"One-Hit-Wonders of My Life, pt. 4"

Welcome back, readers, fellow music fans and trivia geeks!

There are so many acts that have made it to the Top 40 only once, never to do so again. There have even been several people who have charted only once as a solo artist and only once again as part of a group or duo. But there is one artist who holds a very distinctive record among "One-Hit-Wonders".

Tony Burrows, a British session singer, has sung the lead vocals on 4 songs that certainly qualify as "One-Hit-Wonders"! And, if the rules can be bent just a little, he would have 5! The songs and acts in question (along with their U.S. chart position) are as follows:

"Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" by Edison Lighthouse, #5

"United We Stand" by Brotherhood of Man*, #13

"My Baby Loves Lovin'" by White Plains, #13

"Gimme Dat Ding" by The Pipkins, #9

"Beach Baby" by The First Class, #4

The first four of those hits all occurred within four months, April to July of 1970! The last came in October of 1974.

* The original line-up of Brotherhood of Man actually disbanded in 1972, but its creator, producer Tony Hiller, assembled a completely new line-up under the same name, and it was this incarnation of the band that had the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest winner "Save Your Kisses For Me", which peaked at #27 in the U.S. (#1 on the Adult Contemporary chart).

Tony Burrows may not be a household name, but he is definitely entered into the annals of rock history as King of the "One-Hit-Wonders"!

"One-Hit-Wonders" of My Life, pt. 3

Welcome back for the third installment of the series.

In 1967, The Summer of Love, protest songs were a dime a dozen. But one of them has most definitely survived the test of time and is even now still much played and well known on classic rock channels across the country. The fact that it was a one-hit-wonder is somewhat of a surprise when you consider the talent of the musicians involved.

Of course, I'm talking about the song "For What It's Worth" by a band that took it's name from the manufacturer of a steamroller which had been parked in front of their producers' house, Buffalo Springfield. The band consisted of Steven Stills (later of Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young)), Neil Young (also of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, as well as a solo artist of great renown afterwards), Jim Messina (who would go on to form Poco, then become half of Loggins & Messina), Richie Furay (also a member of Poco, then Souther Hillman Furay band), drummer Dewey Martin, and bassist Bruce Palmer. Due to many internal troubles and various legal issues, the band only made three albums between 1966 and 1968 before breaking up. However, "For What It's Worth", written by Stills, was the only Top 40 hit they would have, climbing to #7 in 1967.

The little trivia nugget I found most interesting about this particular song and group is that the entire thing hinged on a chance encounter and breaking the law. Stills and Young had met briefly in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada in 1965. They hit it off quickly and knew that they wanted to work together. But Steven's band split after that tour, and he went to Los Angeles. Young eventually also ended up there, and they were looking for each other without success. Stills was about to give up and head for San Francisco. Stills, their eventual producer Barry Friedman, and Furay were stuck in traffic on Sunset Boulevard, when they recognized Young's black 1953 Pontiac hearse going the opposite direction. After an illegal u-turn, they caught up...and history was made.

"One-Hit-Wonders" of My Life, pt. 2

Welcome back for the second installment in the series!

If you grew up during the 1980's, you were more than likely exposed to the genre of rock music known as "Hair Metal". MTV put this music right out front, back in the days when they still did little more than music videos. American radio stations followed suit, and it became very popular.

In 1983, a band named Autograph was formed in the Los Angeles area. The name evolved from the Def Leppard song "Photograph". The band consisted of Steve Plunkett on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Steve Lynch on lead guitar, Randy Rand on bass, Steve Isham on keyboards, and Keni Richards on drums. They recorded some rough demos, which were brought to the attention of a friend of theirs named Andy Johns, a record producer of some fame. Andy invited the band to the famous Record Plant studio to re-record and upgrade the demo tapes, with him producing, for free!

It was the new demo tape that Keni played for his close friend, David Lee Roth of Van Halen. David was so impressed that Autograph was invited to play as a supporting act for Van Halen's 1984 tour. Interesting trivia tidbit number one: Autograph played as their opening act 48 times! This was almost unheard of for an unsigned band. Following a show at Madison Square Garden in New York, the band was finally signed by MCA. Their first album, Sign In Please, was released in October of 1984. In 1985, came the release of "Turn Up The Radio". It went to #29 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Autograph released 2 more albums, in '85 and '87, and while MTV continued to play their videos, they never hit the Hot 100 again.

Here's todays other trivia nugget: Steve Lynch had a distinctive, two-handed fretboard tapping technique, and this song's solo actually won Guitar Player magazine's "Guitar Solo of the Year" award!

"One-Hit-Wonders" of My Life

This is the first in a new series of weekly blog posts that will feature a "One-Hit-Wonder" and anecdotal references or trivia regarding the particular song. If you are a fan of rock and roll music, as I am, then you should enjoy having this all in one spot!

I always wondered what it would be like for an artist to have one song hit the charts, climb like a rocket, and think that your career was "made", only to never be able to repeat it. Lack of talent? No, I really doubt that would be the reason. Changing attitudes? Maybe, but I doubt that's really it either. But to have gotten that big break, and then..."poof"...it's over? Man, that would be harsh!

I have decided that I would start with 1965, the year I was born.

The theme to the James Bond movie Goldfinger turned out to be the only 'hit' ever released in the U.S. for Shirley Bassey. It was released in 1964, but peaked at number 8 on the Billboard charts in 1965. It was the one and only time that she made the top 40 in America, though she'd been to #1 in the UK twice, and the top 10 on 7 other previous occasions.

But wait! There's more!

The song was originally recorded by Anthony Newley, who'd help write it. But it was re-recorded by Shirley Bassey, with the legendary George Martin producing. Here is the real "nugget" of trivia, though. A young, aspiring guitarist sat in on the recording sessions for this song. He later would go on to become a legend in the world of rock and roll, but at the time, he was only a respected session man.

His name? Jimmy Page!

Censorship

I was crawling around the web this morning and came across a fly that looked too juicy to pass up, despite the nearly nine years it had been hanging there.

If I were a spider, that would work really well as an opening line, wouldn't it?

The story you are about to read is true. No names will be changed, as there are no innocents involved.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, executives of Clear Channel Communications, the largest operator of radio stations in the USA, compiled a list of some 150 songs that had what they considered to be "questionable" lyrics or themes, as an advisory (stations were not forced to abandon playing them).

I read over this list, and could not help but laugh out loud! Keeping in mind that this was an advisory, and not a forced banning of these songs, I was very glad that the government did not follow this with an actual "forced" action. I am not anti-government, but I am definitely not pro-censorship. I believe that if an artist makes a song that can even remotely be considered "dangerous", they have a right to do so under the constitution. If you don't like it, turn it off!

I have added a link to the complete list at the end of this blog entry. But I will throw a few of these out here that made me wonder what the hell these corporate executives decided were in some way subversive. Get ready to laugh out loud. As usual, comments are welcome, so let me know what you think!

By the way, several of these songs are on my previous blog entries of the greatest of rock music.

Here we go:

AC/DC, who I consider to to be one of the greatest rock bands in history, had seven songs on this list, including Highway To Hell, Hell's Bells, TNT, (and get this!) Safe in New York City! Highly subversive, eh?

All Rage Against The Machine songs!

Godsmack's Bad Religion.

Megadeth's Sweating Bullets.

Metallica's Enter Sandman, Fade to Black, Seek and Destroy, and Harvester of Sorrow.

The Steve Miller Band's Jet Airliner.

Queen's Another One Bites the Dust and Killer Queen.

Van Halen's Jump.

Dust in the Wind by Kansas.

Now you can kind of tell I have a sense of humor that could be considered as slightly "dark", right? I mean, come on, unless you heard these songs at the time you heard the news or watched the World Trade Center buildings burning and collapsing, would they really be reminders of that fateful day? And there were other songs that brought guffaws from me. I couldn't believe it when I read that Frank Sinatra even made the list with New York, New York! WHAT!!!???!!!

And how about these classics:

Knockin' on Heaven's Door, On Broadway, even the emotionally charged What A Wonderful World! This has to be a joke, right?

Even The Beatles were represented, with A Day in the Life, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Ticket to Ride, and Obla Di, Obla Da. Huh? Questionable?

I was surprised at one of the omissions from the list. Judging by the theme of the songs that were there, it was a shock to discover that Elvis Presley's Burning Love (you know the lyric...a hunk, a hunk of burning love...) was omitted, though he was represented by (You're the) Devil in Disguise?

I have to stop now, as it's hard to reach the keyboard while I'm rolling on the floor!

The full article can be found at:

http://www.thisdayinrock.com/index.php/government-censorship/

Top Rock Songs of the '90's

You know, I've heard a lot of people say that rock music died during the 1990's. They have said that music became too bland, too commercial. I can see some of this...

Rock music to me does not depend on a certain beat, rhythm, loud guitars, pounding bass, screaming vocals...it makes you feel. What it makes you feel differs with every person you ask. So. I know there is no one factor that makes rock music what it is.

A lot of people I met and spoke with over the past few years were into hip-hop, rap, and dance music, which seemed to become the commercial leader of the decade. Well, for a decade where rock supposedly died, I found a lot of great music out there. Most of my list cuts across what are generally the alternative, grunge, and metal "genres" of rock music. It's what I like, so get over it!

Once again, the list is in no particular order. And this time I decided not to limit myself quite as much. There are 148 songs, and I did not place a limit on how many times an artist could appear on the list.

Without any further ado...

1. Keep Away by Godsmack
2. Bound For The Floor by Local H
3. Why Go by Pearl Jam
4. Music by Madonna
5. Would? by Alice in Chains
6. Midlife Crisis by Faith No More
7. Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode
8. Rock Is Dead by Marilyn Manson
9. Psycho Holiday by Pantera
10. Thunderkiss '65 by White Zombie
11. Even Flow by Pearl Jam
12. Primal Scream by Motley Crue
13. Smooth by Santana (ft. Rob Thomas)
14. I Alone by Live
15. Enter Sandman by Metallica
16. One Week by Bare Naked Ladies
17. Closer by Nine Inch Nails
18. Spiderwebs by No Doubt
19. Zombie by The Cranberries
20. Mary Jane's Last Dance by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
21. What's The Frequency, Kenneth by R.E.M.
22. AEnema by Tool
23. Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz
24. November Rain by Guns N' Roses
25. Time to Say Goodbye by Sarah Brightman & Andrea Boccelli
26. All the Small Things by Blink 182
27. Santa Monica by Everclear
28. Bulls on Parade by Rage Against The Machine
29. Infected by Bad Religion
30. Creep by Radiohead
31. Breakdown by Tantric
32. What I Got by Sublime
33. My Own Prison by Creed
34. Voodoo by Godsmack
35. Outshined by Soundgarden
36. Ruby Soho by Rancid
37. Santeria by Sublime
38. Everlong by Foo Fighters
39. Longview by Green Day
40. Sex Type Thing by Stone Temple Pilots
41. Jet City Woman by Queensryche
42. Schism by Tool
43. Man in the Box by Alice In Chains
44. Hey Man, Nice Shot by Filter
45. Tripping Billies by Dave Matthews Band
46. Come Out and Play by The Offspring
47. The Distance by Cake
48. Hand in my Pocket by Alanis Morrisette
49. Iris by Goo Goo Dolls
50. In the Meantime by Spacehog
51. Jumper by Third Eye Blind
52. Got You Where I Want You by The Flys
53. No More Tears by Ozzy Osbourne
54. Somebody To Shove by Soul Asylum
55. Gel by Collective Soul
56. Fuel by Metallica
57. Walk by Pantera
58. Tommy the Cat by Primus
59. Guerrilla Radio by Rage Against the Machine
60. The Rascal King by Mighty Mighty Bosstones
61. Sister Havana by Urge Overkill
62. Lithium by Nirvana
63. Rusty Cage by Soundgarden
64. To Be With You by Mr. Big
65. Every Morning by Sugar Ray
66. Thunderstruck by AC/DC
67. Song 2 by Blur
68. Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit
69. The Way by Fastball
70. Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
71. Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger
72. Touch, Peel, and Stand by Days of the New
73. Blue on Black by Kenny Wayne Sheppard
74. King Nothing by Metallica
75. The Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson
76. Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth... by Primitive Radio Gods
77. Cumbersome by Seven Mary Three
78. Zero by Smahing Pumpkins
79. Heaven Beside You by Alice In Chains
80. Stinkfist by Tool
81. Time Bomb by Rancid
82. Ants Marching by Dave Matthews Band
83. Everything Zen by Bush
84. Bullet with Butterfly Wings by Smashing Pumpkins
85. Love Spreads by Stone Roses
86. Lightning Crashes by Live
87. Run Around by Blues Traveler
88. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something
89. Wonder by Natalie Merchant
90. Far Behind by Candlebox
91. Backwater by Meat Puppets
92. Man on the Moon by R.E.M.
93. Pull Me Under by Dream Theater
94. Low by Cracker
95. What's Up by Four Non Blondes
96. Let's Get Rocked by Def Leppard
97. Remedy by Black Crowes
98. Divine Thing by Soup Dragons
99. Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth
100. Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton
101. Give It Away by Red Hot Chili Peppers
102. Poundcake by Van Halen
103. Silent Lucidity by Queensryche
104. Cemetary Gates by Pantera
105. Head Like A Hole by Nine Inch Nails
106. More Than Words by Extreme
107. Don't Treat Me Bad by Firehouse
108. Mysterious Ways by U2
109. Unbelievable by E.M.F.
110. I Touch Myself by The Divinyls
111. Learning to Fly by Tom Petty
112. Three Strange Days by School of Fish
113. Crazy by Seal
114. Groovy Train by The Farm
115. Kiss Them For Me by Siouxie and the Banshees
116. Something to Talk About by Bonnie Raitt
117. Reign of Fire by Armored Saint
118. Unskinny Bop by Poison
119. Signs by Tesla
120. Epic by Faith No More
121. Up All Night by Slaughter
122. Joey by Concrete Blond
123. Radar Love by White Lion
124. Been Caught Stealin' by Jane's Addiction
125. The Way It Is by Tesla
126. Stop! by Jane's Addiction
127. Hard to Handle by Black Crowes
128. Policy of Truth by Depeche Mode
129. Black Velvet by Alanah Myles
130. Suicide Blonde by INXS
131. The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley
132. What It Takes by Aerosmith
133. I Remember You by Skid Row
134. Big Bad Moon by Joe Satriani
135. Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind
136. Whatever by Godsmack
137. Stupify by Disturbed
138. Shimmer by Fuel
139. My Own Worst Enemy by Lit
140. No Leaf Clover by Metallica
141. Plush by Stone Temple Pilots
142. Mudshovel by Staind
143. Name by Goo Goo Dolls
144. Basket Case by Green Day
145. Rats by Pearl Jam
146. The Unforgiven by Metallica
147. Impression That I Get by Mighty Mighty Bosstones
148. Under The Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Let the Games Begin...

A while back, I was reading a book by John Sandford. In it, the lead character had been given a $100 iTunes card and an iPod for Christmas. The character took the $100 limit to heart, and decided that he would make a list of the 100 greatest songs of the rock era. The author made mention of "The List" several times during the book. At the back of the book, he posted the characters' final list. While I agreed with many of the songs listed, I found myself thinking that there were many other songs I could think of that should have been there. Hey, what are opinions for, right?

So, I was discussing the book and "The List" with a few of my co-workers, and some of us decided that we would attempt to come up with our own lists. The only rule we had was that no one group could be represented more than three times. We gave ourselves a two week time limit, and none of us were able to bring our own lists in within the time frame. Personally, I had a big problem with cutting it down to just 100. The three song limit was also a bit of a hindrance for me. One of the guys said that it was just too hard, as his list would change on a day to day basis. I was also stymied by faulty memory, as I would have the radio turned on, and a song I'd forgotten about played and I'd think "Damn! How'd I miss THAT one!" So it was not an easy task at all, and I began to think that it just may be too difficult.

Shortly after the two weeks were up, I finally had my list. One of my co-workers also had his ready. One had the excuse that he was typing his up when his kid came along and shut the computer off, so his was not ready. The two lists we did have, we were somewhat shocked to discover, had about 40 of the same songs on them. His was a little more pop oriented, while mine rocked a bit harder, but we agreed on what we thought were quite a lot of songs.

So, here is my list of the "100 Greatest Songs of the Rock Era". It is, of course, colored by mood and memory, as some songs have special significance or meaning in my life. The list is not in any order whatsoever, though.

1. Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
2. Back In Black by AC/DC
3. Keep Away by Godsmack
4. Detroit Rock City by KISS
5. Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy
6. Run To The Hills by Iron Maiden
7. Night Moves by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
8. Feel Like Makin' Love by Bad Company
9. Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne
10. House of the Rising Sun by The Animals
11. Crossroads by Cream
12. I Put A Spell On You by Creedence Clearwater Revival
13. Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon
14. Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash
15. Last Child by Aerosmith
16. Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard
17. You've Got Another Thing Coming by Judas Priest
18. Crazy On You by Heart
19. Bound For The Floor by Local H
20. Time of the Season by The Zombies
21. Walk Away by The James Gang
22. Satch Boogie by Joe Satriani
23. Feels Like the First Time by Foreigner
24. Smooth by Santana (ft. Rob Thomas)
25. Dream On by Aerosmith
26. Freewill by Rush
27. Pearl Necklace by ZZ Top
28. Fire and Rain by James Taylor
29. Paranoid by Black Sabbath
30. Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf
31. Why Go by Pearl Jam
32. Take the Money and Run by Steve Miller Band
33. Eyes of a Stranger by Queensryche
34. Music by Madonna
35. Something by The Beatles
36. Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
37. Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones
38. Rock Me by Great White
39. (Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding
40. What's Going On by Marvin Gaye
41. Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney and Wings
42. Foreplay / Long Time by Boston
43. Life in the Fast Lane by The Eagles
44. The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
45. Tom Sawyer by Rush
46. Layla by Derek and The Dominoes
47. (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult
48. Yesterday by The Beatles
49. Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones
50. Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
51. Band on the Run by Paul McCartney and Wings
52. Hotel California by The Eagles
53. More Than a Feeling by Boston
54. Voices by Cheap Trick
55. Underneath the Radar by Underworld
56. Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas
57. Beginnings by Chicago
58. Hush by Deep Purple
59. Radar Love by Golden Earring
60. Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who
61. Our House by Madness
62. Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
63. Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 by Bob Dylan
64. Cortez the Killer by Neil Young
65. 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago
66. The Zoo by The Scorpions
67. The Pretender by Foo Fighters
68. Roadhouse Blues by The Doors
69. Ramblin' Man by The Allman Brothers Band
70. What I Like About You by The Romantics
71. Love Hurts by Nazareth
72. The Way of the World by Earth, Wind & Fire
73. Flirtin' With Disaster by Molly Hatchett
74. Would? by Alice in Chains
75. Midlife Crisis by Faith No More
76. In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins
77. Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
78. Rock is Dead by Marilyn Manson
79. Rocket Man by Elton John
80. Anthony's Song (Movin' Out) by Billy Joel
81. Aqualung by Jethro Tull
82. I Like to Rock by April Wine
83. How Long by Ace
84. Balls to the Wall by Accept
85. 5150 by Van Halen
86. Alone Again, Naturally by Gilbert O'Sullivan
87. Highway to Hell by AC/DC
88. Smokin' by Boston
89. Runnin' with the Devil by Van Halen
90. Round and Round by Ratt
91. Psycho Holiday by Pantera
92. Thunderkiss '65 by White Zombie
93. Even Flow by Pearl Jam
94. I Don't Believe in Love by Queensryche
95. Since I've Been Loving You by Led Zeppelin
96. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
97. Moving in Stereo by The Cars
98. Primal Scream by Motley Crue
99. Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd
100. My City Was Gone by The Pretenders

I invite anyone to try this and let me know what you think, and feel free to debate.

(BTW, I graduated high school in 1983, so the list is colored a lot by the times I grew up in, of course! Also, there were times that I lived where there was never a good radio station around, and when my kids arrived in the mid to late '90's I didn't get to listen to much on the radio anyway {and would have gladly killed Barney with a freakin' axe!}).

Keep Rockin'!!!

Dean-a-ling