October Sounds

As I have mentioned before, October seems to be a very potent month in the music industry, whether it is due to the proximity of the upcoming holiday season or the growing distance from the feel-good summer season. Either way, a lot happens in October.

I have, of course taken the liberty to list some of the more momentous milestones in music history for your pleasure.

1955 - Harry Belafonte records "The Banana Boat Song". Several takes are required. It takes him all day-o (me say day, me say day, me say day-ay-ay-o).

1960 - Billboard reported that Dion and the Belmonts were breaking up.
One would think they would embrace each other firmly after collectively passing up a big tour in February of 1959 with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. As many of you already know, these three artists were killed in a plane crash during that tour. The band, instead said goodbye to Dion and his heroin addiction, but they simply fizzled, while Dion went on to great commercial success, which makes him a terrible example for the kids. When asked for comment, Dion said, "Ha Ha Ha Losers!".

1962 - The Beatles first appeared on Great Britain's Granada TV Network, and set the music scene on fire. Luckily Yoko was not around yet to put it out.

1964 - "She's Not There," by the Zombies, was released, and sold out in many record stores creating hilarious banter with music clerks who when asked for She's Not There, would reply by saying, "It's Not Here".

1967 - The musical "Hair" premiered at New York's Public Theatre. The show ran for 1,758 performances but had to end when several of their male actors eventually went bald.

1968 - Jose Feliciano released his controversial, bluesy rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. It was controversial because Americans were still patriotically anal retentive, and the fact that someone used artistic licence on a departure of this nature pissed off the residual McCarthy-types. 10 months later, Jimi Hendrix played his version and parents all over America lost their minds, and said things like "Bring back that little blind Mexican boy". For the record, Jose Feliciano is Puerto Rican.

1968 - Rita Marley gives birth to Bob's first son on October 17th. They name him "Ziggy" after the rolling papers used on the night of conception.

1969 - "Led Zeppelin II" was released along with the start of Led Zeppelin's third U.S. tour. Teenagers everywhere spent their haircut money on mind-altering substances and that special shampoo you need when you get crabs.

1970 - Eric Clapton released After Midnight. The only cool tidbit I can add here is that Clapton was born the son of 17-year-old Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Walter Fryer, a 25-year-old soldier from Montreal, Quebec. My hometown (which somehow implies that all Montrealers share in his success). Fryer headed off to war prior to Clapton's birth and then returned to Canada. Clapton grew up with his grandmother, Rose, and her second husband Jack, and believed they were his parents and that his mother was actually his older sister (and you thought your family was messed up). Years later, his mother/sister married another Canadian soldier (because Canadian soldiers are super hard-to-resist), moved to Canada and left young Eric with his grandparents in Surrey. Her parenting skills were the inspiration behind shows like Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer.

1974 - Eric Burdon of The Animals names his newborn daughter "Mirage" (because he was stoned through the entire pregnancy). Then, during a rare moment of sobriety, changes it to "Alex".

1975 - Barry Manilow's glasses are broken by a crowd of fans as he rushes to his limo after a concert in Chicago, proving once again that his fans are nuts. Not the average passive fans. Just the ones that refuse to go home once the concert is over. It's over. Go home!

1977 - Street Survivors was released by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The celebration was cut short three days later when the infamous plane crash claimed the lives of vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines (Steve's sister) and manager Dean Kilpatrick. The other four members of the band were seriously injured but amazingly survived.

1978 - The now classic movie version of "The Wiz" debuts in New York. Michael Jackson invites all his friends to a huge wrap party at Chuck E.Cheese.

1979 - "Tusk," the two record set by Fleetwood Mac, was released by Warner Brothers Records.

1986 - The film biography "Sid And Nancy" opened nationally, and despite it's critical acclaim, I have met less than a dozen people who remember having seen it.

1995 - In London, Sting's former financial adviser was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of stealing $9.4 million from the musician. Had he married Yoko Ono, this never would have happened.

1995 - Rhino Home Video released 58 episodes of The Monkees on 21 cassettes. It was the largest video boxed set to be released. The next day, DVDs officially became the accepted video format.

1997 - Warren G filed a lawsuit against Garth Brooks, his company Blue Rose Inc., and Home Box Office Inc. The suit alleged that Brooks had infringed on the trademarked circled "g" logo. I mean, let's be honest. Could two people in this world have come up with the same ingenious idea to circle the letter G? Shame on you, Garth Brooks. You're just jealous of the creative talent and success of Warren G!

1998 - The Wilkinsons made their first official appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. All 4 white people watching said they were awesome.

2001 - Jay-Z was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault charges for stabbing a record producer during a fight in a nightclub on December 1, 1999, prompting OJ Simpson to call him a "sucker-bitch", and shake his head as if to say "What's this world coming to when you can't stab a record producer in the privacy of a nightclub?".

2007 - Phil Spector's first murder trial for the 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson ends in a hung jury. He is later found guilty when the jury foreman stands up and says, "Just look at his hair. Of course he's guilty!"
OJ has "Sucker-bitch" cards printed at Kinko's.

I think we can all see that the moral of the story is, just shut up and listen to the music.

The elements

I dedicate this post to Dr. Jack Murciano, a DJ and roller boogie-er from back in the day who turns 50 this week, and to his sister Sally whose baking the cake.

The recurring resurgence of disco has fortified it's place in music history, and with it, those musicians and bands who have contributed most prolifically.

Anyone who was hitting the discos back in the 70s will remember the likes of Sylvester, Lime, Carol Douglas, The Trammps, Jimmy "Bo" Horne, Musique, The Sylvers, Hot Chocolate, Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes and even my Montreal homies Gino Soccio and Patsy Gallant. (Incidentally, these are great names for your kids. Patsy? You just don't hear that anymore. I considered a name from this list, but my wife thought that naming a child "Hot Chocolate" might be a problem at school.)

So, while these artists may have supplied the clubs with some funky beats, memories of them tend to fade as we move further from that era. This list could easily be in the hundreds, so feel free to chime in with your own personal faves.
Instead, I have chosen to focus on the the most historically enduring artists of the time. Some may seem campy or kitschy to us now, but anyone who has ever been to a party where the DJ plays YMCA, I Will Survive, or It's Raining Men knows just how much some people dig that stuff.
The names on my list are names with longevity. Names that grace Music's Hall of Fame. Is it a result of better quality? Possibly. It may be a combination of group chemistry, good management, P.R. or just pure talent. Mine is not to question why. I am just here to report the news, folks. My news. My way. I am not paid enough to pander.

Here is my list. It's all very scientific, so stay with me.

10.Tied for tenth place are 3 groups: (Like I said, MY way.)Sister Sledge, Tavares and Chic. All great disco groups that had multiple albeit relatively short-lived successes.Sister Sledge gave us We Are Family and their funkier follow-up hit He's The Greatest Dancer, which for you under 30 folks, is the song Will Smith "borrowed" to achieve his biggest hit, Gettin' Jiggy With It (Thank goodness that phrase was introduced into our vocabulary).
Tavares had the definitive version of More Than A Woman from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, but are more known to disco enthusiasts for Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel. These guys had funky rhythms, fresh dance moves and outfits that would literally trigger your gag reflex. Freshly pimped in bedazzled fluorescent, tight-fitting, bell-bottom jumpsuits with glitter, and wedged-heels with a goldfish inside (usually floating).
Chic is arguably the most succesful of this group. They had a hit with Dance, Dance, Dance, it's clever follow up, Everybody Dance (just in case their previous message was unclear), and then hit gold twice in a row with the mother of all disco tunes, Le Freak and it's successor, Good Times. Now, I hear one of the guys owns a car wash (no pun intended)*.
*Car Wash was a hit for Rose Royce. Not Chic.

9. The Commodores. Here was Lionel Richie at his funkiest before he became the Black Barry Manilow (Oh no he di'nt!). These guys burned up dancefloors everywhere with songs like; Brick House, Too Hot Ta Trot and Slippery When Wet (Hmmm...are those metaphors?). Machine Gun was a cool instrumental jazz-funk foray that showed they were a musical group first, and a singing group second, unlike their Motown predecessors; the Temptations, Miracles and the Four Tops. Throw in Mid-tempo soul grooves like; Just To Be Close To You, and Sweet Love before knocking one massive ballad after another out of the park like; Easy, Three Times a Lady, Sail On and Still, and somebody's got themselves a Cadillac! It was all Lionel Richie after that. Surrounded by his personal gang of music pimps, he was lured away, never to return. The Commodores had one last hit years later with the song Nightshift, written for the late Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, but were ultimately relegated to the purgatory of pop; Venues like the Golden Nugget and CasinoRama for the remainder of their careers, or until one of them freaks out and punches some old lady for her bucket of nickels.

8. James Brown. Of course he would be higher up if this were another genre. He never considered himself a "disco" artist per se, but he did provide the clubs with some funky grooves in the 70s. Sex Machine, Get Up Offa That Thing, and Doin' It To Death were among just a few of the gifts he gave the DJs of his time. (Plus he had awesome hair)

7. Barry Manilow. What? You thought I would leave him out just because he's got some nutty fans? He's the first caucasian on my list. Not really a disco act, but in addition to his ballads, he contributed some great dance tunes for the time in Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed, New York City Rhythm and the Big Kahuna of the disco scene, Copacabana. I don't care that he doesn't like the term "Fanilow" or "Manilover". Just play "Copa" and everybody including my aunt Rivka hits the dance floor. That's got to mean something.

6. KC and The Sunshine Band. Everyone knows their hits; That's the Way (I Like It), or as my father used to call it, "Uh-huh, Uh-huh" (No matter what I said, I couldn't stop him from walking up to DJs with his Spanish accent, and asking them if they could play "Uh-huh, Uh-huh" while providing a subtle visual of two hands pumping into a pelvic thrust. Uber-embarrassing.), Shake Your Booty, I'm Your Boogie Man, Keep It Comin' Love, Get Down Tonight and just to show they could do a ballad, Please Don't Go. People don't realize that they were a group of talented studio musicians from TK Records in Florida, (hence the name "Sunshine" Band). The band consisted of keyboardist Rusty Hamilton III (There were two Rusty Hamiltons before him?), Jerome Smith on guitar, David Simmons on Drums, and an outstanding horns section. Also, they always performed with dancers on stage. Dancers who didn't sing, or play tambourine, or even ring a cowbell. They just danced. I believe they had something there. (Of course this really only works for bands. Do not try to introduce this idea if you are a litigator, surgeon or undertaker. Then it's just tacky. It might be cool if you're a Lifeguard.)

5. Village People. These guys were so popular for a while that they even made a movie. A preposterously bad movie that I actually paid to see (Hey, I was 12 @#*%^&* years old, okay?). The more amazing thing is that these guys are still performing all over the world to good crowds and their songs are still played constantly at weddings and circumcisions. I won't list them. You all know them and you've heard them enough.

4. The Jacksons. This includes Michael's Off The Wall album, but does not discount the brilliant dance music they put out as a group. In the 70s, these guys could do no wrong. Just listen to Dancing Machine (Which allowed Michael to first showcase his "Robot" moves), Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground), Blame It On The Boogie, Enjoy Yourself and Can You Feel It. Also, it might surprise you to know that they changed their name from the Jackson 5 to the Jacksons, not because they added little brother Randy and were no longer 5, but because they left Motown (who owned the name) for CBS records. Also, they were still 5 because Randy actually replaced Jermaine who refused to leave Motown and father-in-law Berry Gordy. A nice loyal family gesture. Hey Jermaine, you know what would also be a nice family-type gesture? NOT SLEEPING WITH OTHER WOMEN! Just a thought.

3.Donna Summer. From those first sweet sounds of masturbation on the 12" extended version of Love To Love You Baby, all the teenage boys were hooked. The "Queen of Disco" had it all going on at the time. She even managed to generate another hit out of Richard Harris' Macarthur Park. Do you have any idea the kind of charisma required to create relevance out of lyrics like "Someone left a cake out in the rain. I don't think that I could take it, cause it took so long to bake it, and I'll never have that recipe again"? Oh, the angst! I digress. Her performance of Last Dance in the now cult-classic film Thank God It's Friday stole the show, and it was one smash hit after another from there. Bad Girls, Hot Stuff, and her duet with Barbara Streisand (back when young, straight people still listened to Barbara), Enough is Enough. My personal, lesser played favourite was Heaven Knows which my sister played endlessly on 45 until my puberty was temporarily halted by a drop in testosterone.

2. Bee Gees. Practically synonymous with disco, the Bee Gees were making hits for a decade before Saturday Night Fever. Dennis Miller once described Barry Gibb as his personal vision of God, with the beard and long flowing hair on the cover of Spirits Having Flown, where his outreaching hand emphasizes the flared sleeve of his white satin shirt. Sure, it sounds gay (and it is) but really just emphasizes the magnitude of their popularity. To this day when a good-looking guy (other than myself) struts down the street, I hear Stayin' Alive. No retro disco party ends without Night Fever, Jive Talking, or You Should Be Dancing, but their female fans will remember ballads like How Deep Is Your Love and Too Much Heaven. If we throw late baby brother Andy into the mix, and his hits You're My Everything, Shadow Dancing, Love Is (Thicker Than Water) and slow jam, Don't Throw It All Away, they absolutely owned the decade.

1. There is a huge tie at number 1 because many of the aforementioned are simply too close to call.A) Kool & The Gang. A Jazz/Funk fusion band in their early days, they graced the airwaves with now classics, Funky Stuff, Jungle Boogie, Hollywood Swingin', and from Saturday Night Fever, Open Sesame. But it was not until they met future lead singer James (JT) Taylor that they took off. The very next album launched title track, Ladies Night and follow-up hit Too Hot, but the heaven's opened up when they sat down together and wrote the song, Celebration. I am told that once recorded, someone said, "Do you realize what we have just done? This song will be played at every wedding, graduation, bar-mitzvah, Sweet Sixteen, orgy, and Al-Qaeda post-bombing after-party for the rest of time!" I am paraphrasing, of course. B) Earth, Wind & Fire: This is perhaps the most underrated group of all time, and that's saying a lot for a group that is so highly regarded. I say "underrated" because the average fan has no clue how awesome they really were, how many fantastic songs they wrote, and how spectacular the musicianship and vocal arrangement was. The main players were Philip Bailey (Yes, the guy that sang Easy Lover with Phil Collins) and Maurice White, with his brother Verdine, one of the best bass players ever (and another awesome first name for the baby book). EWF were a concerted group effort, but those in the know will attribute the lion's share of success to Maurice (aka Reese). Few people know that as a teenager, Reese moved to Chicago and worked as a session drummer for Chess Records. It's actually him playing for artists such as Etta James, Muddy Waters, The Impressions (with Curtis Mayfield) and Buddy Guy. He also played drums on Fontella Bass' hit song, Rescue Me.

In 1969 Maurice and friends were writing jingles when they got a contract with Capitol Records, and called themselves The Salty Peppers, which eventually moved to L.A. and became Earth, Wind & Fire (Thank goodness. I would hate to be writing this about the @#$*%&*"@# Salty Peppers). Their list of great songs are endless. Anyone who has ever owned an antenna knows Shining Star and September. If anyone didn't already know Boogie Wonderland, the animated Warner Brothers film, Happy Feet made sure a whole new generation was enlightened. There are super soulful feel-good tunes like SingaSong, Fantasy and If You Fall In Love, but don't sleep on their ballads. Reasons, Love's Holiday, After The Love is Gone and I'll Write a Song For you are just a few examples of the work of one of the greatest groups of all time.

I leave you with the words of Barry White, who was omitted from this list only because his music was in a category of it's own.

"We're gonna laugh and dance half the night awayWe're gonna scream and shout while the music playsThen around about two, tell you what I'm gonna doGirl I'm gonna take you home and stick plenty love to youLet's get it on all night long."
See what I mean?

John Lennon Week

I began the day by investigating this week in music history. I found that the second week of October has traditionally proven to be somewhat eventful, but for no one more than the family of the late John Lennon.


The second week of October for John Lennon seems to be a time of great milestones.
Sadly, the whole "being dead" thing makes it hard to blow out your birthday candles, and with the exception of Weekend at Bernie's, usually makes for a crappy party.


Regardless, here are some interesting events from the Lennon-Ono family scrapbook:


1) John Lennon was born on October 9th, 1940 (his "birthday")

2) The first Beatles single, "Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You" was released in England, this week in 1962.

3) The Beatles begin recording "Eight Days A Week" in less than eight days this week in 1964. The song becomes just another in a long-line of early successes, securing their place among the elite rockstars of their day.

4) John Lennon first met Yoko Ono at a London art gallery exhibition this week in 1966.
Luckily, she pointed out that even though he thought he was happy, he truly wasn't. As a matter of fact, until John met Yoko, he was oblivious to the fact that the band members had been plotting all along to usurp and ride the coattails of his creative properties. Like a bad case of mold, the doubt and distrust would eventually erode the fabric of camaraderie that held together the world's favourite band! Damn you Yoko! Damn you!!! (Alright, she was probably not the ONLY reason they broke up.)

5) Prodigal son, Sean Lennon is born to John and Yoko on John's birthday (October 9th) in 1975. Happy birthday, John. Hey, was your first son Julian invited to the party? No, that's right. Yoko brought to your attention his secret desire to ride your coattails (You just can't trust those 11 year-old sons).

6) Yoko Ono dedicated the "John Lennon Peace Tower" in Reykjavik Harbor, Iceland in 2007. At the ceremony, they show a lovely video montage played to John's signature tune, Imagine. They are later sued by Yoko for playing the song without permission.
(That statement is completely false, but entirely possible.)


In Yoko's defense, her motives over time, have been proven completely altruistic. After John's death, she refused to accept any of his inheritance, choosing instead to live solely off of the proceeds from her own music. (Insert hysterical laughter here, complete with squealing and snorting. Congratulations. You have just produced a Yoko Ono song.)

Well, that was fun, but here are a few other things that happened on this week in music history:

Steve Miller (The Joker) was born on October 5th in 1943.
Little known fact: Steve Miller was once a bandmate of another famous singer/songwriter by the name of Boz Scaggs. (Hey, I didn't say it was interesting. Just that it was "little known")

Jerry Lee Lewis records Great Balls Of Fire this week in 1957. Shortly thereafter, he gave way to righteous indignation when the media questioned him about his surprise elopement to his 13 year old cousin. His response was "Hey, I plays this here piana real good! Don't that give me the right to @*#*$% my 13 year old cousin without her parent's consent?" (That statement is completely false, but entirely possible.)

Neil Sedaka records Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen in 1961 prompting a young Barry Manilow to say, "That's what I want to be when I grow up".

Musician and part-time wifebeater, Jackson Browne is also born on John Lennon's birthday in 1948. So was the late John Entwistle of the Who in 1944. Yoko did not let John attend their birthday parties.

Robert "Kool" Bell, the man who put the "Kool" in Kool & the Gang was born on October 8th in 1950. (Celebrate good times come on)

ABBA members Benny and Anni-Frid got married this week in 1978. It would last three years, which is approximately how much of my life has been spent futilely trying to avoid listening to the song Dancing Queen.

Mick Jagger responds to what some say are racist lyrics in the Rolling Stones' Some Girls album this week in 1978. He apologizes and blames it on his collaboration with some Jew.

Al Martino ("Spanish Eyes") was born on October 7th in 1927. (This one's for my mother)Classmates Jesus and Alexander the Great said of Martino, "That cat sure can sing!"

Mama Cass Elliot of the Mamas & the Papas was strip-searched and jailed in London over an unpaid hotel bill this week in 1967. The officer who performed the search was never found.

Mama Cass Elliot collapses on the opening night of her solo Caesar's Palace engagement in Las Vegas in 1968. One of the roadies was never found.

Chuck Berry is given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week in 1987.

What a week.