before she got respect Aretha Franklin embraced the dark side. Walt Disney employed villains on a regular basis. All of them rocked some sinister revelations. Evil afoot. Evil intentions. Evil empires built on evil careers.

Professor Mikey here, welcome to Old School #34. Its a dirty job but somebody’s got to do it. Check your skill sets and wonder what you have to do to get a promotion. It’s a wonderful life, but office politics are a b***h. Time to clock in for a performance review during this career of evil.

Hell yes…

CAREER OF EVIL Blue Oyster Cult (1974)

BUMBLE BEE LaVern Baker (1960)

TROUBLE Elvis Presley (1958)

EVIL GAL BLUES Aretha Franklin (1964)

EVIL (IS GOING ON) Howlin’ Wolf (1954)

CRUELLA DE VILLE Bill Lee (1961)

EVIL WOMAN Black Sabbath (1970)

EVIL WOMAN Spooky Tooth (1969)

EVIL WOMAN Electric Light Orchestra (1975)

YOUR GOOD GIRL’S A GONNA GO BAD Tammy Wynette (1967)

TAKE ME FROM THIS GARDEN OF EVIL Jimmy Wages (1957)

EVIL Steve Miller Band (1974)

EVIL Stevie Wonder (1972)

EVOL NOT LOVE The Five Americans (1966)

EVIL WAYS Willie Bobo (1967)

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“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.”

― Albert Einstein

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Today the educational underground pirate podcast has dropped anchor at nostalgic Malibu. Just a little ways from the nude beach, near Leo Carrillo State Park. You remember Leo. He played Pancho on the Cisco Kid TV show we watched on our old BWTVs.

LA is near, and so much of this is connected to Hollywood. Not far from here, I danced on the roof overlooking the tennis court owned by Fatty Arbuckle.

Rock and Roll and Hollywood have always shared a rocky horror show of a relationship. Rock stars want to be movie stars. But something isn’t right. Elvis made 31 forgettable movies before we got Prince in Purple Rain.

Then you have movie stars playing rock stars. Gary Busey as Buddy Holly. Val Kilmer becomes the Lizard King. Rami Malek wins the Oscar as Freddie Mercury. Austin Butler channels Elvis. Tom Hanks play Col. Tom Parker and Geppetto in the same year. He wants to make the King of Rock and Roll a real live boy.

If a life in music can be shaped into a 2-hour biopic, the icon gets introduced to a new generation, the record sell again, and that elusive shot at immortality gets a kick in the career.

So it’s not surprising when the conversation flips, when music gets to tell you the story of Hollywood, it’s a bit of a dream balloon with a slow leak. Rock and roll is truth, and the truth is Hollywood devours it’s young and old, it’s women, it’s children.

But that’s another story. In this episode of Old School, its lights, action, camera, Botox, Beverly Hills lunches, press agents, brick and mortar studios, “to stream or not to stream,” and loud slaps at the Oscars.

Pop music attempts to gaze beyond the fantasy, but loves a good pool party. especially if it happens at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy mansion and you get to hang out with Mama Cass, Steve McQueen, Bruce Lee, and Sharon Tate.

Once upon a time in rock and roll…We are Going, Going, Gone Hollywood. Fasten you seatbelt, it’s going to be a bumpy night.

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD Frances Langford, Johnnie Davis, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (1937)

I LOVE L.A. Randy Newman (1983)

WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD The Aylum Choir: Leon Russell & Marc Benno (1972)

HOLLYWOOD SWINGING Kool and the Gang (1974)

ACT NATURALLY Buck Owens and the Buckaroos (1963)

HOLLYWOOD The Runaways (1977)

GIRLS ON FILM Duran Duran (1980)

MY BABY LOVES A WESTERN MOVIE The Olympics (1958)

COWBOYS FROM HOLLYWOOD Camper Van Beethoven (1985)

LITTLE HOLLYWOOD GIRL The Everly Brothers (1977)

HOLLYWOOD #1 Thunderclap Newman (1969)

SKATEAWAY Dire Straits (1980)

HOLLYWOOD Rick James (1978)

SPILL THE WINE Eric Burdon and War (1970)

HOLLYWOOD STOMP Victoria Spivey (1937)

DOWN IN HOLLYWOOD Ry Cooder (1974)

KING OF THE SILVER SCREEN Alice Cooper (1977)

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES The Drifters (1964)

CELLULOID HEROES The Kinks (1972)

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As usual Professor Mikey is lost in the music. This episode is full of weird rarities that would inspire a radio general manager to rush into the air room, swear loudly, rip the record off the turntable, frisbee it against a soundproof wall, and threaten your paltry salary should you ever play such crap again over his airwaves.

And you thought radio drama was dead.

Any one of these often cringeworthy cuts could get you in radio timeout. There’s a novelty about them but they aren’t necessarily novelty songs.

Some were meant to be funny, others I fear are oddly quite serious. Many are rarities. Some are forgotten for good reasons. Most of them could get you fired

All of them are slightly off center. For instance Captain Beefheart and Edith Piaf share the same playlist. They are in good company with Nervous Norbert and Lothar and the Hand People. Chubby Checker teaches us the Lose Your Inhibition Twist. The Monkees drop acid, and the Electric Prunes expose the Great Banana Hoax.

Use them when you need diversion or something way different. Or when you want to swear and throw your headphones against the wall.

Let’s begin with John Hartford, a fabulous songwriter who helped launch the career of Glen Campbell with a beautiful song called “Gentle on My Mind.” For this song he ha boogie on his mind. OLD SCHOOL #32. Slightly off. Hey babe. Wanna boogie?

BOOGIE John Hartford

EAT IT Weird Al Yankovic (1984)

BIG 10-INCH Bull Moose Jackson (1952)

ROCK THERAPY Johnny Burnette (1956)

BLACK DENIM TROUSERS Edith Piaf (1958)

KOOKIE, KOOKIE, LEND ME YOUR COMB Ed “Kookie” Burns & Connie Stevens (1958)

LOSE YOUR INHIBITION TWIST Chubby Checker (1962)

SO DO THE ZONK Donna Loren (1965)

EGYPTIAN SHUMBA The Tammys (1963)

KING TUT Steve Martin (1978)

TRANSFUSION Nervous Norvus (1956)

LICK MY DECALS OFF BABY Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band ( 1970 )

CIRCLE SKY The Monkees (1968)

LISTEN TO THE SKY Sands (1967)

TV WEATHERMAN Lothar and the Hand People (1966)

FAIRY TALE IN THE SUPERMARKET The Raincoats (1979)

THE GREAT BANANA HOAX The Electric Prunes (1967)

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Header key: Buddy Ebsen as the Tin Man, the world is cubed, Dali as Mona, Abe and Clark, the ultra rare upside down plane stamp, Hairy Potter, Samantha and the “other Darren (so witchy), The Beatles in Denmark: John, Jimmy, George, and Paul.

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For many thoughtful recording artists caught up in their merry-go-round careers, ricocheting between record deals, concerts, luxury hotels, late night talk shows, and profound social media posts, there is little time to pause for reflection.

In the Old School days, there were fewer distractions. For several artists, their career ups and downs became fodder for philosophy. Their good fortune, the reviews, the rush of fame, their next haircut. How did this all happen? How did I get here? Am I famous in other galaxies?

Regardless, for many of these cultural icons, rich, famous and otherwise, soul searches became songs. Their fans often clamored for meaning within those deep grooves.

Whether or not the artists ran deep, many felt the need to shout their plights out loud. Perhaps their enlightenment could help the lost-but always hopeful record buying public. Or at least provide a slamming B side.

That’s where we are in this episode. The meaning of life from the rarified mind of the rock star. And the commercial possibilities of said meanings. Professor Mikey here. I’m inspired. Let’s pause for some Reflections in a Gold Record!

A NEW DAY YESTERDAY Jethro Tull (1969)

ETERNITY SPIN Jimmy Spheeris (1975)

ALFIE Cher (1966)

LIVE AND LET LIVE Love (1967)

GRIM REAPER OF LOVE The Turtles (1967)

IN THE TIME OF OUR LIVES Iron Butterfly (1969)

YOU CAN’T JUDGE A BOOK BY LOOKING AT THE COVER Bo Diddley (1962)

BELOW THE FUNK Rick James (1981)

THEM CHANGES Buddy Miles (1970)

MY WAY Sid Vicious

PURE AND EASY Pete Townshend (1972)

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The birth of Rock and Roll is a modest announcement in music history, often told in romantic human terms. Country and Western music wedded the Blues and the offspring rocked.

There is no specific birthdate. The music combined together over the years like a heartsick gumbo. Take some lowdown hurt feelings, sprinkle in some bad luck and trouble, a pinch of dirty dealing, and a few ‘Fore Day Creeps, let it simmer in Mississippi, and bring it to a boil in Chicago.

The Blues. Let the hard times rock, let the good times roll.

A certain grouping of young rockers of the 50s and 60s, many of them volunteers in the British Invasion, discovered the nearly forgotten scratchy American blues tracks from the Depression and beyond. They plugged in their guitars, and soon their counterparts in the USA were getting reintroduced to their own legacy by a bunch of long hairs who took tea at three.

Many of the new fans didn’t realize that it had all been heard before..

In this episode of Retrofit Old School, we will dig out the originals, then see what happened to them over time. Some clone the bones with astounding accuracy, lacking only the smell of gin beneath the cigarette smoke. Others simply wake the dead.

This is Old School, and here comes the Hand Me Down Blues. Have mercy.

BOOM BOOM John Lee Hooker (1961)

BOOM BOOM The Animals (1965)

BACK DOOR MAN Howlin’ Wolf (1961)

BACK DOOR MAN The Doors (1967)

BULLDOZE BLUES Henry Thomas (1927)

GOING UP COUNTRY Canned Heat (1969)

FLIP FLOP AND FLY Big Joe Turner (1955)

FLIP FLOP AND FLY The Blues Brothers (1978)

DEVIL GOT MY WOMAN Skip James (1931)

DEVIL GOT MY WOMAN Beck (1996)

OUTSIDE WOMAN BLUES Blind Joe Reynolds (1929)

OUTSIDE WOMAN BLUES Cream (1967)

LITTLE RED ROOSTER Willie Dixon (1961)

LITTLE RED ROOSTER The Rolling Stones (1964)

MANNISH BOY Muddy Waters (1955)

I’M A MAN The Yardbirds (1964)

STATESBORO BLUES Blind Willie McTell (1929)

STATESBORO BLUES The Allman Brothers (1971

ME AND THE DEVIL BLUES Robert Johnson (1937)

ME AND THE DEVIL BLUES Gil Scott-Heron (2010)

WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe (1929)

WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS Led Zeppelin (1970)

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Over twenty years ago, Joyce Carol Oates wrote the book that just might become the hottest movie of 2022. Blonde is the life story of Marilyn Monroe told in a completely original, fictional way.

Long before “me too” Oates told the story of Hollywood’s most iconic star, and her emotionally fractured path to the top. It wasn’t glamorous. It was gritty. It was sordid. It was filled with disappointment and sorrow. Nevertheless, Norma Jeans star ascended, just as her soul was being crushed by a system people only whispered about.

With the publication of Blonde, Joyce Carol Oates was booked for a series of radio interviews. That’s where our paths crossed. When our interview happened she was still under the spell of being recently possessed not only by Americas sweetheart, but a true human of extraordinary beauty and severely bad luck. 

Here’s Joyce Carol Oates conversing with Professor Mikey about her new novel in the year 2000, the myth and the magic of Blonde.

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The pipe of dreams was creatively passed down from Samuel Taylor Coleridge and other British dope champions to the rockers of the Age of Aquarius.

“Pipe Dream” is one of those terms that gets totally misunderstood. We live in a time of piping and dreaming, so naturally many people believe the term is inspired by drugs.

Though the drug reference is probably the more enticing, for years the phrase itself had little to do with inhaling and/or inebriation. In fact a pipe dream was pretty innocent.

It radiated—hope. Like the definition from the Cambridge English Dictionary:

An idea or plan that is impossible or very unlikely to happen: “Her plans are not realistic - they'll never be more than a pipedream.”

Still, the roots of calling out a pipe dream for what it really is, have basis in history. According to the Grammarist website:

A pipe dream is an unrealistic and unattainable goal, an impossible hope. The pipe alluded to in this term is a smoking pipe, but the substance being smoked is not tobacco. Pipe dream stems from the practice of smoking opium, and though many English writers turned to opiates for inspiration, the term pipe dream originated in the United States. In the mid-1800s to the late 1800s, the western United States was rife with opium dens, places where opium from China was sold and smoked.

So there it is. The pipe dreams that became subjects of various drug songs, especially in the hallucination we know as The Sixties, were grounded in this tradition. It involved touching a flame to something that grew in poppy fields. In those woozy times, dreams of rock and roll stardom rode side by side with rampant munchies and urges to tie dye the curtains.

This episode includes A-Listers (Rolling Stones, The Byrds, Donovan), faded flames (Spooky Tooth, The Blues Magoos), art rockers (Procol Harum, Soft Machine, Lamb), and those obscured by the years and stale smoke (The Sound Sandwich, World Column.)

Still, there is hope this Old School podcast will get a zillion downloads and ultimately elevated by Apple, Spotify, or Disney.

No matter what definition grabs you🎸

PIPE DREAM The Blues Magoos (1967)

LOST IN MY DREAM Spooky Tooth (1969)

QUEEN OF DREAMS The Strawbs (1972)

IN ANOTHER LAND The Rolling Stones (1967)

MIND GARDEN The Byrds (1967)

LANTERN GOSPEL World Column (1968)

SONG FOR A DREAMER Procol Harum (1971)

APOTHECARY DREAM The Sound Sandwich (1967)

SLEEPWALKERS Lamb (1971)

HEMPSTEAD INCIDENT Donovan (1967)

WHY ARE WE SLEEPING The Soft Machine (1968)

I HAD TOO MUCH TO DREAM LAST NIGHT The Electric Prunes (1967)

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Going over Old School lesson plans, seeking the good stuff from back in the day, you realize how astoundingly different the times were. The nightly network news shows only took a half hour, and unlike the 24-hour pound-a-thons we have now, lawyers rarely made appearances. Sure there were legal issues, but if you wanted to see a lawyer on television, you tuned in to Perry Mason

The radio was another matter. The rock stations had fun with the law, and even fought it. Country stations averaged maybe four jail songs an hour. Beyond being sad and locked up, country stars made musical hay with songs about divorce, stolen trucks, and avoiding revenuers.

For this episode, we are using our one phone call to dial up some true legal entanglements. Warren Zevon has left the country; he needs three vital things to get back home. Shorty Long anticipates the judge. Moby Grape has other plans for that authority figure.

Clarence Carter reports from a hot Georgia courtroom. John Mayall has sage observations. Foul play makes Bobby Fuller a one-hit wonder. Vicki Young sings from a women’s prison.

Johnny Cash has gotten into trouble far beyond cocaine, Merle Haggard is on the run and the Flying Burrito Brothers have one last request. The Robins really aren’t looking forward to their sentences. Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers and the Purple Gang and the whole cell block just want to dance to the Jailhouse Rock.

LAWYERS, GUNS, AND MONEY Warren Zevon (1978)

HERE COMES THE JUDGE Shorty Long (1968)

MURDER IN MY HEART FOR THE JUDGE Moby Grape (1968)

THE COURTROOM Clarence Carter (1971)

THE LAWS MUST CHANGE John Mayall (1971)

I FOUGHT THE LAW The Bobby Fuller Four (1966)

RIOT IN CELL BLOCK #9 Vicki Young (1954)

COCAINE BLUES Johnny Cash (1968)

I AM A LONESOME FUGITIVE Merle Haggard (1967)

SING ME BACK HOME The Flying Burrito Brothers (1973)

TEN DAYS IN JAIL The Robins (1954)

JAILHOUSE ROCK Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers (1957)

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🇺🇸Happy Fourth, happy birthday, sail away to a few American tunes! It’s a special Old School All American Red, White, and Blue Mixtape. The stories are all on the podcast, so push play. It’s a holiday.

Recommended for: long waits at the airport, backyard barbecues, setting off fireworks, flag waving, Constitution reading, taking the Fifth, drinking a Fifth, wishing for the Fifth, steering clear of the tainted potato salad, playing volleyball in the park, testing your waterproof earbuds, slipping on the Slip and Slide, and trying not to harsh the mellow of your dear old Uncle Sam.

These tunes for good times from all times. Audio fireworks!

The Beach Boys. "Spirit of America" Little Deuce Coupe. Capitol, 1963.

🏖🏝☀️⛱🏝🏖

Chuck Berry. "Back in the USA" The Great 28. Chess, 1964.

Johnny Cash. "Ragged Old Flag" The Essential Johnny Cash. Columbia, 1974.

Roger McGuinn. "The Ballad of Easy Rider" Easy Rider. Hip-O Records, 1969.

Blitzen Trapper. "American Goldwing" American Goldwing. SubPop, 2011.

John Prine. "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore" John Prine. Atlantic, 1971.

Alice Cooper. "I Love America" Dada. Warner Bros, 1983.

Bill Parsons (Bobby Bare). “All American Boy” Single. Fraternity, 1959.

Stan Freberg. "Declaration of Independence "A Man Can't Be Too Careful What He Signs These Days"" Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America. Rhino, 1961

Steppenwolf. “Monster/Suicide/America” Monster. ABC Dunhill Records, 1969.

David Bowie. “I’m Afraid of Americans” Earthling. Virgin, 1997.

Cat Power. "American Flag" Moon Pix. Matador, 1998.

Ry Cooder. "FDR in Trinidad" Into the Purple Valley. Reprise, 1971.

Bob Dylan. "Dear Mrs Roosevelt" Tribute to Woody Guthrie. Warner Bros, 1968.

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. "American Dream" American Dream. Atlantic, 1988.

Spinal Tap. "America" This Is Spinal Tap. Polydor, 1984.

James Brown. "Hey America" The Singles Vol 7 (1970-1972). Hip-O Select, 2009.

Prince. "America" Single. Warner Bros, 1990.

Stan Freberg. “Finale: “America, America! (Reprise) Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America Vol. 2. Rhino, 1996.

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“I thought that, with an incredible amount of media blitzing and books and knowledge, you could change people. But you can’t. The only person I can change is me.”

—Grace Slick, to Ben Fong-Torres, The San Francisco Sound (Actually There Wasn’t One…)

San Francisco, 1967. What a fabulous destination for our educational pirate radio podcast boat to dock. We can hitch a ride on the Merry Prankster’s magic bus, Further, driven by Neal Cassady and coast on over to the Haight-Ashbury district where some righteous dude and his old lady will let us crash on their water bed under the stars of Aquarius. All they will want in return is some spare change and maybe a little love grass.

And maybe some tunes. We definitely have brought some tunes.

Whether you sing these songs in your sleep, or are hearing them for the first time, pretend you are hearing them for the first time. No one on this list, save perhaps for Eric Burdon, had any clue about the amount of fame that might come their way. Some got there. For others it was a major surprise how their bands could be riding on such a comet and then zip away from the solar system of public interest as quickly as they had arrived. 3/5 of a Mile in Ten Seconds into oblivion. Dead and hardly grateful. Here and gone before Woodstock.

For the past few days I have been listening to nothing but hippie music, mostly from the 1967 Summer of Love, all from the city by the bay, where Tony Bennett left his heart and Janis Joplin took a piece of it.

The first disorganized Amerikan resistance to the British Invasion sparked up innocently enough here, as the culture moved toward incense and love beads. Here was a time of free love and flower power, orchestrated within a primal urge to make love not war. The soundtrack was ragtag, fascinating, original, and somewhat other-wordly, helped along by mind expanding substances.

For this podcast I wanted to pick famous as well as obscure bands and hear them at early points in their diverse journeys. There is a national hit here and there, but hopefully even the most hardcore flower child will find a local surprise or at least a lightshow flashback.

And now it’s time to hit the Streets of San Francisco!

Special Extra: MONTEREY POP Full Movie

SAN FRANCISCAN NIGHTS Eric Burdon and the Animals

ARE YOU GONNA BE THERE (AT THE LOVE IN) The Chocolate Watchband

PRIDE OF MAN Quicksilver Messenger Service

QUICKSILVER GIRL The Steve Miller Band

HEARTS TO CRY Frumious Bandersnatch

SOMEBODY TO LOVE The Great! Society

THE BALLAD OF YOU & ME & POONEIL Jefferson Airplane

ALABAMA BOUND The Charlatans

SUZY CREAMCHEESE Teddy and His Patches

UNDERDOG Sly and the Family Stone

JUST A LITTLE The Beau Brummels

NOT SO SWEET MARTHA LORRAINE Country Joe and the Fish

RUBIYAT The Immediate Family

1982-A Sons of Champlin

DOWN ON ME Big Brother and the Holding Company

THE GOLDEN ROAD (TO UNLIMITED DEVOTION) Grateful Dead

BYE BYE BYE The Tikis

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This episode of Old School came together somewhere between Moby Grape and Peyton Manning. The first Moby Grape album, released in 1967 and included with the videos below, was so hyped that most of the tracks on the album were released as singles. Peyton didn’t come along until 1976, long after the Grape peeled. Why he yelled “Omaha” so much is explained in the podcast. Click play!

Finding that song inspired this curation, an eclectic collection of genres and destinations. The Riviera’s “California Sun” was headed for last week’s show (See OS#24, Poolside ‘63) until it was discovered the song came out in 1964.

Following that frivolity, Nina Simone’s explosive “Mississippi Goddam” erupts from that same summer of ‘64. Tulsa gives us two tunes from the same area code from the King of Western Swing and an American crooner who brought the Rolling Stones a famous jug of whiskey.

Mick and the boys covered the original of “Harlem Shuffle” that is included in the podcast. Scroll down for that 80s video. Bob and Earl must have never gotten around to filming it.

John Cale goes ghostbusting in France on “Paris 1919.” King Curtis literally cooks a mess of “Memphis Soul Stew.” Jello Biafra beams in from Cambodia, and Hank Snow has been everywhere and still can’t get a decent haircut.

Worst gas prices ever, but at least you are coming away from Old School with an earful of audio souvenirs. Stay safe. If all else fails, yell “OMAHA!!!”

OMAHA Moby Grape (1967)

CALIFORNIA SUN The Rivieras (1964)

MISSISSIPPI GODDAM Nina Simone (1964)

TAKE ME BACK TO TULSA Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys (1941)

24 HOURS FROM TULSA Gene Pitney (1964)

HARLEM SHUFFLE Bob and Earl (1964)

PARIS 1919 John Cale (1973)

MEMPHIS SOUL STEW King Curtis (1967)

HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA The Dead Kennedys (1978)

I’VE BEEN EVERYWHERE Hank Snow (1962)

1. Angkor Wat (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត, Ângkôr Vôtt [ʔɑŋkɔː ʋɔət]; meaning "Temple City") is a temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest religious monument in the world,[1] on a site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres).[2] Breaking from Shaiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was dedicated to Vishnu for the Khmer Empire.

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Summer’s here and the time is right for podcasting at the pool! (Player above, Apple and Spotify links below.) This show is a reunion of sorts. Attendees are solid gold seniors who had no relation to each other, other than their heydays and their expiration dates. They hooked up for one mad love affair in the Troy Donahue-Connie Stevens summer of 1963, then went their separate ways. Sometimes they might see one another on a Rhino oldies collection, but other than that they were cast into that great audio convalescent care stack-o-wax we know as Golden Oldies.

It’s a great bunch once you get to know them. Collectively they represent one of the last summits of pop culture before The Beatles hit the beaches and the rest of the fab but gear British Invasion followed. Culturally, what was on the horizon was the equivalent of sound coming to the movies.

The artist contributions are significant. They offer a sweet last snapshot of Fifties culture that lingered well into the early Sixties. Focusing their talents on the singles market, still the only game in town, they were a mixture of young talent and old business. They played by rules that had been around too long and still managed to deliver unique and original product. Cool, young, and under contract, they rocked the radio, jolted the cash registers, and spoke to young people.

There were so many songs that charged this magical last summer of the before times. This is only the tip of the iceberg floating in the deep end. Some of these songs haven’t been played next to each other in over a half century. They still play well together, unaware of the future, masters of their space in their time. On the beach.

Poolside ‘63 listeners weren’t thinking of all these cultural changes as they showed up in their swimsuits with their beach towels, their lotions and potions, their flotation devices. The pool was for fun and relaxation and the tunes blasting the chlorine filled air just felt right. It felt loud.

Special thanks to the artists who made this magic summer so unforgettable, to DJ B. Mitchell Reed, to the Coca-Cola Company, to The Chantays on Lawrence Welk) to Japan, to the Bronx, to Saigon, to country, to the blues, to jazz and everything else that got shaken up in this sound kaleidoscope from an endless summer.

IT’S MY PARTY - Lesley Gore

THE MONKEY TIME - Major Lance

DA DOO RON RON - The Crystals

SUKIYAKI - Kyu Sakamoto

EASIER SAID THAN DONE The Essex

IF YOU WANNA BE HAPPY - Jimmy Soul

HEATWAVE - Martha and the Vandellas

FINGERTIPS PT 1 & 2 - Little Stevie Wonder

SALLY GO ROUND THE ROSES - The Jaynettes

IN DREAMS - Roy Orbison

PIPELINE - The Chantays

SURF CITY - Jan and Dean

YOU CAN’T SIT DOWN - The Dovells

DENISE - Randy and the Rainbows

HE’S SO FINE - The Chiffons

MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK - The Angels

WIPEOUT - The Surfaris

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The high school experience described in this cassette of forgotten dreams is long ago and far away. It reeks with hope and frivolity mostly 50s and 60s style. The Ramones slip in on a pass from 1981, already Retro in their black leather jacket attitudes. The theme from their movie Rock and Roll High School is the key to what came before.

Dealing two from ‘72, there’s a sea change from earlier de rigueur crew cuts and corsages. Alice Cooper delivers the anthem for all summers to come while Cheech and Chong bong the drum loudly. Claiming the ‘60s, we get Gary U. S. Bonds answering the tardy bell with fingers popping, while the Beach Boys lecture America’s youth on the value of football and Stingray tuneups.

The 50s rock the establishment in their own ways, politely in ties and poodle skirts. Tommy Facenda’s high school hit is big in 23 markets. No one want to rock any boat except of course for naughty-but-slick Chuck Berry, class clown Coasters, Lone Star rockabilly tutor Gene Summers, and ball of fire Jerry Lee Lewis, who has found time to marry his freshman cousin.

Last on the playlist but first in their class, the Fleetwoods leave us with a valedictory ballad that will wet every eye in the auditorium.

And so it goes.

Let’s hit the pool.

PLAYLIST and VIDEOS

Chuck on Belgian TV, The Coasters in class, Cheech and Chong on “The Mating Game with Helen Reddy,” Alice at 18, Tommy Facenda’s Detroit version, a different Gene Summersrocker, Gary U. S. Bond’s biggest hit, Jerry Lee on Steve Allen TV, The Ramones on the Sha Na Na show, Beach Boys on Bandstand, and a biggie from the Fleetwoods…

SCHOOL DAYS - Chuck Berry (1957)

CHARLIE BROWN - The Coasters (1959)

SISTER MARY ELEPHANT - Cheech & Chong (1972)

SCHOOL’S OUT - Alice Cooper (1972)

HIGH SCHOOL USA - Tommy Facenda (1959)

SCHOOL IS OUT - Gary U. S. Bonds (1961)

SCHOOL OF ROCK AND ROLL - Gene Summers & the Rebels (1958)

HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL - Jerry Lee Lewis (1958)

ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL - The Ramones (1981)

BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL - The Beach Boys (1963)

GRADUATION’S HERE - The Fleetwoods (1959)

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The tunes are coming at us from all directions on this episode in this special sound enhanced Don’t-Touch-That-Dial edition of Old School. The music finds its way through ping pong matches, big bang reverb, monster’s table manners, war toys, and alien visitations in this edition that is part sound garden and part road time trip.

The studio becomes a player in debuts from The Cars and Jeff Beck, cosmic public radio with your host Jimi Hendrix, and greens for vegan Beach Boys who once lived on cheeseburgers by the sea. Gary Numan is from space, Iron Butterfly flap their wings to get there. The Moody Blues have harmonized back to the Stone Age, and as unknown as Gary Myrick is, he can be in two places at once. (Both sides of our heads.) Best of all, Pink Floyd has no freaking clue the adventure and riches that await, so for this special place in time they are just going to be weird.

That’s the gist of HEADPHONE DEMO on Old School. Plug it in anywhere. Your device wants to show off.

This week’s playlist and some alternate performances:

MOVING IN STEREO The Cars

EXP The Jimi Hendrix Experience

DOWN IN THE PARK Gary Numan and Tubeway Army

PROCESSION The Moody Blues

SEVERAL SPECIES OF FURRY ANIMALS GATHERED TOGETHER IN A CAVE AND GROOVING WITH A PICT Pink Floyd

VEGETABLES The. Beach Boys

SHE TALKS IN STEREO Gary Myrick and the Figures

SOUL EXPERIENCE Iron Butterfly

I AIN’T SUPERSTITIOUS Jeff Beck

Article: World’s most expensive headphone

Focal Utopia by Tournaire – $120,000

Onkyo H900M 20-carat diamonds – $80,000

Sennheiser Orpheus/HE-1 – $68,000

V-Moda Crossfade M-100 – $40,000

Ultrasone ED5 LTD Edition 5 – $5,999

Abyss AB-1266 Phi – $5,495

oBravo EAMT-1s – $4,780

Final Audio Design Sonorous X – $4,500

Stax SR-009 – $4,450

Audeze LCD-4 – $4,000

HiFiMan HE1000 V2 – $3,380

Shure KSE1500 – $3,245

Meze Audio Empyrean – $2,999

Grado PS1000e – $2,030

Audeze LCD-X – $1,945

Sennheiser HD800 – $1,500

Beyerdynamic T1 – $1,395

Hifiman HE 6 – $1,299

JH Audio JH16 Pro – $1,295

Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 – $1,200

Source : WealthyGorilla.com

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In this episode #21 of Old School we are scouting locations. Not all songs let you know their location or how many Wazers are around them. Today we will be checking out some famous musical whereabouts good, bad and ugly. After a frolic with The Runaways On Suburban Lawns we find ourselves listening outside the Charles residence on Lonely Avenue. A few tips from beat cool Mose Allison gets us ready for the city, where Porter Wagoner will tell us how bad it can really get. The party picks up at a real crazy apartment and before we know it we are up to the 99th Floor. On the way out we hear T. Rex serenade a tenement lady, then reflect on A Town Called Malice.

No Google Maps we’re harmed or used during this show!

ON SUBURBAN LAWNS The Runaways

LONELY AVENUE Ray Charles

IF YOU’RE GOIN’ TO THE CITY Mose Allison

SKID ROW JOE Porter Wagoner

REAL CRAZY APARTMENT Winston’s Fumbs

99TH FLOOR Moving Sidewalks

TENEMENT LADY T. Rex

A TOWN CALLED MALICE The Jam

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Today we land our one-seater helicopters in the early 60s, somewhere between the surf craze and the first wave of the British Invasion.
The war was cold. You couldn't get anything From Russia With Love.
Cowboy movies were replaced by nuclear fear flicks, usually up to deadly games spearheaded by governments with murky intentions.
Everybody wanted to rule the world. Or blow it up if they were not paid the sum of ONE MILLION DOLLAR$!!!!

Secret operatives unlocked codes, eliminated human roadblocks, disarmed atomic bombs, gambled at Monte Carlo until dawn then joined another secret agent in a bed under a two way mirror.
007 quickly had company that included impossible missions, a man and a girl from uncle, silencers, an ipcress file, SMERSH, SPECTRE, Doctor Goldfoot and a bikini machine.

In addition to their tricked out cars and shoephones, every agent came with a distinctive theme song to solidify their brands.

For this episode we have uncovered a slew of secret agent joints, shaken not stirred.
Should you choose to accept this mission, the tape will
self destruct in 29 minutes.
Live and Let Die.
Welcome to Old School Number 20 Spy Vs Spy ….

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE The Kane Triplets

LAST OF THE SECRET AGENTS Nancy Sinatra

FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE Matt Monro

AGENT DOUBLE-O SOUL Edwin Starr

THE SILENCER Patti Seymour

DR GOLDFOOT & THE BIKINI MACHINE The Beas

SECRET AGENT MAN Johnny Rivers

SECRET AGENT MAN Devo

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Music finds us in all sorts of ways. Much of the time, the way we remember a song is related to how many times we heard it on the radio, on the stereo, on our Walkmans. Our boogie brains sort every thing in ways mystical and cerebral, and in a form we like to call Pavlov’s Playback, we get the reward by hearing the song exactly as we remember it with every little detail.

So entrenched is this phenomenon, when we hear the song by someone else, in a cover or perhaps original version, it’s like driving in England. Ultimately we will get where we are going, but the steering wheel is on the wrong side.

Today’s OLD SCHOOL is mostly like that, but they aren’t covers. They are either original or different versions of tunes that saw greater success with different players.

Gloria Jones created a classic decades before the Coneheads made it a signature song. One of The Brothers Johnson married a cousin of Shuggie Otis. Flipping through his bride’s vinyl, he discovered a tune destined for the pop charts seven years after teen Shuggie had originated it. Fleetwood Mac has a mind blowing version of “Black Magic Woman”—it certainly got the attention of Carlos Santana.

Willie Mabon and Wynonie Harris rocked before Rock and Roll was rolled out. And finally, Joy Division recorded a few versions of their greatest hit. I attempt to explain it in the podcast, so push PLAY.

Here is the playlist with some added features, including a beautiful but tainted video from Soft Cel.

Thanks so much for your support of the OLD SCHOOL podcast! Subscribe on Apple or Spotify or Stitcher or Radio Public, and let those places know you are listening. It really helps the process.

I think. But my memory is a bit fuzzy!

TAINTED LOVE Gloria Jones

STRAWBERRY LETTER 23 Shuggie Otis

BLACK MAGIC WOMAN Fleetwood Mac

SEVENTH SON Willie Mabon

GOOD ROCKIN’ TONIGHT Wynonie Harris

LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Joy Division

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“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anaïs Nin

For the past couple of years, we’ve gone through silent springs. Events from graduations to championships to funerals evaporated into cancellations. Gatherings were discouraged. An active and vibrant world going into a two-year lockdown was not on anybody’s radar. As we get deeper into hope and spring being eternal, we are already realizing that this 22nd spring of the 21st centuray has it’s own limitations and global weirdness. Still a rebirth, a reawakening, sounds really good right about now.

Most of today’s songs come from the late 60s and early 70s, when it was still quite a certainty that the age of Aquarius would go on for a thousand years. One song comes from the late 40s, right after World War II. It was written by a bearded vegetarian who got his song of ecological peace and love to the swinging and smooth Nat King Cole.

Sopwith Camel (they got their name from a 1917 British biplane fighter) looks into the future of a planet that might not get the best care.

Norton Buffalo finds love in the Valley of the Moon. John and Beverly Martyn loves the kind of life on Primrose Hill. Amazing Blondel, Gentle Giant, and the Incredible String band could have played outdoor festivals in Sherwood Forest.

Atmospheric No Pressure. A mixtape for a surprised planet at a promising time of year.

FAZON Sopwith Camel

LOVING IN THE VALLEY OF THE MOON Norton Buffalo

PRIMROSE HILL John and Beverly Martyn

PAVAN Amazing Blondel

SCHOOL DAYS Gentle Giant

LITTLE CLOUD Incredible String Band

NATURE BOY Nat King Cole

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“The past is a blast.”

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“Nobody’s ever taught you how to live out on the street and now you’re gonna have to get used to it…” “Like a Rolling Stone” Bob Dylan

The next district over from the Old School’s is where you find the sacred halls of the School of Hard Knocks. In any and all of these places of rarified education, a basic knowledge of the street was mandatory if there were to be any hope of advancement.

Street smarts are as invaluable today in the Sixties, which is where this episode is headed. If you can deal with anybody anyplace anytime, chances are you soak up a lot of grit and soul from the music you hear in the Asphalt Jungle.

The Fantastic Johnny C had a name that would work in any era, as well as a song for the ages. No Ubers know how to Boogaloo Down Broadway, but it sure beats hitchhiking. Judy Henske is kind of creepy and forboding, but she’s steering you from the Road to Nowhere. Blinded in the headlights, Iggy and the Stooges ripped their shirts and spit blood “Down on the Street.”

Sweet Van Dyke Parks lulls us into a chamomile cocoon of childhood and baseball on “Vine Street” before Arthur Conley snaps us back for another dance on the avenue of broken dreams of “Funky Broadway.” If you’ve never heard Lou Rawls, think of him as an OG Yoda with the determination and the fire in the belly to get off this dead end street. Chicago baby. The hawk. Almighty hawk.

Sixties Streets Smarts. Let’s get some.

BOOGALOO DOWN BROADWAY Fantastic Johnny C

ROAD TO NOWHERE Judy Henske

DOWN ON THE STREET The Stooges

VINE STREET Van Dyke Parks

FUNKY STREET Arthur Conley

DEAD END STREET Lou Rawls

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{Note: Apologies if you are getting this email a second time. I don’t think you are, but this morning’s episode seems to have not been sent. If you do have #16, it is exactly the same as #16A, I just have to change the title. Thank you so much for listening and sharing! Suggestions, requests, show ideas, all that much appreciated}

We have known this for some time. Even before the pandemic, before we were locked down with only ourselves and our families to observe our off times all the time we knew. Perhaps it is a result of global bad health or a planet that is fading fast. Maybe it is the ease with which the rude rule the web. The loudest person in the room is obviously the smartest, else he (it is usually “he,” right?) wouldn’t be yelling and slapping his hand on the table and generally creating a ruckus of bluster and piss while others discuss where to locate the new coffee machine.

When did we swap good manners for bad is the subject of a new intellectual reckoning in The Atlantic. You can read that here: Why are People Acting So Weird?

But make it snappy! We have some tunes to hear.

OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR includes The Records, on the verge of the 80s, with an urge to get messed up before going out. The Dells’ “Oh What a Night” is a completely sweet memory, although the phrase often indicates a calamity.

But look out! Here comes spousal abuse from The Crystals, outright violence so vile Fleetwood Mac recorded it under an assumed name, and how to handle a brat from the upright Ramones. Sex, drugs, and Bad Manners team up for Inner London Violence and finally the Pet Shop Boys plead with Dusty Springfield with the typical victim refrain: “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”

Seriously. What HAVE we done?

Hurry summer! Stay focused!

ALL MESSED UP AND READY TO GO The Records

OH WHAT A NIGHT The Dells

HE HIT ME (AND IT FELT LIKE A KISS) The Crystals

SOMEBODY IS GOING TO GET THEIR HEAD KICKED IN TONIGHT Earl Vince and the Valiants

Everybody is rockin' and everyone just wants more, moreSo there's gonna be a pool of blood on the dancin' floor, floor Somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonight! We're gonna rip off the hallsTear down the wallsAll those boys, gonna be a big fightAnd... take it outside Everybody is rockin' and everyone just wants more, moreSo there's gonna be a pool of blood on the dancin' floor, floor Somebody's gonna get their head Somebody's gonna get their head Somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonight!

BEAT ON THE BRAT The Ramones

INNER LONDON VIOLENCE Bad Manners

WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS? Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield

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We have known this for some time. Even before the pandemic, before we were locked down with only ourselves and our families to observe our off times all the time we knew. Perhaps it is a result of global bad health or a planet that is fading fast. Maybe it is the ease with which the rude rule the web. The loudest person in the room is obviously the smartest, else he (it is usually “he,” right?) wouldn’t be yelling and slapping his hand on the table and generally creating a ruckus of bluster and piss while others discuss where to locate the new coffee machine.

When did we swap good manners for bad is the subject of a new intellectual reckoning in The Atlantic. You can read that here: Why are People Acting So Weird?

But make it snappy! We have some tunes to hear.

OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR includes The Records, on the verge of the 80s, with an urge to get messed up before going out. The Dells’ “Oh What a Night” is a completely sweet memory, although the phrase often indicates a calamity.

But look out! Here comes spousal abuse from The Crystals, outright violence so vile Fleetwood Mac recorded it under an assumed name, and how to handle a brat from the upright Ramones. Sex, drugs, and Bad Manners team up for Inner London Violence and finally the Pet Shop Boys plead with Dusty Springfield with the typical victim refrain: “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”

Seriously. What HAVE we done?

Hurry summer! Stay focused!

ALL MESSED UP AND READY TO GO The Records

OH WHAT A NIGHT The Dells

HE HIT ME (AND IT FELT LIKE A KISS) The Crystals

SOMEBODY IS GOING TO GET THEIR HEAD KICKED IN TONIGHT Earl Vince and the Valiants

Everybody is rockin' and everyone just wants more, moreSo there's gonna be a pool of blood on the dancin' floor, floor Somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonight! We're gonna rip off the hallsTear down the wallsAll those boys, gonna be a big fightAnd... take it outside Everybody is rockin' and everyone just wants more, moreSo there's gonna be a pool of blood on the dancin' floor, floor Somebody's gonna get their head Somebody's gonna get their head Somebody's gonna get their head kicked in tonight!

BEAT ON THE BRAT The Ramones

INNER LONDON VIOLENCE Bad Manners

WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS? Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield

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It is always fun to play songs on the podcast that werent allowed on the radio. Censorship of music that might have held even the slightest reference to drugs was blatant. One pill could not make you larger!

The Beatles A Day in the Life got banned from the BBC. So did Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Today our Old School Subject is the hallucinagenic drug lysergic acid diethlymide. Not songs that were written while tripping on LSD, but songs that were enthusiasticly robust in their search for a key that might unlock the mystery door behind the eyeball that would open Dorothy~like unto OZ. Colors change, breathe, and order breakfast. The smallest thing becomes fascinating before it shouts transparent recipes across the desert honeymoon.

The playlist has LA scene icon Kim Fowley, beat bruiser William Burroughs sitting in with the Doors via telekinesis, Mr. Electrical Banana Donovan himself, sugar cubes, and a very strange Rx from Dr. Timothy Leary.

A normal show like this would take 12 hours to put together, and then we would be hungry as hell. But the world would be different. And we might forget completely a song we just fell in love with.

Welcome to Old School Fifteen. It is BLATANT LSD.

THE TRIP Donovan (1946- )

IS EVERYBODY IN? William Burroughs (1914-1997) and Jim Morrison (1943-1971)

William Burroughs was a rock star of the literary set, one of the original beat generation icons whose greatest hit was a fabulous druggie novel called Naked Lunch. On this cut he reads the poetry of Jim Morrison. This is the trip. The best part of the trip. Whip the horses eyes. Legs furiously pumping. There’s been a slaughter here. True sailing is dead. Lizard King meets the world’s oldest junkie. Is Everybody In?

Lions in the streetLions in the streetAnd roaming dogs in heat, rabid, foamingA beast caged in the heart of a cityIs everybody in?Is everybody in?The ceremony is about to beginThe body of his motherRotting in the summer groundHe fled the townHe went down south and crossed the borderLeft the chaos and disorderBack there over his shoulderIs everybody in?Is everybody in?The ceremony is about to beginOne morning he awoke in a green hotelWith a strange creature groaning beside himSweat oozed from its shiny skinIs everybody in?The ceremony is about to begin

MY FRIEND JACK The Smoke

WHAT YOU TURN ON WHEN YOU TURN ON Dr. Timothy Leary (1920-1996)

APOTHECARY DREAM Sound Sandwich

The Sound Sandwich caused some brief concern and got their record pulled from radio in the late 1960s. According to blogs showing up on the internet, a band member named Les writes:

“Our problem was that it was banned on the radio but the DJs liked what they heard. It was supposed to have been the "rate a record" on American Bandstand but again, it was banned. Kind of funny to think about this very mild song being banned considering what's on the radio today. We were a bunch of young but serious musicians that got close but never quite made it. We did have fun though.”

THE TRIP Kim Fowley (1939-2015)

Legendary LA wild music man Kim Fowley was involved in sooo many projects, including records by B Bumble and The Stingers, the Hollywood Argyles, The Seeds, the Runaways, and his own slap dash solo career. He was always a bit ahead of his time, like here when he recorded what is regarded as the first psychedelic novelty record two years before the summer of love. It came out in Great Britain in 1965 and in the U. S. in 1966, received limited airplay, and survives today as one of the great curiosity’s of LSD.

Kenny Rogers dropped acid and went country.

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From that title you can probably guess it’s a mixed bag of beloved obscurities. Elliot Murphy released Aquashow in 1973 with a blowtorch of a rock roll onslaught appropriately titled “Last of the Rock Stars.” You are in the song, so don’t miss that.

Judee Sill made it to 35. The music she left behind is haunting, beautiful, and full of the life mysterious. Someday somebody will make a movie about her, and it will have a sad ending.

Pete Seeger was a lifelong folksinger who walked the walk in addition to singing the talk. He was belligerent and aggressive against anyone who wanted to ruin the earth, deny the human rights of human beings, screw the working man or woman, or send their children off to war. He popularized a song called “We Shall Oversome.” On this episode we have Pete, in trouble with the networks, for singing a tune that felt critical of President Johnson’s handling of the Vietnam War.

Finally we get to Gene Chandler, loosening his tie, falling to his knees, and bringing an audience back alive, all by rocking a Rainbow.

Thanks for tuning in! Whoever you get your podcasts from, click their equivalent of a 👍! Here are some visuals while you listen!

LAST OF THE ROCK STARS Elliott Murphy (1949- )

THE VIGILANTE Judee Sill (1944-1979)

WAIST DEEP IN THE BIG MUDDY Pete Seeger (1919-2014)

RAINBOW Gene Chandler (1939- )

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It’s a great time for the St. Patrick’s Day Jukebox! There it is, up against a green wall in a green tavern, blasting out the tunes that made the holiday bubble like the Guinness Stout. Everybody wants an Irish song, so the jukebox is loaded. With quarters.

The Old School Podcast begins with The Belfast Gypsies who sound like the Irish group Them with good reason. Brothers Jackie (the organist) and Pat (the drummer) McAuley had been along for that band’s string of successes that spotlighted lead singer Van Morrison. Somehow they hooked up with LA producer Kim Fowley in London in 1966, and formed a band that would produce one album, with the confusing title “Them Belfast Gypsies.”

Since we heard Them without Van, it’s fitting we hear something from Van without Them. A lesson in recent Irish history comes next from John and Yoko. The “Mr. Tambourine Man”-era Byrds offer a Scottish/Irish ballad. The closer is from Johnny Cash. What’s a good memory filled holiday traditionally celebrated with alcohol without a cry in your beer tear jerker?

Stick around for the videos. Ole Bing himself solves a holiday mystery centered around fashion and Irish cuisine. Roger Daltry and Sinead O’Connor rock steady with the Chieftains, the Pogues reminisce, the Irish Rovers and Dr. Dog sing about The Unicorn. Then get out the green handkerchiefs as Sinead returns to bid farewell to Molly Malone and St. Patrick’s Day.

This is a free newsletter so share with your holiday wishes! Also download this episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts! Faith and begorrah y’all!

GLORIAS‘S DREAM Belfast Gypsies

LINDEN ARDEN STOLE THE HIGHLIGHTS Van Morrison

SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY John Lennon, Yoko Ono

WILD MOUNTAIN THYME The Byrds

DANNY BOY Johnny Cash

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Led Zeppelin is one of the most litigated bands in history. Like The Beatles, it is a big payday for any artist when a jury of their peers finds even a snippet of a song may originated elsewhere. Forget that Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones (the bassist who stole his name from a famous navy admiral), might have improved the original. Bottom line, when an artist sells nearly 300 million albums, there is a significant bottom line.

The band maintains all titles were researched for proper accreditations. Memphis Minnie was listed as a songwriter for “When the Levee Breaks,” updated by Led Zep 1971, and received healthy residuals. Randy California of Spirit sued over “Stairway to Heaven,” claiming the opening notes were way to close to his instrumental composition “Taurus” from 1968. His heirs were still in court when California passed in 1997. The dispute ended in Zeppelin’s favor in 2020.

For a good legal brief on Led Zeppelin in court, check out this testimonial from Rolling Stone.

Today we hear three tunes from the first Zeppelin LP that were mostly controversy free. “Babe I’m Going to Leave You” came from a Joan Baez recording of a song written in the Fifties by Anne Breton. Here we get it from the pop prep rambling Plebs. Willie Dixon was correctly identified as the composer of the other two songs, as we hear pre-Zep versions of “I Can’t Quit You’ from Otis Rush and Muddy Waters on “You Shook Me.”

The Retrofit Old School podcast is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, most anywhere you get your podcasts.

BABE I’M GONNA LEAVE YOU The Plebs

One of the amazing things when you spend a lot of time in the Old School detention hall is that songs you always assumed were originals were really covers. That’s right, the walkin’ in the park every day knock out punch from Robert Plant was also the only release by The Plebs back in 1964. Stranger still, it’s a traditional folk song recorded two years before that by Joan Baez. But today we get it post-Joanie and pre-Robert Plant. The Plebs and “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You…”

I CAN’T QUIT YOU Otis Rush

Left-handed blues guitarist Otis Rush left his hometown of Philadelphia Mississippi when he was 14 years old. He headed straight for the South Side of Chicago, where he began playing in small clubs and working on the legend. In 1956 he was all of 21 when he signed with the Cobra label, where he stayed for three years until the label went bankrupt. Rush’s career went strong until a stroke sidelined him in 2004. British blues took a major page from the Otis Rush book. You can hear him in Eric Clapton and certainly in Led Zeppelin. Here he is from that first Cobra album in 1956, with a song that went to number 5 on the R & B Charts.

YOU SHOOK ME Muddy Waters

Willie Dixon’s song “You Shook Me” got covered twice in 1969. Once by the Jeff Beck Group featuring Rod Stewart, and another time on the debut album from Led Zeppelin. Dixon was 54 at the time and enjoyed the royalties, which were much more than he received when it was covered in 1962. Here’s that version, featuring Muddy Waters.

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SOMETIMES GOOD GUYS DON’T WEAR WHITE The Standells

The Standells from Los Angeles will always be remembered for taking their garage sound all the way to number 11 on the pop charts with their ode to Boston “Dirty Water.” Lead singer/drummer Dick Dodd had been a Mousketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club. Larry Tamblyn, on the keyboards, was the brother of Russ Tamblyn who had starred in West Side Story. Tony Valentino had left Italy to go to Hollywood, and Gary Leeds eventually found himself in the Walker Brothers. They are caught on film in “Get Yourself a College Girl,” and “Riot on Sunset Strip” and even appeared in the TV sitcom The Munsters. As far as bands go, they have a great gritty sound and they really capture the summer of ’66, in that precious time after the British Invasion and before psychedelics. Here’s the Standells from their first album and Some Times Good Guys Don’t Wear White…

BACK STREET LUV Curved Air

Curved Air emerged on the prog rock scene in London in 1969 when members of the band Sisyphus added female singer Sonja Kristina Linwood. They took their name from a Terry Riley composition, "A Rainbow in Curved Air." The vocals were the last step in their puzzle, but a very big part of their sounds were the sonic violin antics of Darryl Way. The band lasted from 1970 to 76, but time has not been particularly kind to this band. One of the reasons could be sloppy remasters of their CDs. With that in mind, we go back to the original vinyl and hear a forgotten masterpiece.

SON OF SHAFT The Bar-Kays

The Bar-Kays were a Memphis soul ensemble that began life as an instrumental group, then faced the solemn task of rebuilding after major tragedy. Four members of the original group died in the plane crash that also claimed the life of Otis Redding in December of 1967. Trumpeter Ben Cauley survived the crash, bassist James Alexander had missed the flight. The group they assembled would back Isaac Hayes on his album Hot Buttered Soul. Cauley and his new guitarist Michael Toles also played on the Shaft soundtrack, which brings us to this cut, recorded Christmas Day 1971 with singer Larry Dodson.

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Ellen Muriel Deason, aka Kitty Wells, was 32 in 1951. Her latest country hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” crossed the line. It blamed men for a few glaring inequities.

It was heard by Alabama-born Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, 25. She had just signed with Peacock Records and was aiming for similar success. Her statement song was so powerful it was covered by Elvis Presley.

Loretta Lynn was a 19 year-old mother of three, still two years from receiving her first guitar from her husband as a birthday present. Wanda Jackson at 14 was already performing on the Oklahoma City radio stations where she first heard Kitty Wells and many others. She would snag a recording contract at 17.

All four scored in a tough, male dominated music business orbited around rough bars, juke joints, and smoke filled honky-tonks. They played one-nighters, visited out-of-the-way radio stations, and performed standing on orange crates in music centers and record stores.

And more than once they pondered real life in real songs. Grab a beer, it’s time for some “Honky Tonk Women’s History.” And don’t come home a-drinking with lovin’ on your mind.

HOUND DOG Big Mama Thornton

Big Mama Thornton’s version of Hound Dog, recorded almost four years before Elvis Presley got hold of it, takes on a whole new meaning when sung by a woman. And what a woman. Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller wrote the song for Thornton, who at the time was singing with the Johnny Otis band. It topped the R&B charts in 1953, then turned into a legal nightmare. The Peacock label gave Otis writing credit, then the lawyers swarmed in when various takeoffs were released. The story goes that Elvis was unaware of Big Mama’s version when he recorded what would become a monster hit in 1956. Still, savvy critics noted that the song made little sense when sung by a man. Here’s the original, exhibit A, Big Mama Thornton recording in Los Angeles on August 13, 1952.

FUNNEL OF LOVE Wanda Jackson

Born in the tiny town of Maud, Oklahoma in 1937, Wanda Jackson is today considered to be one of the first true female voices on the vast landscape of rock and roll. She got her break when Hank Thompson heard her singing on the radio in Oklahoma City. She dated Elvis, who told her to move away from country gospel and to use that big voice to rock out. Her first record came out in 1956. We’re going to tune into a 1961 song, wherein she combines the power of love with a familiar sight on the Okie weather Map. From 1961, Wanda Jackson and Funnel of Love…

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THE PILL Loretta Lynn

It is hard to imagine today the controversy that surround Loretta Lynn’s ode to birth control, a song called simply, The Pill. She was once quoted as saying “I’ve always said that you have to be different, great, or first. So maybe I was first—first to come to town, write my own stuff and sing it. You know, I think that’s what the whole deal has been.” In 1975 she became the first recording artist to mention birth control in a song. T. D. Bayless wrote the lyrics, Loretta recorded the song in 1972, but her fearful label sat on it for three years. The idea that a woman might have control over her life by regulating the number of children she bears was simply too hot to handle. Even when the song was released, many country radio stations took it upon themselves to shelter the public from these radical notions. Here it is, uncut and uncensored. From 1975, Loretta Lynn and “The Pill.”

You wined me and dined me when I was your girl, Promised if I'd be your wife, you'd show me the worldBUT all I've seen of this old world is a bed and a doctor billI’m tearing down your brooder house 'cause now I've got THE PILL All these years, I've stayed at home while you had all your funAnd every year that's gone by, another baby's comeThere's gonna be some changes made right here on Nursery HillYou've set this chicken your last time 'cause now I've got THE PILL This old maternity dress I've got is going in the garbageThe clothes I'm wearing from now on won't take up so much yardageMiniskirts, hot pants, and a few little fancy frillsYeah, I'm making up for all those years since I've got THE PILL I’m-tired of all your crowing how you and your hens playWhile holding a couple in my arms, another is on the wayThis chicken's done tore up her nest and I'm ready to make a dealAnd you can't afford to turn it down 'cause you know I've got THE PILL This incubator is over-used because you've kept it filledBut feeling good comes easy now since I've got THE PILL It’s getting dark, it's roosting time, tonight's too good to be realAw, but Daddy don't you worry none 'cause Mama's got the pill Oh, Daddy don't you worry none 'cause Mama's got THE PILL💊

IT WASN’T GOD WHO MADE HONKY TONK ANGELS Kitty Wells

Unlike many successful country stars, Muriel Deason was actually born in Nashville. Her husband Johnnie Wright of Johnnie & Jack added her to open the show, but he changed her name to something a little catchier, after the old folk ballad I'm a Goin to Marry Kitty Wells. In 1952, she exhibited her own bit of cat power, with a single that served as an answer to Hank Thompson's Wild Side of Life. A feminist cowgirl who claimed unfaithful women were the spinoff from unfaithful men was something new and dicey, and the song itself solidified her as the Queen of Country Music, someone for young Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette to look up to. Here she is with the song that put her name in lights. Kitty Wells and “It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels...”

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The Flirtations with a bold realization kick off #9! Then a yet to be lionized Lenny Bruce releases a single from his second groundbreaking (check the cover) album, recorded in 1958 at Ann’s 440 Club in San Francisco. He’s a young comic seeking to shock, relieve, poke, educate, and entertain all in 2 minutes of jazz poetry doomed for zero airplay.

Fast forward almost a decade down the line, and the hippy darlings of Grand Rapids, Michigan, hang the bedspreads on their 1967 garage walls, inhale a little Escanaba Waba, and memorialize their tie-die lifestyle in song.

NOTHING BUT A HEARTACHE The Flirtations

The Flirtations were an all girl soul group who could have called themselves the Pearce Sisters, except sisters Betty, Shirley, and Earnestine included their friend Viola Billups. They began life in the early 60s as the Gypsies, but changed their name in ’65 when they were signed by Josie Records. Betty left the group a year later. In 1967 the remaining Flirtations did their own American invasion, and moved to England, where they began recording for the Parrot, then the Deram label. Their big song of 1969 is what they are remembered for, a swinging big sound with enough Top 40 hooks to fill a tackle box. And even though it was a hit in the U.S., the group stayed in Great Britain for another ten years. Here’s the Flirtations and Nothing But a Heartache…

PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS Lenny Bruce

Comedians have been going into recording studios for a long time. Novelty hits are a fast payday if they click, and if they don’t, there’s always another club. In his 40 years, Lenny Bruce would change the face of stand up comedy, not only because he brought dirty words to the stage, but because his vision of humor included savage observations on bigotry, religious contradictions, evil politicians, and everything that can go wrong in life and love. Lenny loved jazz and was a beatnik at heart, both which come through on this single that was released from the 1959 album The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce. Psychopathia Sexualis…

BLESS OUR HIPPY HOME The Assortment

Today we dip into the Michigan garage sound of the 1960s. The Fenton label hailed from Sparta, Michigan, and ultimately became more famous than any of their bands. Most of their acts were little known, never made it nationally, but were huge on the Grand Rapids and Muskegon sock hop circuit. They also had excellent studio recordings made of their garage sounds, thanks to the Fenton engineers. Here’s a good example, a pretty dumb song with great production values. From 1967, it’s The Assortment and Bless Our Hippy Home…

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Unlike the Underground FM sets I would put together in the early 70s as a charter member of the Association of Progressive Radio Announcers, these three song Old School shows don’t have much to do with each other. That will probably change but for these first few it’s grab bag mode. Unearthing genius locked silent for a half century is enough!

If today’s bill was a show, I would be there with you on the front row. Junior Wells was a legend. Musically he was family taught by cousins Junior Parker and Sonny Boy Williamson II. On the other side of the ocean Georgie Fame fed on American blues and brought a hep cat groove to the British Invasion. Fast forward a little and Boston’s Mission of Burma plays their first gig on April 1, 1979.

OK, push play please…

SNATCH IT BACK AND HOLD IT Junior Wells

Junior Wells, 1934-1998 enjoyed a 40 year performing career that established him as one of the baddest blowers of the blues harp. Born in Memphis, he attended the school of hard knocks in Chicago. He was performing with a group called The Aces in 1952 when he heard that Little Walter had dropped out of Muddy Waters band.

By the 1960s Junior was on his own when he recorded perhaps his greatest album, the Hoodoo Man Blues. The idea was to recreate in a studio what a night in a west side lounge might sound like Especially sweet is his Chicago Blues Band, consisting of bassist Jack Myers, drummer Billy Warren, and a guitarist called Friendly Chap on the first pressings, but you don’t need a weatherman to know that axe is being wielded by Buddy Guy.

Don’t even try to sit still. Junior Wells 1965…Snatch it Back and Hold It…

YEH YEH Georgie Fame

Georgie Fame points to Louis Jordan, Booker T and Mose Allison as major influences on his jazzy British style. Oddly enough, the sound was just offbeat and swinging enough to earn him a high rank in the British Invasion. His first hit had been recorded by Mongo Santamaria, with lyrics written by Jon Hendricks of Lambert Hendricks and Ross. London went cool cat, and Georgie has been bopping ever since.

From 1965, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and Yeh Yeh…YEH YEH George Fame and the Blue Flames!

THAT’S WHEN I REACH FOR MY REVOLVER Mission of Burma

Exactly where 80s punk was going to go was still a big question in 1981, when Boston’s Mission of Burma released their first EP, Signals, Calls and Marches. Here was a four piece band, with three traditional instruments and one guy running tape loops from a mixing desk, onstage no less.

Singer and bass player named the song after a Henry Miller essay, only to find out later that Miller had gotten the title from one of Hitler’s favorite Nazis, Hermann Göring. Here’s Mission of Burma, and a sweet little novelty entitled “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver…”

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When most of us who were there, regardless of our powers of recall, the psychedelic 60s are fueled by musical memories. Great Britain ruled with Beatles and Stones, trailed by a loopy gaggle that included Donovan, Small Faces, and infant Pink Floyd. Living in the USA meant the Dead, the Airplane, the Electric Flag, the plastic inevitable, the acid test.

But in Brazil, all those inputs were peppered with the home country heroes Os Mutantes. Weird, political, original, they were as psychedelic as the blue sands of Rio in the moonlight. They started in ‘64, regrouped and added and subtracted personnel over the years, but remain a global legend.

Presenting their first song, the gateway audio drug to the endless whirl that Os Mutantes!

BAT MACUMBA Os Mutantes

Rare video from French TV!

Barbara George wrote her single hit basing the melody on one of her church choir faves, “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.” The lyrics were pointed at the jerk she had married at 16. It was a blessing as well as a blessing out.

In 1961 “I Know” topped the R&B charts at hit #3 on the US pop charts. As composer, she reaped the benefits of cover versions by Ike and Tina, Fats Domino, Bonnie Raitt, and Cher. British invaders Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas recorded it.

Such a fun song, it’s sleeping now, awaiting a reimagined cover somewhere down the line. How do I know? I Know.

I KNOW. Barbara George

I know (I know)You don't love me, no moNo mo (no mo)No, no mo (no mo)And I, don't wanna be hurtedAny mo (no mo)Any mo (no mo)Say he can't hide the lustful heartEv'rything I did was no joySorry, I can't love you right, babyI don't have to love you at allI know (I know)You don't want me no moNo more (no more)No, no more (no more)And it had been someone elseWho lovin' you mo'(No mo) lovin' you more (no more)Ain't no use sitting here crying, nowAfter seeing you have put me downSo, you don't want me no mo, babyAin't no use in your hanging 'roundI know (I know)You don't want me no moNo mo (no mo)No, no mo (no mo)And it had, to be someone elseWho loving you more (no mo)Loving you more (no mo)Ain't no use seeing me crying, nowAfter seeing you have put me down'Cause you don't want me no more, babyAin't no use in your hanging 'round

Lugee Alfredo Giovanni Sacco turned 79 on Feb 19. His best birthday will always be his 23rd in 1966, when he had the Number One song in the country. On March 3, “Lightnin’ Strikes” went gold, signifying a million sales, mostly to teenage girls who knew exactly where Lou Christie was coming from. And where he wanted to go.

Most of Christie’s hits, heavy with falsetto and naughty romance, are rough and edgy for the times. To date he is the only artist to have a record banned for including the phrase “making out.” Christie loved the bad rich boy persona that emanate from his songs, his album covers, his live performances.

Lou forever comes across as the privileged white teen who shows up late for the chaperoned sweet sixteen birthday house party with a trust fund in the works, rocking a plaid blazer. He’s driving his father’s Jaguar. And at some point of the party he takes two or three cool guys out to the driveway for a smoke and shows them the pistol in the glove box.

Christie and his labels created this image and squeezed it into a very successful career. “Wild Life’s in Season” is a lesser hit for him, but it is such a perfect example of what Lou Christie was all about. The man, the legend, the haircut.

WILD LIFE’S IN SEASON Lou Christie

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“The past is a blast.”

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For fifty years, I’ve been bewildered. Why wasn’t “Feel Older Now” by The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie (Flo and Eddie y’all) a huge hit of 1972, like Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” or Roberta Flacks’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”

It is joyous, it is mad, it is weird. Maybe that affected the record sales. Also there was the blossoming of the Watergate scandal. Who had time for two refugees from the power pop giants The Turtles, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan? Clearly they had moved on from lollipops and roses hits like “Happy Together.”

Clearly, Mark and Howard had taken the LSD Frank Zappa had offered them, grown their beards out sloppy, and adopted the scuzzy hippie look of their new band, The Mothers of Invention.

What happened in those time is told well by Howard Kaylan in Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.

Yes they smoked pot in the Lincoln bedroom. They may have imbibed a bit during the sessions for this blasting ballad that features the whimsy of growing old backed by bitterness, regret, and amplifiers stacked to the moon.

FEEL OLDER NOW Phlorescent Leech and Eddie

I talk about seeing Jackie Wilson in person on a golden oldie tour in the podcast. What a presence. Wilson was an incredible performer who brought such passion and joy to his music. The video is him doing one of gymnasium nation’s greatest hits. In the show is his professional debut from 1956. Jackie wails. As Van Morrison said, “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)”.

REET PETITE Jackie Wilson

Wrapping OS#6 we have a great tune from the industrial pioneers led by Genesis P-Orridge and Casey Fanni Tutti. They began life as COUM Transmission, and performed as Death Factory before hitting on the name we remember them for.

ADRENALINE Throbbing Gristle

All this energy destroys me Killing my security Sitting here you make me shiver Sitting here I lose all fear Making love in different places Jealousy brings you So near

It still helps me be happy It still helps make me free Yet it still helps me be happyA And it still helps made me free

Adrenalin, adrenalin paper-thin adrenalin paper-thin adrenalin

Sitting here you make me shiver Sitting here you see my fear I am split in different places I am split from everything Longing for security

Paper-thin adrenalin Paper-thin adrenalin Waiting for the life you give

Here we are just sitting prettyHere we are just sitting pretty

Paper-thin adrenalinPaper-thin adrenalinPaper-thin adrenalin

Longing for security

I am split in different placesI am split from everythingYet it still helps make me happySitting with adrenalinAnd it still helps make me happySitting with adrenalin

Can I be alive once more?Sitting with adrenalinSitting with adrenalinSitting with adrenalinSitting with adrenalin

“The past is a blast.”

Thanks for listening to Old School. Remember it is easy to load these in with your podcasts and things update there every time I click go on this end.

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Three songs from different eras and the unique mindsets have only one commonality. They have their own particular oddball quirkiness. They weren’t intended as novelty songs and yet…pretty darn novel.

Welcome to Old School #5 Madison Bones!

THE MADISON TIME PART 1 Ray Bryant Combo

Ray Bryant was a solid jazz cat who had a modest hit with the Madison Time in 1960. Then the song realized the dream of a second coming. For this one, it was in the unlikely hit Hairspray (1988). Then it got yet another boost when the movie became a musical then came back as another movie in 2007!

Here’s the video from the first movie, a rarity from a 1960 local dance show, and and instructional DVD feature because you can’t sit down!

SPAZZ The Elastik Band

The Elastik Band provided a politically incorrect low for the psychedelic era in 1967. Tasteless as it is, it does enjoy a groove of sorts, a one hit wonder destined for the boneyard.

ROCKIN’ BONES Ronnie Dawson

Which takes us to a Texas rocking lone star who was hitting the Billy Idol look in the ancient Fifties. Ronnie Dawson was Ronnie Dee for his first record, “Action Packed” in 1958. For his second song in 1959 he was already fretting at least his teen mortality. But like Ray Bryant, Ronnie Dawson had a fabulous second act, touring rockabilly crazed Europe in the 1980s! He’d seen the needle in the stylus and the damage done!

Remember, you can hear the podcast at the top of the page. While you are there you can download this episode to cozy up next to your other podcasts. Also you can arrange to have Old School delivered directly to that app. So if you pull the email plug for a while you wit miss any episodes!

The Madison Time (part 1)Ray Bryant

It’s the madison time hit it You're lookin' good -A big strong line When I say hit it,I want you to go two up and twoBack with a big strong turnAnd back to the madisonHit itta(Instrumental)You're lookin' goodNow when I say hit it,I want you to go two up and twoBack double crossCome out of it with the riflemanHit itta(Instrumental)CrazyNow when I say hit I want the strong"M" erase it and back to the madisonHit it(Instrumental)Walk on you're lookin' good(Instrumental)Now then when I say hit, it'll be "T" time(Instrumental)Hit it(Instrumental)Big strong lineNow when I say hit it I want the big strongCleveland box and back to the madison(Instrumental)Hit it(Instrumental)CrazyNow when I say hit it,I want the big strong basketballWith the Wilt Chamberlain hook(Instrumental)Hit it -- 2 pointsNow this time when I say hit it,I want the big strongJackie Gleason and back to the madison(Instrumental)Hit it - and away we goNow then when I say hit, birdland 'til I say stopHit it -- how 'bout a little stiff leg there?You're lookin' goodNow when I say hit it come out of the birdland back to the madison(Instrumental)Hit it - crazyWhen I say hit it, go 2 up and 2 back double cross and freezeHit it(Instrumental)And hold it right there

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Four podcasts in a week. What was I thinking? But it happened and was way fun. There are so many great songs that sit silent in the years. Upcoming we will probably put these up once or twice a week, each one about the same length. But that could all change so stay tuned as we discover the wild, the wayward, and an astounding amount of creativity that just disappeared from a disposable pop culture. Every song represents a dream. How they play after emerging from involuntary time capsules is anybody’s guess.

For Episode 4, we touch down in Kim Fowley’s humid and dismal Los Angeles by night. Luckily we have the Popsicles to cool us off. Then we dial it back to Chicago in the DiMaggio summer, where Lil Green has scored some pre-war weed. Finally, we end up on a mystic mountaintop with Eric Burdon’s New Animals, who have come seeking enlightened. If you meet the Buddha on the road, he’s bound to have a podcast!

ENDLESS TEEN PARTY The Popsicles

KNOCKING MYSELF OUT Lil Green

CLOSER TO THE TRUTH Eric Burdon and the New Animals

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Devo live is a hard charging example of the de-evolution that threatened to zap the 80s into something caring and generous. Hang on to your red helmets!

Be Stiff 🌎 Planet Earth DEV0

Mersey inspired Glenda Collins was a small part of the British Invasion, a bundle of pop protest from Joe Meek’s quirky stable. Here she is, slamming the nukes in favor of ending world hunger.

It’s Hard to Believe it GLENDA COLLINS

Bombs and missiles are here to stay It's hard to believe it, but I do They hit the moon with mice and men One day they'll send 'em back again It's hard to believe it, but I do How can they spend a million on a rocket head When there's millions on Earth in need of bread? It's hard to believe, but they do We're all in for a shock and soon When we find living creatures upon the moon It's hard to believe it, but I do I don't need a telescope to see What our future on Earth is gonna be Don't you disguise it, no, no, not for me I put my plea for all it's worth Let's first make this a better Earth I really believe it, yes I do I really believe it, yes I do I really believe it, yeah yeah, don't you? It's hard to believe it, but it's true I really believe it, yeah yeah, 'cause it's true I really believe it, yes I do

Minimalistic and sullen, the Brits who shortened their name from “Troglodytes” wowed both side of the Atlantic in 1965 with “Wild Thing.” Here they are less than a year later, so successful they don’t want to do their own yard work. Lead vocalist Reg Presley, a big influence on Iggy Pop, left us in 2013.

Night of the Long Grass THE TROGGS

Preview week for Old School, the new podcast from Retrofit, continues tomorrow with some down to earth spaciness. Remember you can hear the episode through the player at the top of this page. Even easier, click on “listen through your podcast app” at the top right and this episode can be stored with your other podcasts. You can also access previous episodes of Apple iTunes, Stitcher, and Tune In! Thanks so much for checking it out!

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Here’s another edition of Old School which dropped for the first time on Retrofit yesterday. This week while we introduce this new podcast feature the Professor Mikey lesson plan calls for an episode a day Tues-Fri then take Super Bowl Weekend off!

No real schedule is set, it’s pretty much play and see, but at least once or twice a week sounds about right. Thoughts? Lemme know.

Hold on to Your Life PSYCHOTIC PINEAPPLE

Janitor of Lunacy NICO

Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby? BUSTER BROWN

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Introducing a new Retrofit podcast feature straight from the Old School!

This show began as a one-song one-off crafted for college radio audiences as well as truants. These listeners craved the deep dope that reeked of obscurity and cool. From the funky halls of this way back institution you could be the first kid on your block to hear something from 40 years ago that rang with spirit and originality. Or perhaps there’s a sample in it that collected mold on the sound shelf until a master DJ dripped it from a beaker into a beat track.

Scholars and Professor Find Musical Common Ground

For the podcast version of Old School, the plan is to tell short stories about two or three songs, then actually play these rare wonders in real time. Radical, right? It’s all done in the name of music education. Total class time: around 12 minutes but since I get to write the rules I’m keeping them short.

The sound closet I’m pulling from covers over 50 years and is stacked with albums, CDs, cassettes, videos, reel-to-reels. Lots of genres, scattered promos, unintentional rarities, lost vinyl that hasn’t felt a needle in decades. It’s an expanding universe.

The Retrofit newsletter continues with articles, photos, and other feature podcasts. The Old School podcasts will arrive in your mailboxes just as your newsletters do. Hopefully it will be that surprise bolt of inspiration from the Fifties through the Nineties you were needing.

Thanks for tuning in and please oh please share with friends! This is how your desert island joint gets found bobbing around in the podcast ocean.

You can subscribe to it as you do your other podcasts and it will show up in that cue. In case you want to hear them in sequence or whatever.

The goal is to keep it surprising and lively, to offer a take as to why the work was created, and why it didn’t make the standard forever cemetary hit lists. It’s not a countdown or programming based on sales. Please comment, offer suggestions, and send Professor Mikey on scavenger hunts into the unknown.

Once again, we open the Old School, the detention hall of the forgotten, the obscure, the unknown, the diamonds in the rust!

Are you Reddy?

This week on our first Old School podcast!

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It has happened every February 3 since 1959. Waking to the news of one of rock music’s earliest tragedies, the plane crash that claimed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper near Clear Lake, Iowa.

The whole story is in this special Retrofit podcast that you can access on the player above. If possible, click on that button that saves this episode to your podcasts. That way you can hear it in pieces and I’ll get some podcast numbers!

Holly was 22, Valens 17, J. P. Richardson the Bopper 28. Richardson got his seat on the plane from Waylon Jennings. Bob Dylan saw their penultimate show the night before at Duluth, Minnesota.

I saw Buddy Holly two or three nights before he died. I saw him in Duluth [Minnesota], at the armory. He played there with Link Wray. I don’t remember the Big Bopper. Maybe he’d gone off by the time I came in. But I saw Richie Valens. And Buddy Holly, yeah. He was great. He was incredible. I mean, I’ll never forget the image of seeing Buddy Holly up on the bandstand. And he died – it must have been a week after this. It was unbelievable.

Bob Dylan (to Kurt Loder, March 1984)

So many ironic threads run through the tragic conclusion to the Buddy Holly story. Here’s some visuals to go along with the audio. PS the music never died!

Rave on!

Chuck Berry and Alan Freed introduce Ricardo Valenzuela in Go Johnny Go! (1958)

The Bopper on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand

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The first two years of the Roaring Twenties 2.0 have been twin bears, haven’t they? Why, this time last year we were downright giddy about booting 2020, like it would all go away like a bad dream. As we get ready to do the same with 2021, we hope for the best with far fewer pretenses about the future that seems determined to swallow us.

But wait! Professor Mikey, a firm believer in the healing and hopeful aspects of musi, is off on another holiday musical expedition, this time to discover the heart of everybody's favorite midnight party.

What is a Lang Syne? And how Auld is it? What do Bing Crosby, Spike Jones, and Blind Lemon Jefferson have in common? Do New Year's Resolutions really work? Is the best New Year's duet of all time sung by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas? And what's Carl Sagan doing in here? Don’t say he is back to tell us not to look up!

These and other timely questions are answered in this full hour celebration of New Year's music. Plug in and buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy year. Get ready for Blues classics like Smokey Hogg's "New Year's Eve Blues" from 1948, a New Year's Eve 1970 appearance by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, an absolute wacko resolution romp with the City Slickers and many, many more. The genres melt into each other, the human condition gets a good going over, and we all resolve to be better next year!

Happy New Year, push play, and be sure to click and download New Year’s Revolution to your podcast player!

Playlist

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? King Curtis

Happy New Year Spike Jones and His City Slickers

Let's Start the New Year Right Bing Crosby

Happy New Year Blues Blind Lemon Jefferson

Auld Lang Syne John Fahey

Auld Lang Syne Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin

Auld Lang Syne The Beach Boys

Auld Lang Syne The Cucumbers

New Year's Resolution Otis Redding/Carla Thomas

What a Year for a New Year Dan Wilson

A Glorious Dawn Carl Sagan

Happy New Year Lightnin' Hopkins

New Year's Eve Blues Smokey Hogg

New Year's Resolution Blues Roy Milton Solid Senders

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New Year's Resolutions Scary Gary Alan

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve Nancy Wilson

The Closing of the Year The Musical Cast of Toys feat. Wendy & Lisa

Auld Lang Syne Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians

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In the wake of Gene Autry's 1949 holiday success with "Rudolph, the. Red Nosed Reindeer," the genre of fantasy Christmas in the Wild West got a huge shot in the saddle.

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesterYule, when the new sheriff in town wore red suspenders, herded reindeer, and had spurs that went jingle jangle jingle bells.

Ernest Tubb, George Jones, Buck Owens, Loretta Lynn, and even little Miss Gayla Peevey launch into a holiday hoedown sure to unhinge some maverick memories and make room for new ones.

Always time for a plug before we get the fire going. Subscriptions to the Retrofit newsletter are free for now, so that should fit in with most budgets. Click the little doodads to find out more. Also my book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Old West" is still out there, Pony Express should get it to you by Twelfth Night.

Now let’s saddle up and take to a tinsel trail full of rowdy rarities, seasonal sensations, and St. Nicholas nuggets.

Load your Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot air rifles a get ready for visions of sagebrush sugarplums! Happy Holiday trails, it's the all new RetroRanch Christmas!

Playlist: Artist. “Title” Album. Label, Year.

Gene Autry. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" Gene Autry Sings Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town. LaserLight, 1949

Buck Owens and His Buckaroos. "Jingle Bells" Christmas with Buck Owens and his Buckaroos. Sundazed, 1965

Tex Ritter. "Christmas Carols by the Old Coral" I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus. Viper, 1945.

Bill Monroe. "Christmas TIme's A-Coming" Hillbilly Holiday. Rhino, 1951.

Ernest Tubb. "I'll Be Walking the Floor This Christmas" Blue Christmas. Decca , 1964.

Jody Levins. "Jingle Bells Boogie" Rockabilly Xmas. Buffalo Bop, 1954

Brenda Lee. "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus" Rockin' Little Christmas. MCA, 1956.

Michael Landon. "Santa Got Lost in Texas" Bonanza Christmas on the Ponderosa. RCA, 1962.

Lorne Greene. "Stuck in the Chimney" Bonanza Christmas on the Ponderosa. RCA, 1962.

Johnny Horton. "They Shined Up Rudolph's Nose" Christmasville USA. Mapletone, 1959.

Buck Owens and His Buckaroos. "Santa's Coming in a Stagecoach" Christmas with Buck Owens and His Buckaroos. Sundazed, 1965

Gene Autry. "Santa's Coming in a Whirlybird" Here Comes Santa Claus. Varese Saraband, 1957

Sonny Cole. "Santa to the Moon" Rockabilly Christmas. Buffalo Bop, 1958

Jimmy Dean. "Little Sandy Sleighfoot" Billboard Greatest Country Christmas Hits. Rhino, 1957

Eddy Arnold. "Will Santa Come to Shanty Town?" Christmas with Eddy Arnold. RCA, 1962.

Ferlin Husky. "Lonely Christmas" Christmas All Year Long. Capitol, 1967. :

Hank Thompson. "Gonna Wrap My Heart in Ribbons" Hillbilly Holiday. Rhino, 1965.

Gayla Peevey. "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" Dr. Demento Presents the Greatest Christmas Novelty CD of All Time. Rhino, 1952.

Jimmy Boyd. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" Christmas with Jimmy Boyd. Philips, 1952

George Jones. "My Mom and Santa Claus" Hillbilly Holiday. Rhino, 1961.

Loretta Lynn. "To Heck with Old Santa Claus" Hillbilly Holiday. Rhino, 1967.

Little Joey Farr. "Big White Cadillac" Rockabilly Xmas. Buffalo Bop, 1958

Tennessee Ernie Ford. "Christmas Dinner" Christmas on the Range. Capitol, 1951.

Johnny Cash. "Christmas As I Knew It" Christmas with Johnny Cash. Sony Legacy, 1963

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Here’s a joyful holiday podcast that mixes the Reds, the Greens, and mostly the Blues of Christmas music. The lowdown dirty blues, often referred to as “the devil’s music” offers a stark flip side to Bing Crosby.

By tradition, the Reds of Christmas was less about wrapping paper and Santa suits and more about the pills it might take to drive an old Ford a few hundred miles in the snow to the next gig.

Greens? Mistletoe and cash always registered, but there’s also killer side dishes like mustard and collard greens that go great with ham and turkey. But the Christmas blues was hard to shake….but quite possible to cure on that day of all days. Out of December despair we get some humor in the form of hope.

From the get go, Christmas blues was a lament. The holidays arrived in a time of no money, no sugar plums, and worst of all, no love. Love was lost, gone, forgotten, and really missed. If this Santa Claus guy could bring you anything, then why couldn’t he come down the chimney with that gift that returned itself, that one person who had made previous holidays so merry and bright.

Let’s join some cold hearts by the fireplaces for a few glimpses at the ghost world of Christmas past.

But first we have to leave the mistletoe on the tree and deal with what happened last year. The sleigh ride begins with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, circa November 1962. The Cuban Missle Crisis had happened a month before, but it was the least of Hank’s problems, where it’s “Christmas Time for Everybody but Me.”

Ella Fitzgerald is the fine wine of Christmas. The first lady of music was part jazz singer part comet, but we know the blues and jazz often got to share a seat. Such star power in this song. Written by Count Basie, Eddie Durham, and Jimmy Rushing--orchestrated by Frank De Vol, from 1960s Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas with “Good Morning Blues.”

It’s Christmas morning 1947. 1946 was great, but since then the needles have fallen off the tree and the mood has changed. Somebody got a Cadillac last year and used it to get away. Harry Crayton sings in front of Doc Bagby’s orchestra. He wants to know what went wrong, but more important, he wants his ride back. Uber doesn’t happen for a few Christmases yet.

The roots of Boogie Woogie can be traced back to African American communities of the 1870s, probably in the piney woods of northeast Texas. It got its name around 1913, ascended in popularity in the 20s. The evolution continued into a country boogie which evolved shortly after World War II. Fast forward to Detroit, 1950, where Sugar Chile Robinson let it rip on the Christmas boogie.

In this next glimpse of Christmas unmerriment, J. B. Summers tells us how bad it can get. Santa needs to fix the current situation and fix it quick. J. B. has been good, but times have been bad. “I Want a Present for Christmas” was recorded in Philadelphia just before Thanksgiving of 1949.

Santa has the toughest job in the world. Especially when he’s trying to get his deliveries made and he keeps stopping at houses that want to raise a holiday toast and give the jolly old elf and little Christmas Cheer. The reindeer are waiting and Santa’s getting sloshed. Clyde Lasley and the Cadillac Baby Specials inventory a liquor store on “Santa Came Home Drunk.”

Curiosity sent Sonny Boy Williamson II snooping around the house, one thing led to another.

Samuel Lightnin’ Hopkins believed his greatest gift did not come at Christmas, but at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas when he was 8 years old. That would be around 1920. The gift? An appearance by the legend Blind Lemon Jefferson. After that, Lightnin’ believed “the blues was in him.” Here he is at 40, recorded in 1953 in Houston Texas.

Double entendres show up in the blues more often than bottleneck slide guitars. I’m not about to point any of them out, but I can tell you this is Victoria Spivey and her Chicago Four with a scratch classic from Depression Christmas 1936. Victoria stands her ground on “I Ain’t Gonna Let You See My Santa Claus.”

Lowell Fulson was west coast all the way. He confuses those who dig for his fabulous blues recordings because he sometimes recorded as Lowell Fulsom with an m he transposed to avoid contract problems. Born in Atoka, Oklahoma, he migrated with his family to California in the 40s. He had lots of hits and played into the 90s. So instead of moaning at midnight, this holiday tune is just a simple wish. But Lowell Fulson just wants to spend Christmas with you.

Bobby Nunn found success in the world of Doo Wop, where he starred with the Robins and the Coasters. As a solo act he could rock the blues. If there were a video for this one, Bobby would be lit in dark dark blue while the rest of the world is going about decking the halls and fa-la-la-ing. But not poor, poor Bobby. December 25th is just another long lonely day. He is in Hollywood in 1953 but it isn’t enough for Bobby Nunn, who can barely hear the Christmas Bells.

Charles Brown also spent his winters in sunny LA. He developed his sound in the blues club circuit, which took the lead from the crooning velvet of Nat King Cole. Brown first recorded his Christmas classic in 1947 in a trio known as Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers. He was so smooth, and a major influence on the likes of Johnny Ace, Ivory Joe Hunter, and Ray Charles. Here we catch up with him when he’s home for the holidays in 1954 and the song is becoming a standard. Why not, it’s all about diamond rings, paradise, and good music on the radio. Who could ask for more?

Most of Jimmy McCracklin’s holidays were spent in the city by the bay, San Francisco. Jimmy wrote almost a thousand songs in his time, recorded 30 albums, and four of them went gold. So naturally, his jump blues take on the holiday was the other side of lonely, the side where you party all night long.
The party mood continues with Jimmy Butler whose stocking was packed with double meanings. No explanation needed. From 1954 it is “Trim Your Tree.”
From 1950 Jimmy Liggins and His Drops of Joy get in the mood with one condition. Forget the food, the jewelry, the cars. This is not the time of year to be flying solo. How about a little mistletoe? “I Want My Baby for Christmas.”

Jimmy Witherspoon was born in Arkansas and got ou his break during World War II, singing with Teddy Weatherford’s band on Armed Forces Radio broadcasting from Calcutta India. He logged several successful European tours, and got famous for his style of blues shouting. Here we drop in on a rough Christmas. Jimmy checks his balance--15 cents--and tries to pawn his radio. And! Jimmy rhymes the song title “How I Hate to See Christmas come around” with “brings me down.” Christmas blues with Jimmy Witherspoon!

Christmas 1950, blues great Floyd Dixon has those Empty Stocking Blues. And he’s not talking about them being filled with candy and fruit. This is more about two empty stockings that used to walk around the Christmas Tree. Remember Bobby Nunn? Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers back up Floyd who wants these stockings filled.

Laying a finger aside of our noses, we get back to the sky with a duet that could be called “Baby It’s Cold Inside.” There was no snow on the ground in LA in 1950 when the Nic Nacs with vocalist Mickey Champion recorded “Gonna Have a Merry Christmas.”

This was a tough Christmas, but if the Blues comes down your chimney, music can always help. Hope you’ve enjoyed the Reds, Greens and Blues for Christmas, and that Santa brings your baby back to you. Have mercy, and a fabulous holiday!

THE TRACKS Artist. “Song” Album. Label, (Year) Time

• Stanley Jordan. "Silent Night" Yule Struttin'. Blue Note, 1990. 04:06

Hank Ballard. "Christmas Time for Everybody But Me (1962). 24 Greatest R&B Christmas Hits. Gusto, 2009. 02:55

Ella Fitzgerald. "Good Morning Blues (1960)" Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas.Verve, 1960. 04:05

Harry Crafton. Bring That Cadillac Back (1947) 100 Christmas Blues. Holiday Classic Records, 2011. 03:39

Sugar Chile Robinson. Christmas Boogie (1950) Christmas American Blues. Big Eye Music, 2009. 01:59

J. B. Summers. I Want a Present for Christmas (1949) Blues, Blues, Christmas Vol 1.Document Records, 2006. 03:04

Clyde Lasley & Cadillac Baby Specials. Santa Came Home Drunk (1967) Bummed Out Christmas. Rhino, 1989. 03:09

Sonny Boy Williamson II. Santa Claus (1969) Blue Yule. Rhino, 1992. 03:49

Freddie King. Christmas Tears (1961) Blues, Blues Christmas Vol 3. Document, 2013. 03:29

Lightnin' Hopkins. Merry Christmas (1953) The Stash Christmas Album. Stash Records, 1985. 02:46

Victoria Spivey. I Ain't Gonna Let You See My Santa Claus (1936) Blues, Blues Christmas. Document, 2013. 02:25

Lowell Fulsom. I Wanna Spend Christmas With You (1967) Amp Up the Holidays.Capitol EMI, 2001. 02:42

Bobby Nunn. Christmas Bells (1953) Rhythm and Blues Christmas. Ace, 2018. 02:44

Charles Brown. Merry Christmas Baby (1954) Merry Christmas Baby. Big Town, 1977. 03:35

Jimmy McCracklin. Christmas Time (1961) Cool Blue Christmas. Contrast Records, 2017. 02:20

Jimmy Witherspoon. How I Hate to See Christmas Come Around (1948 The Chronological Jimmy Witherspoon 1947-48. Classics, 2003. 03:19

Floyd Dixon w/ Johnny Moore's Three Blazers. Empty Stocking Blues (1950) Jingle Blues. House of Blues, 1998. 02:58

The Nic Nacs w/ Mickey Champion. "Gonna Have a Merry Christmas (1950)" Bam-A-Lam The R&B Recordings 1950-62 . Ace, 2008. 03:21

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Already we are rolling up for the mystery tour of the holidays. Music is a big part of it. In malls, on the radio, there’s a perpetual playlist out there that is part audio truffle, part marshmallow world nostalgia. Then there are tunes that may have been intended to trigger comfort and joy but over time have entered the realm of forever monotony.

For this hour however, Bing Crosby and Brenda Lee can waltz their way out to the tunes of Mariah or the Mannheim mainstream.

In this Old School Mistletoe Jam, a disgruntled Miles Davis records under protest, a “Police” man records incognito, we ride alongside the first song ever about sidewalk surfing, and find mistletoe in Vietnam.

Push play on this page or click the link above to stash it in your podcasts: Here’s your JAM!!

Santa Came Home Drunk (1960) Clyde Lasley and the Cadillac Baby Specials

I Want a Rock and Roll Guitar (1960) Johnny Preston

Santa Claus (1965) The Sonics

There Ain’t No Sanity Claus (1980) The Damned

I Want to Spend Christmas with Elvis (1956) Debbie Dabney

Yulesville (1959) Edd “Kookie” Byrnes

Happy Holidays (1983) Smegma

Santa and the Sidewalk Surfer (1963) The Turtles

Christmas Day (1960) Detroit Junior

Santa’s Beard (1988) They Might Be Giants

Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern) (1962) Miles Davis, Bob Dorough

One Christmas Catalogue (1984) Captain Sensible

Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto (1968) James Brown

Christmas in Vietnam (1966) Johnny & Jon

Yo Ho Ho (1980) Klark Kent (Stewart Copeland)

Soul Christmas (1994) Graham Parker, Nona Hendryx

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Hello and happy holidays from the war zone! This edition is mostly about the audio which you can click on above. Subscribers can download it as a podcast.

As we get further away in time from the second World War, we tend to lose track of what life felt like during wartime.

America's entry into World War Two began 17 days before Christmas on Dec 8, 1941. For the next five holiday seasons "peace on earth" went on hiatus.

What you’ll hear is not a history of World War Two, or a sugar plum romp through precarious yuletides. Most of this originated at Christmas time and was constantly by interrupted by breaking bulletins. It is a sound montage that features the newscasters and entertainers of the time communicating with their vast unseen audiences.

It is a dark time. For much of the world, 1941 marks the third year of a war that has seen the German occupation of many European countries. War does not take a holiday.

On the radio, it’s bombs and jingle all the way, starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, Abbot and Costello, Fats Waller, Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, Francis Langford, Dinah Shore, Glenn Miller, and the men and women of the greatest generation.

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That’s me, chatting with John Densmore, drummer of The Doors. He spent at least one Morrison death anniversary in court where he had dragged surviving bandmates Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger. They wanted to license “Light My Fire” for a TV commercial. Densmore reminded them Jim didn’t want it that way.

In death as in life, Jim Morrison was the source of controversy and chaos as well as music that haunted the charts. That is why the 50th anniversary of the singer’s last bath in Paris passing as quietly as the scream of a butterfly seemed almost too peaceful. In Père-Lachaise Cemetery, they gathered almost reverently to leave memories via incense and candles.

On other anniversaries the celebrations were part fight and mostly party. Not as loud and unruly as the brawling drunken poet whose antics set a new creature level for self-destruction amidst beauty. The Lizard King weaponized his intellect and talent. Tales of lunacy and debauchery built upon themselves and expanded until the poet himself vomited it all toward the toilet.

Word on the street had it that the Morrison family’s lease on the Jim’s burial site was supposed to expire on July 6, 2001, and France wanted him gone, dug up like a bad seed and transplanted in the mindless USA. That was yet another urban myth marching in the Soft Parade. Jim can stay with his historic homeys forever, the grave has a perpetual lease. Notes one official, “It’s there and it will stay there.”

On the tenth anniversary of his death in 1981, Rolling Stone’s cover featured a Greek godlike portrait of Morrison with the headline “He’s hot, he’s sexy, and he’s dead.”

Morrison predicts EDM and Live DJs

Ten more years passed, the stoned immaculate one was remembered again, this time by a thousand blotto fans. A riot went on outside the chained cemetery gates. An insane clown carload of young mourners rammed the entrance with their speeding vehicle. Once inside, they set it ablaze, certain that Morrison might be seen smiling through the smoke.

“I think there’s a whole region of images and feeling inside us that rarely are given outlet in daily life and when they do come out, they can take perv. erse forms. It’s the dark side. The more civilized we get on the surface, the more the other forces make their plea. We appeal to the same human needs as classical tragedy and early Southern blues. Think of it as a seance in an environment that has become hostile to life: cold, restrictive. People feel they’re dying in a bad landscape. People gather together in seance in order to invoke, palliate, and drive away the dead, Through chanting, singing, dancing, and music, they try to cure an illness, to bring harmony back into the world.” —Jim Morrison, explaining The Doors

The four-year career of The Doors is well documented. There are a handful of studio albums and Oliver Stone’s motion picture The Doors (1991), a milder love bead remembrance of the 20th Anniversary, wherein the roadhouse changeling was channeled by Val Kilmer.

Morrison died of unknown causes July 3, 1971. He was already in the ground when his demise was announced on July 5. The first reports maintained the new poster child for the 27 Club had suffered a heart attack, perhaps brought on by endless abuse. There’s also a strong rumor of bad heroin on the streets of beautiful Paris that summer of a half-century ago.

Time passes slowly for James Douglas Morrison. His hold on bad attitude rock lingers strong. The Doors were the first American band to accumulate eight consecutive gold LPs. Latest numbers have them selling 33 million albums in the U.S., 100 million worldwide. Morrison once predicted on American Bandstand that in the future people might pay to watch a DJ playing music on turntables. The Doors logged over 460,000 plays on Spotify last year.

Père-Lachaise opened in 1804. With it’s 5,000 trees on 110 acres, July 5, 2021, was pretty tame. Tourists might have woke up that morning and got themselves a beer but they were respectful at Morrison’s grave.

As long as they were there, many visited the final resting spaces of Molière, Eugène Delacroix, Jacques-Louis David, Georges Bizet, Frédéric Chopin, Honoré de Balzac, Marcel Proust, Georges Seurat, Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, Isadora Duncan, Gertrude Stein, Colette, Edith Piaf, Marcel Marceau, Richard Wright, and many others.

The estimated number of mere mortals buried there runs between 300,000 and one million. Amidst all those coffins is one restless Door, who broke on through to the other side.

Links: The Doors of Perception

NBC News: Hundred gather at Morrison graveside in Paris

Totonto Sun: The Lizard King, Mystery of Jim Morrison’s 1971 Death Endures.

The Hollywood Reporter: Fans honor Jim Morrison at Paris cemetery.

pop culture: Mystery still surrounds Doors singer’s Death 50 years later.

USA Today: A look back at Jim Morrison's profound and puzzling mind.

NME: Fans pay tribute to Morrison on the 50th anniversary of his death.

The SUN: What really happened to Jim Morrison

Grunge: why Ed Sullivan banned the DOORS after one performance.

Rolling Stone: Read Jim Morrison's Unreleased Autobiographic Poem 'As I Look Back'

People Jim Morrison's Sister Reflects on Assembling Revelatory New Book of the Late Legend's Writing

Louder: 15 Peculiar Facts

Weird Scenes Inside a Goldmine

Official Doors Website

1969 Rolling Stone Interview

Morrison Hotel Gallery

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Caught between the summer of “Satisfaction” and the Summer of Love, the spirit of ‘66 iis well reflected by the music that came blasting from the radio. Radios in LA, in Chicago, in London, and in Saigon.

The music that is selling is a mixed bag. This is evident in both a classic of indecision, “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” the second single from the Lovin’ Spoonful, and the seventh and last Top Ten song from the son of the Nutty Professor, Gary Lewis. His “Green Grass” is probably the last grass song that is not about marijuana.

Five out of the dozen are soul classics that will reappear in movies, TV shows, and commercials for the next half century. The Chiffons’ “Sweet Talking Guy” and Robert Parker’s ‘Barefootin’” will be danced to forever. The Capitols' “Cool Jerk” is a novelty that still packs a surprise. Can you dig it?

And then there is “When a Man Loves a Woman” from Percy Sledge. This was its 10th week on the charts, after spending time at #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B singles. It was the first Number 1 recorded at the famed Muscle Shoals recording studios. Percy knows he’s going to be singing this, his signature song, for the rest of his life. And every time he sings it, he has the depth and the feeling of a man whose heart is overflowing with the wonder of love.

Sidebar. As you may remember, Michael Bolton had a run at this song in 1991. He won a Grammy, and it was the 7th time in history that a cover of a #1 song had reached #1.

James Brown recorded a lot of songs with dope beats, but “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” is in a class of its own. JB co-wrote the song and it wouldn’t be nothing without Betty Jean Newsome. She would later claim sole authorship, as well as a fuzzy memory possessed by the hardest working man in show business when it came to dividing up the royalties.

Rolling Stone called the lyrics “Biblically chauvinistic” because man takes credit for everything from the electric lights to toys for baby boys and girls.

This song is so well known, prepare for the unexpected. It’s a classic, so why not have the Godfather of Soul perform it with the “King of the High C’s,” one third of the Three Tenors, the late great Luciano Pavarotti.

June is busting out in 1966. The hits just keep on coming. The Mamas and the Papas awake from “California Dreamin”’ and it’s a day that can’t be helped: “Monday Monday.” The Mindbenders remind us there’s a British Invasion still going on with “A Groovy Kind of Love.”

Simon and Garfunkel score a summer hit with a song that takes place in a deep and dark December. And Frank SInatra was less than fond of his hit, although he managed to spend the bread. Thel less than politically correct Ol’ Blue Eyes told his friends he believed the song was about a gay hookup.

In the top position after 5 weeks of release, The Rolling Stones unleashed a song of darkness, death, and anger. “Paint It Black” is about a lost love, gone too soon. Released in a year this country would lose 6,000 of the 385,000 military personnel stationed in Vietnam, many took it as more than a rumor of war.

Mick said it had nothing to do with the conflict in Southeast Asia. But when the song was heard in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987), it was anything but a major malfunction. Soon after it appeared as the theme song for the CBS military drama Tour of Duty (1987-1990), the connection had been cemented.

The upcoming performance video was shot for the variety show Hollywood Palace, featuring Brian Jones perfectly at ease with a sitar in his lap.

It was the summer of 1966. If you saw a red door you wanted it Painted Black.

TOP 12, June 9, 1966

This Week Last Week TITLE –•– Artist (Label)-Weeks on Chart (Peak To Date)

1 3 PAINT IT, BLACK –•– The Rolling Stones (London)-5 (1 week at #1) (1)

2 4 DID YOU EVER HAVE TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND –•– The Lovin’ Spoonful (Kama Sutra)-6 (2)

3 5 I AM A ROCK –•– Simon and Garfunkel (Columbia)-6 (3)

4 1 WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN –•– Percy Sledge (Atlantic)-10 (1)

5 2 A GROOVY KIND OF LOVE –•– The Mindbenders (Fontana)-9 (2)

6 10 STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT –•– Frank Sinatra (Reprise)-6 (6)

7 6 MONDAY, MONDAY –•– The Mamas and the Papas (Dunhill)-10 (1)

8 8 IT’S A MAN’S MAN’S MAN’S WORLD –•– James Brown (King)-7 (8)

9 9 GREEN GRASS –•– Gary Lewis and the Playboys (Liberty)-5 (9)

10 12 BAREFOOTIN’ –•– Robert Parker (Nola)-8 (10)

11 13 SWEET TALKIN’ GUY –•– The Chiffons (Laurie)-6 (11)

12 17 COOL JERK –•– The Capitols (Karen)-7 (12)

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Granted, Retrofit has been on a bit of a Western kick this week. Thanks to all who shared “My Baby Loves a Western Movie Poster.” We had lots of responses and got that much closer to viral Nirvana.

This week marks a special time in the Retrofit Drive In that appears every Friday or Saturday. In this installment we feature the conclusion to the 1935 WTF serial The Phantom Empire. If you haven’t been following it for the past 12 weeks you can go back to the archive where all the previous 11 chapters are still flickering.

Singing cowboy Gene Autry has fixed up his Radio Ranch where he can broadcast from home in his underwear. Every radio personality’s dream. But dang it all to heck, he discovers a secret Depression era society living a couple of miles down under his privy, and it’s messing with his signals. Something to do with the metal thoughts generated by the robots. Anyway, Chapter 12 wraps this up with “The End of Murania.”

I’m also breaking a cardinal Retrofit rule. Stay out of the 21st Century. But having the ability to screen one of the most fabulous Westerns of all time, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) has made me bend that little rule. The Coen brothers are freaking geniuses and their portrayals of the frontier in this anthology is wacky but honest.

Watch the first story, the tale of Buster himself. It’s ten minutes long and you will be grinning from here to Abilene when the last shot is fired. If you leave the movie after that, you miss an Oscar worthy performance by Tom Waits, “The Gal Who Got Rattled,” and “Meal Ticket.” God bless the Coens, when they take on the Retro past, they leave us with precious memories, like this one from O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000).

For those who have come seeking cheese, there’s plenty in the cult delicacy Sukiyaki Western Django (2007). The Genjis and the Heikes are feuding samurai style once again, so it’s a great backdrop for a prostitute to hire a gunman to settle a few scores. Quentin Tarantino is part of an international cast in this Japanese Western directed by Takashi Miike. The budget was $3.8 million, the box office was $2.73 million, but give it time. It’s a blast.

The international Western theme carries through in the animated “Cowboy Jimmy,” made in 1957 when the country where it was drawn was called Yugoslavia. It is so cool!

Happy trails!

Professor Mikey

Feature: THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (2018)

Serial: THE PHANTOM EMPIRE Conclusion: Chapter 12 “The End of Murania”

Feature: SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO (2007)

Cartoon: COWBOY JIMMY (1957)

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