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

PICK YOURSELF UP by Mel Torme (DCC Jazz, 1998)

Life is a series of ups and downs - a continuous challenge to renew and reinvent yourself. You can be rolling along, on top of the world, then the next day become lost in a fog of turmoil. I have experienced this several times in my life, most bitterly in recent years. But, I am not alone in this - I believe it is a universally shared phenomenon - and, in this song Mel Torme offers, if not an antidote to disaster, a prescription for practical optimism.

Pick Yourself Up was originally written in 1936, by Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern, to be performed by the inimitable Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the movie Swing Time. In the number Fred, breezily attempting to seduce dance teacher Ginger, begs for her instruction. This charade of awkwardness, of course, quickly develops into the most delicious demonstration of tandem terpsichore ever filmed. 

Mel’s equally breezy, live, vocal gymnastics, abetted by wizard bassist Jay Leonhart, transforms the song, imbuing it with a deeper meaning. In their hands it becomes a brisk, bracing splash of cold water in the face, saying “Buck up, Boyo - You’re not defeated! Try, try again! 

Jackie "The K" Zeman, ex wife of the late and ultra great New York DJ Murray "The K"  Kaufman, AKA "The Fifth Beatle", has boarded The Mystery Train at 70 years of age.
Jackie had been known over the past decades as Bobbi Spencer of "General Hospital" fame where she performed in 800 episodes.
Murray left us in February of 1982.
There's going to be a Dance Party Reunion at a secret rendezvous tonight.
I have no doubt Jackie saved the last dance for him.
Recorded Live At The Brooklyn Fox Theater- 1963
1) So Much In Love- The Tymes
2)  Be My Baby- The Ronettes
3)  She Cried- Jay and The Americans
4)  Town Without Pity- Gene Pitney
5)   Shop Around- Smokey Robinson and The Miracles
6)   You Can't Sit Down- The Dovells
7)  Walk On By- Dionne Warwick

BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN 

BY BURL IVES (DECCA, 1956)

I had a record when I was a kid called “Burl Ives Sings For Fun”, and it made such an impression on me that I can still recall all the songs. In fact, twenty years later, I won my first professional, New York acting job by auditioning with one of the tunes from that collection: The Fox….”The fox went out on the prowl one night, begged to the moon to give him light, he had many a mile to go that night, before he reached the town-O….” 

Burl’s high tenor stirred something deep within me, and still does - In Big Rock Candy Mountain, when he goes into that slow vocal ascent with the buuuuzzzzzinnnn of the bees, my heart swells. This still happens, despite my ambivalence toward what Burl personally did to save his career during the blacklist of the 1950s.

I discovered that taint while in the Smithsonian doing some research on folk music, and I ran across a Burl Ives Sea Chantey songbook reviewed by Pete Seeger in Sing Out magazine. Pete admitted that he liked the book, and reflected that some might think that strange, given the fact that Burl was “a stool pigeon.” This upset me so much that I ended up writing a play about the betrayal of their relationship during that period. But, if Pete could forgive Burl, as he did 41 years later, when they appeared together at a benefit concert shortly before Burl’s death, so can I.

Big Rock Candy Mountain is one of the songs on that album. Originally written and recorded by Harry McClintock in 1928, Big Rock Candy Mountain is described as an idyllic destination, imagined by an un-housed man, and it evokes a feeling of comfort, warmth, and joy for me. Check it out and see if you don’t feel better, too.

RING A DING DING TIME

COME FLY WITH ME by Frank Sinatra (Capitol, 1958)

This is my 100th episode, and it seems appropriate to end the Captain Billy series here with Frank Sinatra. The practice of going through my 8 track collection and luxuriating in the music of my youth has been a tonic, getting me through a season of grief and isolation. And, now, as I pack up my house of 26 years, parsing through and divesting myself of some weighty possessions, I sense that it may also be time to move on to other occupations. 

My partner, Richie B, has always been a devotee of Blue Eyes, - (he’s been lobbying for Frank’s induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame for years) - and when I started collecting 8 tracks by amassing large lots of unidentified carts, there were more Sinatra tapes appearing at my door than by any other artist. This album is from the jazzy, Rat-Pack period Frank, my favorite Sinatra era by far. The early, crooning, Bobby-Soxer’s Dreamboat never did it for me. But these piquant Capitol recordings have it all: the swing, the manly heartbreak, and winking sexy fun of America’s all time greatest male interpreter of popular song, during the time that that form dominated American culture.

Arranged by the jaunty Billy May, everything about this “concept” album - (a musical trip around the world) - shows The Chairman of the Board at his ring a ding ding best. Dig those syncopated horn pops and flirty flutes as they insinuate themselves around Frank’s relaxed articulations. Here, Sinatra is perfecting his ability to mine deeper layers of meaning from lyrical phrases by stopping and bending time. It is an art exhibition, by a master of communication, at the pinnacle of his craft. 

One more thing - For the past 20 years I have been fortunate to have worked at an Acting school situated directly across the street from the iconic Capitol Records building - the edifice that Frank built, and I have some wonderful memories of teaching in a classroom of windows, with blinds raised, so we could watch that cylindrical building of legend be bathed in a rosy Hollywood sunset. So, I salute you, home of my heroes, the Beatles, and of Richie’s - Frank Sinatra. That’s all, folks.

https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/gene-barge-42

Saxophonist, music producer and song writer Gene “Daddy G” Barge was born in Norfolk, Virginia on August, 9 1926. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and played clarinet in the school band. Barge then attended West Virginia State College where he first majored in architecture, but quickly switched to music because of his interest in the saxophone. After receiving his B.A. degree from West Virginia State College in 1950, Barge returned to Norfolk, Virginia and played with a number of bands and singing groups including the Griffin Brothers and the Five Keys.

In 1955, Barge recorded his first saxophone instrumentals entitled “Country” and “Way Down Home” on Chess Records’ Checker Label. He taught music at Suffolk High School while playing and singing in bands and touring with both Ray Charles and the Philadelphia vocal group The Turbans. In 1957, Barge played the saxophone on Chuck Willis’ “C.C. Rider,” which became a number one R&B hit. In 1960, he recorded “A Night with Daddy G” with his band the Church Street Five on Norfolk’s Legrand Label. From 1961 to 1962, Barge collaborated with Gary U.S. Bonds on a number of hit records including "School Is In," "School Is Out," "Dear Lady Twist," "Twist Twist Senora," "Copy Cat" and the number one pop hit, “Quarter to Three.” In 1964, Barge was hired as a producer, arranger, and saxophone player for Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois and played on Fontella Bass’ “Rescue Me” in 1965. Chess Records closed in 1971 and Barge was hired by Stax Records in their gospel division, Gospel Truth. Barge produced Inez Andrews’ “Lord Don’t Move the Mountain” and The Beautiful Zion Baptist Church's "I'll Make It Alright.” In 1974, Barge began working with pianist, Marvin Yancy and Charles Jackson. He was hired to do demos with Natalie Cole. He went to win a Grammy Award for co-producing Cole’s “Sophisticated Lady” in 1977.

Barge has toured with Fat Dominos, Bo Diddley, Chuck Willis, The Rolling Stones and Natalie Cole. He has had roles in many major motion pictures including Code of Silence, Above the Law, Under Siege, The Package and The Fugitive. Barge consulted for Martin Scorsese’s 2003 PBS documentary, The Blues. He also appeared in a 2010 episode of the TV documentary series Legends, entitled "Roll over Beethoven - The Chess Records Saga." Barge lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Gene Barge was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on January 20, 2012.

SUNNY SIDE OF MY STREET 

EPISODE 2: THE PINK PANTHER THEME by Henry Mancini (RCA, 1963)

There is something irresistible about the creeping sax signature (swung by Plas Johnson), that gets me every time. Maybe it’s the accompanying cute image of that hapless, animated feline (so reminiscent of Wiley Coyote) curtesy of David DePatie and Fritz Freleng, that seals the delicious deal, but whatever the synaptic connection, this tune sparks pure musical happiness in my cerebral cortex. And, I’m not alone - Henry Mancini’s frothy concoction was a smash single that sold half a million copies, went to the top ten, and won 3 grammies

And, of course, don’t forget that this was the ditty that kicked off the series of films that introduced Peter Seller’s bumbling Inspector Clouseau, an eternal avatar of funny, to the world. If you’re feeling blue, take Norman Cousin’s prescription, and screen those classic comedy films to make yourself feel better. I also learned that this pepto bismol colored cat is associated with Cancer awareness - a very appropriate shade for the elixir of healing. So, go ahead and take a swig!

NO BERLIN

NIGEL LIVED by Murray Head (Columbia 1973)

Concept (with a capital C) album Nigel Lived was released in the same year as Lou Reed’s Berlin, and although neither one was deemed acceptable radio fare, and both are theatrically based, playing on disturbing subject matter, they are light years apart. Berlin has been recognized as a masterpiece, a gut-wrenching portrait of abuse, co-dependence, and addiction, and Nigel Lived….? Well, frankly it’s hard to tell what it’s about. We’ve been told it concerns a starry eyed young musician who comes to the big city, experiences disillusionment, and takes to heroin. However, even after a close listen with the lyrics at my side, (link included below) I had a hard time following the thread.

The original release came with a “found diary” of lyrics, but the lush production by Nick DeCaro is so deeply layered, it’s almost impossible to discern a consistent story line beneath the baroque atmosphere. Often the compelling vocal stylings of Murray Head are mixed too low or at odds with an increasingly chaotic arrangement.  This is ambition run riot.

Its existence went unheralded, and Mr. Head, a successful musical stage and film performer (Jesus Christ Superstar; Chess, Sunday Bloody Sunday) never performed the songs in public - until now. Intervention records has recently remastered the Phil Brown engineered recording on 180gram vinyl, and that release was very successful, leading Mr. Head to reconsider reopening the Nigel Lived song cache and sharing it live with the world. As a sympathetic thespian I applaud him. Parts of the opus are delightful listening, and rendered live without the added filigree, this dynamic performer has a shot at making his original concept comprehensible. 

https://www.karaoke-lyrics.net/lyrics/head-murray/pacing-on-the-station-88213

A HUNDRED YEARS FROM TODAY BY JACK TEAGARDEN

(BRUNSWICK, 1933)

I first heard the name Jack Teagarden from my junior high school bandmate, Bill Teagarden - (I can’t remember if he told me he WAS or WAS NOT related to the famous trombonist. In any case I don’t think I actually heard the man’s music until later in life when I scored a Time/LIfe 8 track collection of his work, which included this song.

From the moment the sound waves created by Jack’s slurring, insouciant vocal delivery hit my aural receptors I started grinning from ear to ear. The unimpeachable philosophical argument of the lyrics put obviously in service to a seduction has stayed with me since that first listen. The “live for today” - Be Here Now - cosmic sentiment has been articulated many times through many iterations, but never, for me, so persuasively.

Written by Victor Young, Ned Washington, and Joe Young, this standard has been recorded by all the mid-20th century vocal greats (Ethel Waters with Benny Goodman made a hit with it), but give me the trombonist from Texas any day.  He was only 28 when he recorded this side, but he sounds like a stewed, ageless sorcerer casting a love spell. 

JUST PLAIN BILL?

JUST AS I AM by Bill Withers (Sussex, 1971)

Bill Withers was uncategorizable. Was he a soul artist? A folk musician? A blues singer? He certainly was no pop star. He picked a nylon string guitar, for God’s sakes! But, even so, he was one of the most covered songwriters who ever plied the craft. His appeal was universal. There hasn’t been any aspiring singer, of any genre, who hasn’t tried to put over Lean on Me or Ain’t No Sunshine. 

Bill belonged to all of us. Just As I Am was Bill’s debut album, produced by one of the premier soul artists, Booker T Jones, but in it he covers folk avatar Fred Neil’s Everybody’s Talkin’, and Paul McCartney’s Let it Be.  Listen to Grandma’s Hands and you can hear the guitar of rock icon Steven Stills. The MG’s Duck Dunn plays some of the bass parts, but so does Chris Etheridge of The Flying Burrito Brothers.

Withers narrates part of his story himself in the cut Do it Good. The son of a miner from Slab Fork, West Virginia, Bill worked as a machinist for Douglas Aircraft, IBM, and Ford - all the while sending out demo tapes until Clarence Avant signed him to Sussex, where he hit it with Ain’t No Sunshine at the age of 32 - way over the hill by pop star standards. He’s pictured on the label holding his lunch pail, dressed in a t shirt and jeans - and when he first hit pay dirt, he refused to quit his job, saying that the music business was “fickle”. Is it ever! The common touch was always part of Bill’s magic. And, of course, an uncanny talent and instinct, not to mention a warm baritone that poured like honey out of America’s car radios.

When he was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 he was characteristically understated when he said: “I don’t think I’ve done bad for a guy from Slab Fork, West Virginia.” Neither do we.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lonnie-mack-blues-rock-guitar-great-dead-at-74-178000/

LONNIE MACK, THE blues-rock pioneer who influenced an entire generation of guitarists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Duane Allman, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards, died Thursday at a medical facility near his home in Smithville, Tennessee. Mack was 74. Alligator Records confirmed the guitar great’s death, adding that Mack had died of natural causes.

In Mack’s bio, he claims he started learning guitar at the age of five and, after dropping out of school in the 7th grade, pursued a professional music career as a young teenager. He played bars around the Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky stateliness before signing with Cincinnati’s Fraternity Records. Mack also served as a session guitarist for artists like James Brown, Hank Ballard and Freddie King.

Mack’s 1963 LP The Wham of That Memphis Man!, recorded for the Cincinnati-based Fraternity Records, boasted Mack’s instrumental rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis,” which became a surprise Billboard Top Five hit. Mack soon became known for his “blue-eyed soul” style of singing and his virtuosic guitar abilities that straddled genres like country, blues and R&B and, as Rolling Stone noted in a 1968 review, “a pioneer in rock guitar soloing.”

The Wham of That Memphis Man!‘s single “Wham!” also found the guitarist making groundbreaking use of a Bigsby tremolo bar that he appended to his trademark Flying V guitar; because of his work on the album, the Bigsby tremolo bar was unofficially dubbed the “Whammy bar” by a generation of guitarists. “Nobody can play with a whammy-bar like Lonnie. He holds it while he plays and the sound sends chills up your spine,” Stevie Ray Vaughan, an acolyte of Mack’s, would later say.