Old Guy Radio - Tribute 2021

Following the OGR tradition, January’s list is a tribute to those that have left in the preceding year. As the Classic Rockers continue to age into their 70’s and 80’s this list will get longer and longer, until it will ultimately get shorter. Just like all the Baby Boomers who decided to retire en masse last year (over 70% of the reduction in the workforce in 2021 was Baby Boomers packing it in), eventually there won’t be any Classic Rockers left. Except Keith Richards, who will live forever.

One of the things I really like to do with these Tribute playlists is to highlight a lot of folks that weren’t exactly A-listers, and hope that maybe you discover something new (to you) that you like. And unlike Spotify’s Discover Weekly, this playlist should actually have stuff you’ve never heard before. Spotify thinks that since I listen to Classic Rock on occasion, that I need to “discover” more Classic Rock. Hey Spotify, if I haven’t listened to Traffic, it isn’t because I’m unaware of them, it’s because I don’t like them.  Moving on.

The list is generally organized chronologically by the music, except when it isn’t. It is also fairly long. As is the writeup. Not sorry.

Stephen Sondheim - Composer 1962 “Comedy Tonight”. Before he got the chance to score his own musicals, Sondheim first provided the lyrics to “West Side Story” (music by Leonard Bernstein) and “Gypsy” (music by Jule Styne). “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” was his first Broadway score. The story was based on old Roman farces. This is the opening number sung by Zero Mostel in the character of Pseudolus. Other Sondheim works include “Sweeney Todd”, “Into the Woods”, and “Sunday in the Park with George”. This seems like a good place to start.

Don Everly - The Everly Brothers 1957 “Bye Bye Love”. Don and brother Phil were incredibly popular and massively influential. The Beatles claimed them as an influence, with John and Paul even billing themselves as the British Everly Brothers for an early talent show. Graham Nash also recognizes their influence in his autobiography “Wild Tales”. Just listen to the Hollies “Bus Stop” featuring the close harmony of Nash and Alan Clarke.

Bonus Tracks:

The Beatles - Please Please Me

The Hollies - Bus Stop

Jimmie Rodgers - Self 1957 “Honeycomb”. Had to include this song, as it was the No. 1 song on the charts on the day I was born. Admittedly, I don’t like it very much, but what can you do?

Phil Spector - The Teddy Bears 1958 “To Know Him is to Love Him”. Actually, no. Fuck Phil Spector. He was a monster and a murderer. Best known for the ‘Wall of Sound”, a production technique that sounds fine on a tiny transistor radio, but sounds horribly  muddy on any decent stereo system. You want Spector, you’re on your own. He gets no bandwidth here.

Bunny Wailer (Neville O’Riley Livingston) - The Wailers 1963 “When the Well Runs Dry”, Self 1976 “Dream Land”. Wailer, along with Peter Tosh and Bob Marley formed the Wailing Wailers in 1963. “When the Well Runs Dry” is from their eponymous debut album and reportedly features Livingston on lead vocals (some sources say it’s Tosh). Nevertheless, Wailer left the Wailers in 1973 after “Catch a Fire” (so later did Tosh) and began a successful solo career. “Dream Land” is from his solo debut “Blackheart Man”. The bass on “Dream Land” is played by Robbie Shakespeare, another member in this year’s tribute.  

Mary Wilson - Supremes 1964 “Where Did Our Love Go”, “Someday We’ll Be Together”. Wilson was the only constant member of the Supremes, from their founding as the Primettes in 1959 to their ultimate dissolution in 1977. She also became a New York Times Best Selling author with the publication of her autobiography “Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme” in 1986. There were lots of songs to choose from, so I went with their very first No. 1 hit in 1964 and their last No. 1 with Diana Ross from 1969.

David “Jay” Black - Jay and the Americans 1964 “Come a Little Bit Closer”, “Cara Mia”. When Jay Traynor left the original lineup of Jay and the Americans, singer David Black was asked to take his place, but only if he would adopt the stage name Jay Black. Well, duh. Black and the group went on to record several Top 40 hits.

Roger Hawkins - Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (drums) 1966 “Mustang Sally” “Respect” “Take a Letter, Maria”. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was a popular group of session musicians based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They performed on many pop and R&B hits of the 60’s and 70’s. So you get some Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and R.B. Greaves. On a related note, expect a lot of this kind of tribute in the coming years. Most of the Wrecking Crew are well into their 80’s, and their output was prodigious.

Mike Nesmith - The Monkees 1967 “You Just May Be the One”. Nesmith was already a professional singer/songwriter when he was chosen as one of the Monkees. In addition to songs he wrote for the Monkees, Nesmith penned others that were recorded by the likes of Linda Ronstadt and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. After the Monkees, Nesmith was a pioneer in the genre of country rock (“Joanne”) and an innovator in music video (see “Rio”).

Bonus Tracks:

Linda Ronstadt - Different Drum

Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Mary, Mary (also covered by Run DMC)

Tim Bogert - Vanilla Fudge (bass, vocals) 1967 “You Keep Me Hanging On”. Bogert was one of the founding members of Vanilla Fudge, a band best known for extended psychedelic jams of current hits. He and fellow Fudge founder Carmine Appice later joined up with Jeff Beck to form Beck Bogert & Appice (duh). I wanted to go with the seven-minute version of “You Keep Me Hanging On”, but the original is not on Spotify. So you only get the three-minute single edit. To make up for it, I’m throwing in BB&C’s version of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”, because we can.

Ron Bushy - Iron Butterfly (drums) 1968 “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”. If we want a long song, what is better than the side-long “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”? Bushy is well represented here, because of his extended drum solo, of course.

John Drake - Amboy Dukes (vocals) 1968 “Journey to the Center of the Mind”. Back when Ted Nugent was just a crazy guitarist, his band had a Top 40 hit with the psychedelic “Journey to the Center of the Mind”. So here you go.

B.J. Thomas - Self 1969 “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”. If Thomas is remembered at all, it is because of this Oscar-winning song written by Burt Bacharach for the soundtrack to “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. By the way, he was also the first performer to record “Hooked on a Feeling”, although the 1974 version by Blue Swede is best known today, thanks in large part to Ally McBeal and “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

Graeme Edge - Moody Blues (drums/poetry) 1969  “Higher and Higher”, “After You Came”, “You and Me”. Because I really liked the Moody Blues, three songs! Edge was one of the original members of the band. When they began their progressive period with “Days of Future Passed” in 1967, Edge provided the various spoken word passages that often turned up on their albums, like “Higher and Higher” (although read by fellow band member Mike Pinder). Edge also wrote or co-wrote many songs over the years, including the other two presented here.

Franco Battiato - Self 1971 “La Convenzione”. Battiato was an odd duck. The first part of his career was spent making experimental electronic and progressive music. Like this track. Later, he abandoned the trappings of progressive music and took a solid pop turn (Phil Collins, anyone?). Anyway, I’m also including his pop hit “La Cura” from 1996, anointed in Italy as the best song of the year. So there you go.

Commander Cody (George Frayne) - Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen 1971 “Hot Rod Lincoln”. This is actually a cover, believe it or not. The original was released in 1955 by Charlie Ryan and the Livingston Brothers, as an “answer song” to Arkie Shibley’s 1950 hit “Hot Rod Race”. Of course, Commander Cody’s is the more popular recording, reaching No. 9 on the charts. One of my very favorite novelty songs.

Takeshi Terauchi - Self 1971 “Kuroda Bushi”, “Symphony No. 5”. In the early 60’s, surf music, and the Ventures in particular, took Japan by storm. So guitarist Takeshi Terauchi formed his own surf band, the Blue Jeans, and proceeded to release dozens of albums in the ensuing years. Considered the King of the Electric Guitar in Japan, most of Terauchi’s output is not available on Spotify. But there is one album. According to the little I can find about it (not much), it was recorded in 1971, then remastered and finally released in 2020. Apparently, the first half is surf versions of traditional Japanese folk songs, and the second is surf renditions of what might be called popular Classical pieces. It’s pretty good. 

Alan Cartwright - Procol Harum (bass) 1972 “Conquistador”. Procol Harum crashed onto the scene in 1967 with their unusual hit single “Whiter Shade of Pale”. They went through multiple lineup changes over the years, with Alan Cartwright becoming their third bass player starting in 1971. He first appears on their live album with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, released in 1972. That album featured a new version of “Conquistador”, which also went on to become a hit single. Cartwright stayed with the band through 1975’s “Procol’s Ninth”, then retired from music altogether. Don’t panic if you don’t hear anything right away. There is nearly a minute of relative silence before everyone is in place and ready to go.

Rick Laird - Mahavishnu Orchestra (bass) 1973 “Birds of Fire”.  Prior to being one of the founding members of Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1971, Laird was sort of an itinerant bass player, playing with lots of other jazz performers as a member of Ronnie Scott’s house band in London. He performed on the first three Mahavishnu Orchestra albums (as well as the studio version of “Between Nothingness and Eternity”, recorded in 1973, but released in 1999). This cut is the title track from “Birds of Fire”, a fusion classic.

Sylvain Sylvain (Sylvain Mizrahi) - New York Dolls (piano/guitar) 1973 “Personality Crisis”. The Dolls were a glam-punk band from New York (duh) founded in 1971. They played hard rock and dressed in drag. Much like the Velvet Underground, they probably inspired more bands than they sold records. One of the DJ’s on Deep Tracks always lobbies that they should be in the RRHOF, which OG thinks is ludicrous. When was the last time you heard a New York Dolls song on a Classic Rock radio station? The answer is never.

Paul Jackson - Herbie Hancock (bass) 1973 “Chameleon”. Jackson was a jazz bass player and composer who enjoyed a long-term working relationship with keyboardist and band leader Herbie Hancock. This is from Hancock’s groundbreaking jazz funk fusion album “Head Hunters”.

Charlie Watts - The Rolling Stones 1974 “If You Can’t Rock Me”. Often described as the quintessential rock drummer, Watts was certainly more understated than many of his counterparts. While many drummers of the age played hard and lived harder (see Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, John Bonham, etc.), Watts preferred to play in a more laid back jazz style. And he always dressed sharp. “The band's on stage and it's one of those nights. The drummer thinks that he is dynamite.”

Dusty Hill - ZZ Top (bass/vocals) 1975 “Heard It on the X”. Hill was one of the three founding members of ZZ Top in 1969, along with guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard (who did not wear a beard). Hill played bass and generally sang backing vocals to Gibbons’ lead. Occasionally, as with this track, he took co-lead.

Tom T. Hall - Self 1975 “I Like Beer”. Hall was a very popular songwriter and country singer. He wrote “Harper Valley PTA”, “I Love” (the little baby ducks song), and “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died”. In the mid-70’s, while I was leaning hard into progressive rock, both of my brothers had succumbed to country music. Jack was old school with Hank Williams Sr. and Dolly. But Ray was more into the then current pop country, like Tom T. Hall. Riding with him in his truck was non-stop Tom T. I know lots of his songs. To me, the word that best describes Hall is maudlin. We might throw in saccharin as well. And alcoholic. But then again, it is country.

Bob James - Montrose 1975 “Let’s Go”. James took over as the lead singer in Montrose after Sammy Hagar left the band. He appeared on two albums, 1975’s “Warner Brothers Presents” and 1976’s “Jump On It”. The metalheads in my dorm had both. This track is from the latter. 

Chick Corea - Return to Forever (keyboards) 1976 “Medieval Overture”, “The Romantic Warrior”. Corea had already achieved fame in jazz circles having played with Miles Davis from 1968-1972, when he formed the jazz fusion band Return to Forever in 1972. Both of these selections are from the band’s sixth studio album, “Romantic Warrior”.

Robby Steinhardt - Kansas (voice/violin) 1976 “Miracles Out of Nowhere”. Steinhardt typically shared vocals with Steve Walsh, but frequently took lead. He gets the lead here. The interplay of Steinhardt’s violin playing with the keyboards and guitar helped define the “Kansas sound”. 

Paul Mitchell - The Floaters (baritone) 1977 “Float On”. Of course, there is a single edit clocking in at only 4:13, but OG always goes with the epic album cuts. 11:49 baby! “Leo, and my name is Paul”

Jim Steinman - Composer for Meat Loaf 1977 “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights” and Bonnie Tyler 1983 “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Steinman wrote music from the time he was in high school (class of 1965 at Hewlett High School in Long Island, same as Tony Kornheiser, BTW), with a leaning toward cinematic or theatrical music. He wrote the entirety of “Bat Out of Hell”, sung by Meat Loaf. As Meat became more famous (or should I say “Loaf”), he and Steinman drifted apart. Steinman continued writing dramatic music, including “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, for Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. He even story-boarded the quite odd music video. 

Robbie Shakespeare - Sly and Robbie. Shakespeare was a sought after reggae bass player and half of the reggae production duo “Sly and Robbie” (with drummer Sly Dunbar). Together, they worked on albums by Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh (“Soon Come” 1978), Black Uhuru, the Itals (“Brutal” 1982) and even Grace Jones and Bob Dylan. 

Rusty Young - Poco (guitar, vocals) 1978 “Crazy Love”. Poco arose from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield. Stephen Stills and Neil Young went their way, Richie Furay and Jim Messina went theirs. Along with Rusty Young, Furay and Messina formed the seminal Southern California country rock band, Poco. This was their biggest hit, written by Young.

John Goodsall - Brand X (guitar) 1979 “Rhesus Perplexus”. In 1974, Goodsall was one of the founding members of the UK jazz fusion group Brand X, which also included Phil Collins on drums and Percy Jones on bass. The members rotated in and out, especially Collins, since he had other commitments. This track is from the 1979 album “Product”. 

Michael Stanley - Michael Stanley Band 1980 “He Can’t Love You”. MSB were your basic Midwest Arena Rock band from the 70’s, in the style of REO Speedwagon or Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. Very popular in their hometown of Cleveland, they never really broke nationally. This is their only Top 40 hit, from the 1980 album “Heartland”.

Louis Clark - Self 1981 “Hooked on Classics”. Clark was an arranger and conductor, rather than a performer per se. Beginning with “Eldorado”, he was the arranger of the strings, orchestra and choir for Electric Light Orchestra. On some tours, he even joined to play synthesizer for the band. In pop circles he became well known for disco era hit “Hooked on Classics”.

Emmet Chapman - Inventor of the Chapman Stick. The Chapman Stick is a twelve string instrument, generally designed for “tapping”. The six strings on the “bottom” are basically tuned like guitar strings; the six on the “top” are basically bass strings. The instrument has a distinctive sound, and it has been adopted by a lot of notable bass players, Tony Levin foremost among them. Levin used the Stick extensively with King Crimson (“Elephant Talk” 1981) and almost exclusively with Liquid Tension Experiment. I have also included a very nice cover of Phil Collins’ “Roof is Leaking” (2021) by another Stick master, Kevin Keith.

Or just go watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYKB6Lag-wg

Richard H. Kirk - Cabaret Voltaire (guitar/saxophone/synthesizer/clarinet) 1982 “Yashar”. Cabaret Voltaire were a post-punk industrial band formed in 1973. Their peak years seem to be in the early 80’s, not that I am a judge of experimental post-punk music. This is from their fourth album “2X45”.

Pat Lupo - John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band (bass) 1983 “On the Dark Side”. In the early days of HBO, they showed the same movies over and over. One of these was “Eddie and the Cruisers”, a movie about the rise of a bar band and the subsequent disappearance of its lead singer Eddie. While the film had some elements of the story of Jim Morrison and the Doors, the music was more in line with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band provided all the original music for the film. This one in particular became a hit. 

Prince Markie Dee (Mark Anthony Morales) - Fat Boys 1987 “Wipeout”. The Fat Boys were a hip hop trio out of Brooklyn who helped popularize rap in the 80’s. In addition to their music career, they also appeared in movies, most notably the screwball comedy “Disorderlies”. This track is their collaboration with the Beach Boys on a cover of the Surfaris’ 1963 hit single. 

Joey Jordison - Slipknot 2004 “The Blister Exists”. What little I know about Slipknot comes from Jacklynn and Wikipedia. Jordison was the original drummer and one of the founding members of this metal band from Des Moines. He and the band parted ways in 2013 after he was diagnosed with acute transverse myelitis, rendering him unable to play drums. This is from the band’s third album, aptly titled “Vol 3.” 

Anita Lane - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 1996 “Death is Not the End”. In addition to an esoteric solo career, Lane collaborated with many artists in the 80s and 90s, in particular Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. She wrote lyrics for a few of their songs, and contributed vocals (along with Kylie Minogue and several others) for this version of Bob Dylan’s original on the band’s 1996 album “Murder Ballads”, which OG heartily endorses.  “O’Malley’s Bar” is worth the price of admission. Anyway, I thought this would be a more than appropriate closer to this Tribute playlist. And so it is.

Thanks for your patience.