DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS

'69 AND THE CRIME ETCHED IN TIME -

"When I Was 17, It was not a very good year"

Rich Buckland

Well. Here is something I've yet to get over in all the years since I first read the grisly details of Sharon Tate’s murder in the Sunday newspaper’s Parade magazine when I was just a wacky hippie teen and beach Boys fanatic.

Cult-leader and killer Charles Manson and Beach Boy drummer and surfer Dennis Wilson were friends. For a while, at least. Good enough friends that Manson and his “family” of young women lived with Wilson for several months. Good enough friends that Wilson convinced the Beach Boys to include a song written by Manson, who had musical ambitions, on their album 20/20.

Which brings me back to the main bad guy, Charles Manson. I knew as early as the Parade magazine article that Manson and his “family” had gone to Sharon Tate’s house looking for Terry Melcher, who did not live there. And I knew that Manson’s actual target was this Terry Melcher, who I also knew was Doris Day’s son. As it turns out, he was an important producer in the music industry.

Yes indeed gand. The 60's was not all Peace, Love and Understanding. 

In 1988, Melcher earned a Golden Globe nomination for co-writing the song "Kokomo" with John Phillips, Scott McKenzie and Mike Love. Recorded by the Beach Boys, the song was featured in the 1988 Tom Cruise film Cocktail and hit No. 1 (the band's career fourth overall) on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified gold with U.S. sales of more than one million copies.[18] Melcher later co-wrote and produced the band's 1992 studio album Summer in Paradise, which was the first record produced digitally on Pro Tools.

Charles Manson- The White Album
One of the two great influences on the thinking of Charles Manson, along with the Book of Revelation, was the musical group the Beatles. According to Family members, Manson would most often quote "the Beatles and the Bible." The two influences were linked, in that Manson saw the four Beatles members as being the "four angels" referred to in Revelation 9. Revelation 9 also tells of "locusts"--the Beatles, of course--coming out upon the earth. It describes prophets as having "faces as the faces of men" but with "the hair of women"--an assumed reference too the long hair of the all-male English group. In Revelation 9, the four angels with "breastplates of fire"--electric guitars--"issued fire and brimstone"--song lyrics.
Manson believed that the Beatles spoke to him through their lyrics, especially those included in the White Album, released in December 1968. Several songs from the White Album crystalized Manson's thinking about a coming revolt by blacks against the white Establishment. He interpreted many of the songs idiosyncratically, believing, for example, that "Rocky Raccoon" meant black people and "Happiness is a Warm Gun" was a song about getting firearms to carry on the&

SPLENDOR OF BOHEMIA PRESENTS- "IN THE BEGINNING"- 

RICH BUCKLAND'S 2009 TEST EPISODE FOR WHAT WOULD LATER BECOME THE PODCAST SERIES THE WORLD COULD EASILY LIVE WITHOUT- OR CAN IT? 

WITH WILLY DEVILLE, LENNY BRUCE AND OUR SPECIAL GUEST CHARLES MANSON-DIG THIS!

Ok, folks, we’ve got an unlikely pairing of unrequited torch anthems with an almost 40 year time span between them, featuring points of view which diverge 180 degrees. The first, from Cock Robin, showcases synthesized sounds which seem like they were caught in amber in 1985, and the second, an astounding display of songwriting and vocal pyrotechnics from prodigy of the moment, Olivia Rodrigo. 

COCK ROBIN / WHEN YOUR HEART IS WEAK

The Europeans understand love…it’s Amore in Italy, L’amour to the French, In German it’s Die Liebe, and it’s Liefde to the Dutch. Perhaps this is why Europe is where Cock Robin’s music made its biggest impact. This song, “When Your Heart Is Weak” which only made it to #35 in the US, was a top 20 hit across the European continent. 

Singer-songwriter Peter Kingsbury croons insinuatingly that he’ll patiently wait for his love object’s moment of weakness so he can pick the lock to her heart, and he clearly means business. (With an obsessiveness that borders on harassment, the song insists that her conquest is inevitable). As the synths swell in an oceanic tidal wave, the lover, who’s been waiting in the shallows for his moment, will swim over to his drowning muse, life preserver in his teeth, and rescue the maiden in distress - and she, eternally grateful, will be his forever.

OLIVIA RODRIGO / VAMPIRE

In the next scenario things have gone horribly wrong. Whatever strategy the “Vampire” of the title used to seduce this seething innocent, he left her wanting to eviscerate him publicly - which she has done in spades. This world wide chart topper, which started life as a plaintive piano ballad, was expanded, under Dan Nigro’s production, to become an operatic, pop rock anthem. Even the use of the epithet “fame fucker” did not deter the public’s monumental thirst to hear this song over and over again on repeat. (Although there is a clean version with the substituted “Dream Crusher” - which doesn’t quite compare, does it?)

Olivia is 22, model gorgeous, and has amassed an army of pre-teen followers (Ala Taylor Swift). Her outspoken opinions and free use of sexual language have alarmed some parents, but, Ms. Rodrigo is a nice, well brought up lady who only wants to be a good role model, and gifted with a prodigious talent that promises to carry her the distance, expect more musical revelations in the years to come.

Here is a “Sunny Song”, wherein the fleeting sunlight is a dappled reminder of the evanescence of existence. They’re all gone now: Bill Evans (piano), Tony Bennett (vocals), Henry Mancini (Composer), and Johnny Mercer (Lyricist), but their beautiful creation lives on to remind us to gather our rosebuds while we may.

Sadness, and gratitude run in equal measure throughout all of the song’s manifestations. The title itself derives from an 1896 poem by Ernest Dowson, taken from the Roman poet, Horace, whose latin translates as:

“The brief sum of life forbids us the hope of enduring long;” 

The film for which Mancini and Mercer furnished this deathless song, was so tragic in its portrayal of addiction, that, even as a 10 year old, I mourned for the hopelessness of Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick’s doomed romance that should have produced nothing but happiness, but brought only sorrow. 

In the magician's hands of Bill Evans, the chordal melody seems to waft in the breeze, and Tony Bennett’s voice, never more supple, interprets the wistfulness of unfulfilled longing with a seasoned perfection. The results: a collaborative triumph. Tony was quoted as saying that their recordings were “the most prestigious thing I ever did”. 

Quite a statement from the acknowledged master. 

When it comes to infidelity: can we have our cake and eat it too? 

In the following two songs, written by the incomparable Don Covay, this theme is explored. The two men narrating these tales of inconstancy are in turmoil - one cheater feels guilty, while the other betrayer is suffering from hurt pride - because his woman is playing the same game. The soulful bard who created these parables of marital strife covers the gamut here: in the first you’ll hear the voice of the creator himself, Mr. Covay, on a special alternate track of “I Was Checking Out While She Was Checking in”; the second song, “I Stole Some Love” features one of his best interpreters, Peter Wolf, of the J. Geils Band.

Donald James Randolph, aka Don Covay aka “Superdude” left us in 2015 with a legacy of pungent excavations of the human psyche, often delivered with toe tapping, humorous perfection. Although he was a charismatic performer in his own right, he was known predominantly as a songwriter with an unerring instinct for hits. Starting out in the fifties as a chauffeur and opening act for Little Richard, Covay went on to pen a raft of chart toppers such as Mercy Mercy (recorded by the Stones), See Saw, and Chain of Fools, for which Aretha Franklin won a Grammy. 

But it was in ’72, doubling as an A&R man for Mercury Records, that Don hit performing pay dirt with “Superdude,” which contained the following song-monologue, which we are honored to present here with this alternate take, where the singer ruminates on the irony of his unique situation.

In ’92, Don suffered a stroke, and Ronnie Wood of the Faces and the Stones, produced a tribute album entitled “Back to the Streets” which contained the Covay classic “I Stole Some Love,” delivered here with characteristic swagger by the one and only Peter Wolf - former front man for the J. Geils Band. 

79 years old and still going strong, the ex late night DJ “Woofa Goofa”, turned undeniable Rock Star and raconteur, has recently delivered an engrossing memoir “Waiting on the Man: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses” about his life’s journey, and the iconic artists he’s encountered along the way- starting with his stint studying art at Tufts University, and rooming with David Lynch. (He was also married to Faye Dunaway for five years)…, so he knows a lot about a lot of stuff, including failed romance. And, on this cut, his tortured vocal attests to the emotional vise he’s caught in.

Right here, squaring off, from opposite sides of the Atlantic, we present: Dueling tag-teams of zaniness — wearing fanciful disguises, winking at traditional forms, and tweeting in a birdlike falsetto… Good stuff!

BEDAZZLED

The Faustian satire Bedazzled, created by genius comedian Peter Cook (who plays the Devil trying to bargain for souls), makes good use of the talents of his Chaplin-esque comedy partner, Dudley Moore (who you might remember from the hit films Ten and Arthur), who plays the shlumpy Wimpy Burger cook, Stanley, willing to bargain away his mortal soul for love. 

The team first worked together in the early 60s smash stage revue BEYOND THE FRINGE, then coalesced on the BBC as Pete and Dud, (and, later, even more darlingly in the scatalogical bootleg recordings of Derek and Clive). In 1966, with Bedazzled they were on the rise commercially, and Moore, an Oxford trained classical and jazz pianist, wrote all the music for the film.  

In this cut, entitled Leaping Nuns chorus, the sisters of the Order of Saint Beryl (including Stanley in full habit) show their devotion to the Saint by jumping on trampolines. 

JAN AND DEAN MEET BATMAN

Also in ‘66, laboring secretly on a similar track, energized by the same Goon Show type inspiration, Jan Berry and Dean Torrance were working to expand, (but not abandon) their surf sound by adding a storyline and special effects, and creating some nutty theater of the mind. 

Who knows where this might have led, if Jan’s tragic car collision a few week’s after the record’s release, (resulting in his massive head injuries), hadn’t sidelined the team’s ambitions? Perhaps a blockbuster TV series…?

There was always a comic element to the Jan and Dean performance style. (Check out the classic Rock concert film Tami Show, which they hosted). They may have looked like copper toned surf hunks, but maybe there was some Abbott and Costello lurking beneath the Golden Boy surface. 

From the first moment I heard this ditty, it became my theme song. I learned to play it - (in a far cruder fashion than Ry, of course) and worked it into my set list. Just like the character Bill in the narrative, - (my name, btw) - my reprobate ways had also been domesticated by love. And, another harmonic convergence: I had even spent a year in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Jack Yellen, the Jewish-Polish immigrant who wrote these Jazz-age lyrics, also penned Happy Days are Here Again, and Ain’t She Sweet. If he had only created these three songs, his oeuvre would have been impressive. His art was another example, like that of Irving Berlin and the Gershwins, of the affinity young Jewish musicians expressed for black culture.  And, like the Semitic moguls of old Hollywood - they became reflectors of America’s aspirational self-image.

Ry Cooder’s Jazz album was not exactly an anomaly - he has always been a musical archeologist, but on this collection he strove for unparalleled authenticity. Check out his jaw dropping rendition of Bix Beiderbecke’s In A Mist. Sublime. He’s a national treasure, and if the jaunty swing-time on this number doesn’t get your feet tapping - check your pulse - you might be dead.

"GRIEVING IN THE DOLLS HOUSE"

David Johansen passed away peacefully at home on February 28, holding the hands of his wife Mara Hennessey and daughter Leah, in the sunlight surrounded by music and flowers. 
After a decade of profoundly compromised health he died at the age of 75. 
David and his family were deeply moved by the outpouring of love and support they’ve experienced recently as the result of having gone public with their challenges.  He was thankful that he had a chance to be in touch with so many friends and family before he passed. 
He knew he was ecstatically loved.
"My mother and I would like to thank everyone for the fathomless love and support you’ve all shown us since we went public with David’s diagnosis.
We were able to make the last few weeks of David’s life with us as serene and anxiety free as possible. As well as alleviating some of our more pressing material concerns, this campaign did make David feel profoundly connected. He really did feel the love from everyone.
For the time being we will leave the fund open to contributions, to continue to pay off the debts accrued during David’s long illness.

We will share details about memorials and tributes soon. There will be several events celebrating David’s life and artistry, details to follow.

Thank you so much for the …LUV
Love,
Leah and Mara"

THE GTO'S -"PERMANENT DAMAGE"- THEIR LONE VINYL FOOTPRINT

"HARDLY A CHEAP TRICK"

These seven young women left a permanent mark upon my perceptions of the feminine equation and artistic desires during what was known as the 60's Summer of Love. 

So much to ponder about these girls who just wanted to have fun.

They left a legacy which when viewed through the lens of  artistic achievement, made them the first female Punk Rockettes.

When the testimony is placed under the microscope of human triumph, destiny betrayed them. 

They were the creation of a time (The 1960's) and a place (Laurel Canyon) where  history tells us that the possibilities of inclusion could make a groupie as appreciated as Joni Mitchell.

Frank Zappa knew better.

Frank understood the nature of Permanent Damage. 

The most famous and successful of the GTOs is Miss Pamela, currently Pamela Des Barres, author of the groupie-memoir I'm With The Band. Des Barres's new book, Let's Spend the Night Together, a collection of interviews with fellow rock groupies, was released on July 1, 2007. Miss Mercy's 'biography' was expanded at length within the chapter entitled, "Miss Mercy's Blues". Also within the book, Des Barres notes that Miss Cynderella died in 2007 under mysterious circumstances. Miss Christine died on November 5th, 1972, of an overdose in a hotel room, after spending close to a year in a full body cast to correct her crooked spine. Miss Lucy died of an AIDS-related disease in the early 1990s. During her time as a GTO, Sandra became pregnant by Zappa's resident artist, Calvin Schenkel, and had a daughter named Raven. Miss Sandra later moved back to San Pedro and eventually Italy with her new husband and three children. She died of cancer on April 23, 1991. Miss Sparky is still alive, but not much has been divulged of her post-GTO's endeavours.

In Circular Circulation, They Circle Continuously.

- Rich Buckland

DOUBLE TROUBLE: CINDY LAUPER AND MILEY CYRUS

Two towering, Olympian female voices, from different generations, aligning here to honestly testify about their love damaged hearts. They describe world’s of hurt, confusion, and finally, triumph in the face of loss. 

Miley Cyrus “Heart of Glass”

I love Miley Cyrus - not only because she carries the flag of peace, love, and musical tradition with her Happy Hippie Foundation, and, at the same time, continues to reinvent herself and confound expectations, but because she’s one of the most captivating singers America has ever produced. Here she isn’t channelling Debbie Harry’s Blondie anthem, so much as honoring the past, and goosing the disco chestnut with rock n roll hydrogen. Displaying the vocal power of a roaring jet plane, Miley conveys a super sonic vibration alongside the mournful cry of an injured wolf. 

Before I ever saw her, I auditioned for her Disney show, Hannah Montana. I’m glad I didn’t get that job, because the Miley that I was finally introduced to was not a preternaturally talented moppet, but it was The Wrecking Ball, the Can’t Stop Won’t Stop girl - the irresistible force for all that’s forward looking in this society, and at the same time Dolly Parton’s God daughter. What a combo!

Cyndi Lauper “I’m Gonna Be Strong”

When Cyndi Lauper emerged from the depths of Queens (my home ground), wearing orange hair and thrift store swag, singing about how Girls just wanna have fun, and mugging on MTV besides Captain Lou Albano, the wrestler, I loved her kookiness, but I was sure that she was not gonna be around that long. Boy, was I wrong. She demonstrated her amazing writing and vocal chops in all genres, spoke her mind faithfully about human rights, and in short order became a feminist icon. She has even scored big as a Broadway composer with the sensational Kinky Boots.

For over 40 years she has dominated our national consciousness, and this year, as she makes what she claims is her farewell tour, she continues to represent unwavering notions of integrity, self-respect, and professionalism with undeniable power.

Here she is reviving the 1964,  Gene Pitney hit composed by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, with a gut wrenching, operatic dynamism that leaves me speechless. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back for more 

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Let’s talk about dreams….

Dreams can be intoxicatingly erotic; they can be filled with loss and longing; you might be falling, trapped in an confusing maze, or carried across bodies of water in a leaky boat.  I often have the actor’s nightmare - where I’m about to go onstage, but I don’t know my lines and I don’t even know which play it is. These are dreams from which I wake up in a cold sweat.

SUMMER WINE by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood (Reprise, 1966)

A Succubus is defined as a female demon or supernatural entity that appears in dreams to seduce men. This is probably what singer-songwriter-producer Lee Hazelwood had in mind when he paired up with the husky voiced Nancy Sinatra to tell the story of a cowboy who swaggers into town, and meets an alluring siren, who then invites him to spend the night partaking of her special home-made brew. He drinks too much of the elixir and wakes up the next morning alone, hungover, and without his silver spurs. This might have been a cautionary tale, but the smitten cowboy is left craving more of the same.

Understandable. Nancy had seduced us all with These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ and Sugar Town, and was at the peak of her magnetic powers. Teaming up with Lee was a smart move, too, because this Svengali was an American original; an independently minded auteur, with an irresistible basso, who, with his muse, went on to create many evocative and enduring tracks before going their separate ways. 

The structure of the song is simple: Nancy sings only the recurring chorus describing her recipe: “Strawberries, Cherries, and an Angel’s kiss in spring…” This plays like an ear worm, stuck in the cowboy’s head as he relates his mysterious tale of submission.

HOW CAN WE HANG ON TO A DREAM by Mimi Farina (Philo, 1985)

Mimi Farina became a widow at age 21. The younger sister of Joan Baez, who was one half of an anointed, royal duo of folk music, was left bereft when Richard Farina, her husband and partner, rode his motorcycle into oblivion. 

After casting about for years, trying to find her civic, and artistic footing (forming the charitable performing organization, Bread and Roses - and, even trying improv comedy) - she finally emerged in 1985, stronger and more confident at the age of 40, with a beautiful solo effort. Here she interprets the Tim Hardin composition HOW CAN WE HANG ON TO A DREAM? - which delicately puts all her trials into perspective.

Mimi died of cancer in 2001, leaving behind a legacy of fragile, dream-like beauty and wonder. 

It seems that some people are too good for this world. I’m reminded of Richard and Mimi’s anthemic PACK UP YOUR SORROWS…”If somehow you could pack up your sorrows, and give them all to me….you would lose them, I know how to use them, give them all to me.”

Mimi did just that for us.