“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.
Conan O’Brien, once president of the Harvard Lampoon, allegedly spent a night in jail following a stunt he pulled as an undergraduate. That story (with other unrelated pranks) found here.
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.
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.
[Free audio download of Sousa’s recording here. Wanna see the Conductor’s Sheet Music? Click here.]
It’s been a century and a quarter yet it’s still one of the most recognizable marches in the world, especially around July 4th. An Act of Congress adopted it as the National March of the USA… in 1987. What I didn’t know is that Sousa penned lyrics for his timeless classic, and here is the last refrain:
“Hurrah for the flag of the free! May it wave as our standard forever; The gem of the land and the sea, The ban-ner of the right. Let despots remember the day, When our fathers with mighty endeavor, Proclaimed as they marched to the fray, That by their might and by their right It waves forever.”
Note that The Founding Fathers were all British citizens, right up until the Declaration of Independence. If you’ve never read it, read it; and if you’ve read it, read it again. Then read the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Out loud.
Teach your kids and grandchilluns the meaning and importance of Independence Day, because nobody else will. Tell them how pissed off the colonists were, and why, and then tell them what they eventually did about it. Then grill a buncha hot dogs and hamburgers, take ’em to a local fireworks show and have a great Independence Day Celebration. See ya there!
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.
I don’t like the title of this YouTube video at all because mocking young naïve idealistic Marxists is not a good way to explain basic economic principles and move them toward a rational frame of thought. On the other hand, this video illustrates the patience, sentience, and simple brilliance of the late Milton Friedman.
OKAY NEXT.
The Knitts. I like the sound. Kinda retro, kinda young, kinda wow. There’s hope for music after all.
This video annoys the hell out of me, but it’s kinda fun at the same time. Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band is Rev. Peyton-Guitar, Washboard Breezy Peyton-Washboard, Ben “Birddog” Bussell-drums.
Have a great weekend, folks. Be back here tomorrow for more really important worldly stuff.
Apparently anthropomorphic global warming existed before anthropomorphs did. Dinosaur skulls have been found as far north as what is now Alaska (which in the Cretaceous Period was mostly within the Arctic Circle). Pachyrhinosaurus is now my favorite Sauropod. What did they do in the Arctic darkeness?
Corey Hart sends mixed messages and I have no idea who he is.
Happy Fathers’ Day to all Fathers who ever Fathered. To you Proto-Fathers and Fathers-In-Training, your prime responsibility is to Father forever more.
