Toni Tee & Liquid Wisdom on a bus. They play a cool variety of music (reggae, rock, funk, soul, hiphop, punkadelic) but it’s tough to find a vid with decent a/v on the Utoobage. [h/t Bunkessa – yeah she scored two hits this week; this one and the one above.]
Can’t fight corruption with con tricks; They use the law to commit crime. And I dread, dread to think what the future will bring, When we’re living in gangster time.
“Though Eddie Cochran was only twenty-one when he died, he left a lasting mark as a rock and roll pioneer. Cochran zeroed in on teenage angst and desire with such classics as ‘C’mon Everybody,’ ‘Something Else,’ ‘Twenty Flight Rock‘ and ‘Summertime Blues.’ A flashy stage dresser with a tough-sounding voice, Cochran epitomized the sound and the stance of the Fifties rebel rocker.”
Lotta covers of that kickass song.
1962 The Beach Boys. A 14 and a 16 year old contributed to this recording.
Ten years later, Blue Cheer broke ground in 1968 with a heavy metal version of Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues,” released ten years earlier. [This guy was on the SanFran scene in 1968.]
I heard that version when I was in 6th grade, and tried to decide if I liked it or not. Took me several years before I understood what they were doing, and I decided that I liked the original better. Hell, the name of the band was a brand of LSD named after a laundry detergent.
1975 The Who – According to Wiki they’d been playing Summertime Blues since 1967 so this version is out of chronological order.
Reminds me of Tom Waits’ “Conundrum” that he described as the sound of “a jail door closing behind you” and says it looks “kind of like a Chinese torture device.”
So many uncredited influences crammed into one awesome jam.
Have a great weekend, folks, and I promise we’ll never post the real names of your dogs and cats without permission.
Bert The Turtle showed children how to survive a nuclear attack – assuming they’re far enough away from Ground Zero to have time to react. The film was shown in schools from 1952 into the 1990s.
“This Is Your Captain speaking. We’re experiencing some minor turbulence and we ask that you stop screaming.” Wild rides were ridden on at the Birmingham Airport 23 February 2017 [via].
Okay, there’s a link to some surreal 1980s Laurie Anderson stuff above, so let’s go to 2010 live for fun.
Anderson was the Ken Nordine of the 80s (without the baritone voice).
MiniMall has a bit of a retro vibe and consists of:
Merced Stratton — composer, ukulele, vocals
Maral Ohan — composer, vocals
Allegra Rosenberg — composer, bass
Wynne Males — trumpet, vocals
Brennan Doyle — drums
[Merced & Wynne ate sandwiches on our rock-n-roll patio recently because Bunkessa knows them. They were all like harmonizing and musical and stuff.]
Sylvia Fricker supposedly wrote it in a bathtub in Greenwich Village in 1962. Yeah it’s lip-synched, but it’s still fun as hell. One of these days I need to find out who the lead guitar on the left is because he rocks.
Have a great weekend, folks. Be back here tomorrow for more of you-know-what.
Roy Clark played a hayseed on the long-running show HeeHaw. He had some serious chops on both guitar and banjo, and Buck Trent was no slouch either. Ignore the title of the vid and the mugging and be amazed.
The Bros. Landreth cranked some serous swamp rock with “Runaway Train” recorded 9 February 2015. Every country band should have a song about a runaway train in my opinion.
“We researched these dangerous Hollywood-style stunts and my best friend Jim Connor volunteered to let me set him on fire inside my house.” –Rev. Peyton.
Have a great weekend folks, and make sure that you eat or drink at least one thing that someone says is bad for you.
Very few people could play Chuck Berry and out-do him on one of his own songs, but the late Peter Tosh pulled it off. Anyone ever hear Berry play reggae? Tosh is probably the reason.
Have a great holiday weekend, folks, and remember what it’s all about. More coming up tomorrow.
“Waiter, there’s a table in my soup.” -YouTube Commenter
It’s a compilation. Dates, locations and ships are not indicated, but that’s some serious listing. I’d have been hiding in my cabin and praying that the Dramamine didn’t wear off [via].
How about some retro rock?
This one dates from the mid to late 80’s during a resurgence of roots rock / rockabilly spearheaded by The Stray Cats. This was the heyday of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Keith Ferguson was their left-handed bassman before he left to form his own band The Tail Gators (yeah, I have some of their vinyl). Ferguson died in 1997 at the age of 50 from liver failure according to Wiki.
Big Guitars From Texas didn’t hit my radar, but there they are, live at Dixie’s Bar and Bus Stop in Austin TX, and featuring Evan Johns, Don Leady, Denny Freeman, Frankie Camaro, Keith Ferguson and Mike Buck, Circa 1985-86.
Have a great weekend folks, and we’ll be back here tomorrow for more awesome.
Nice groove with a great message from Mavis Staples.
[h/t windbag].
The Staple Singers, a family gospel/soul group had a number of hits in the 60’s and 70’s, and “I’ll Take You There” was my favorite due to the killer bass line.