Jim Peterik; Autographed Copy of Eye of the Tiger. And Hello New Followers!

First off – welcome new Followers.  I hope you will find this as much fun as I do.  The records are selected totally at random (but I do take requests) and the photos are ones I taken and cropped.  On to today’s post…this is the back album cover of the album called Eye of the Tiger, by Survivor.  To me - Jim Peterik, the Ides of March, and Survivor should all be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Anyways, Nancy and I attended Jim's solo concert back on Saturday, Feb. 4th - at the The Theatre of Western Springs, at 4384 Hampton Ave., just off Hillgrove.  Funny, but as a life-long 708'er, I had no idea this quaint and intimate theater even existed.  The little 400-seat place was jammed as local legend Jim Peterik (you’re likely to bump into him anywhere in the western ‘burbs), a true songwriting legend, played a loose and fun 90-min. set that was a veritable parade of the hit songs he's written – not only for the bands he's fronted: the Ides of March and Surviror, but also the many hits he's written for .38 Special, Sammy Hagar, and others  So, whenever I think there's going to be a “Jim-sighting,” (read: often) I always toss in a stack of records into my car - just in case.  After the show, Jim stayed talk with fans, have photos taken with anyone, and to sell a few CD's (I bought one) and I had time to dash out to the car and he graciously signed the one above.  Check back with me for more Jim Peterik concert dates in the area.

Leon Redbone

Leon Redbone...my brother, for some reason, had that album on the left, way back in mid-seventies.  Ha - Steve Gadd drums on it.  No shock there, either Gadd or Jim Gordon drummed on everything then.   Don McLean plays banjo.  I love the old standards Leon does.  The cover art is by the great Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones, most noted for Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio.  He directed Bugs, Daffy, Road Runner, and Wile E., Sylvester, and Pepe.  He adpated How the Grinch Stole Christmas for TV.   As for Leon Redbone (born Dickran Gobalian, August 26, 1949), he is a singer and guitarist specializing in contemporary and true interpretations of early 20th-century music, of jass and blues standards and classics.  Redbone has released approximately 15 albums and once had a sizable cult following.  His shtick is his claiming to have written works originating well before his time.  And he sang the theme to the television series Mr. Belvedere.  Who knew?

Poco - Cantamos. Were a couple of Eagle chicks stolen from the nest by an evil predator?

The eight album by Poco, Cantamos.  With band lineups changing every few years, this is who played on this Poco record: Paul Cotton – guitars, vocals.  Rusty Young– pedal steel guitar, banjo, Dobro, guitar, mandolin, and vocals.  Timothy B. Schmit– bass, harmonica, and vocals.  And George Grantham on drums and vocals.  It’s on Epic records, which likely surpassed Atlantic during the impending 80’s, and the recording engineer is listed as Mark Henry Harman, who was assisted by Michael Verdick.  I was searching for the music clip on Youetune that I wanted to have accompany this post.  By the way - are you aware that if you click on the title of each post here – you are automatically linked to a corresponding song that I select over on youtube relating to the band or the song?  I do hope you try that.  I read this comment on Youtube, "..if it wasn't for that twit David Geffen, who convinced Richie Furey he'd be better off on his own; and if he (Geffen) didn't put all his efforts into creating that other "super" country rock band (gee, I wonder who that is?) instead of promoting the one true country rock band with ALL the talent, Poco would have been THE mainstream country rock act.  And, if Don Effing Henley didn't steal away not one, but two Poco players for his own gain, then again, Poco would have been the more commercially successful band.  Still, they shine!"

Linda Rondstadt - Different Drum, and the Stone Poneys

Linda Rondstadt.  This is her collaboration lp called Different Drum.  It is her first compilation album, released on the Capitol label.  Half of the songs (those recorded in the 1960s) were taken from the second and third albums of hers with the Stone Poneys, while the other half are from her first three solo albums.  This album was issued ten months prior to the November 1974 release of her last album for Capitol, Heart Like a Wheel - which became her breakthrough #1 album – but after she had already signed with Asylum.  The album reached #92 on the Billboard Top LP's & Tapes album charts.  Tapes?  She covers Jackson Browne's Rock me on the Water quite nicely.  And two songs here are penned by Mike Nesmith (hey hey he's a Monkee), including the title track.  She also covers a Dylan tune, and one by Laura Nyro.  And also Goffin/King's Will You Still Love me Tomorrow.

Here is more about the Stone Poneys.  Linda visited a friend from Tucson, Bobby Kimmel, in LA during Easter break from college in 1964, and later that year, shortly before her eighteenth birthday, she decided to move there permanently to form a band with him.  Kimmel had already begun co-writing folk-rock songs with guitarist-songwriter Kenny Edwards, and eventually the three of them were signed by Nik Venet to Capitol in the summer of 1966 as "The Stone Poneys."

              The trio released three albums in a 15-month period in 1967–68: The Stone Poneys; Evergreen, Volume 2; and Linda Ronstadt, Stone Poneys and Friends, Vol. III.   More than 40 years later, the song remains one of Ronstadt's most popular recordings.  Many of her songs, including "Different Drum," were written and composed by male songwriters and had minimal lyric changes, allowing Ronstadt to toy with gender roles that were in ferment in the 1960s and 1970s.  While the Stone Poneys broke up before the release of their third album, Kenny Edwards recorded and toured with Ronstadt from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.  (In 2008—as a testament to the continuing interest in Ronstadt's early work with this band - Australia's Raven Records released a compilation CD titled The Stone Poneys. The disc features all tracks from the first two Stone Poneys albums and four tracks from the third album.)

Whitney Houston.

Whitney Houston.  We certainly may never know the details, but what a tragic shame.  As with Elvis, Michael, and so many others: no one of import in their life who could or would say to them, with enforceability, "no, you cannot do that."  On that topic, at dinner this evening before the Grammys, I rattled off my list of all-time favorite soul divas, starting with: Tina - to hell and back. Then Donna, who Nile Rodgers claims her Love to Love You, Baby was the one of the most influential (to him), pre-disco songs.  Then Diana (see Nile Rodgers), Billie, Etta, Big Mama Thornton, and Natalie.  Just my list...

The Bar-Kays...try a Little Tenderness...on Stax Records

The Bar-kays...The Bar-Kays are a soul, R&B, and funk group who began performing in 1966 and continue to perform today, although with only one original member. The group had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" (U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #17, R&B #3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B #10) in 1972, and "Boogie Body Land" (R&B #7) in 1980.  The Bar-Kays began in Memphis, Tennessee as a studio session musician group, backing major artists at Stax Records. They were chosen in 1967 by Otis Redding to play as his backup band.  But on December 10, 1967, Redding, his manager, and band members Jimmy King (b. 1949; guitar), Ronnie Caldwell (b. 1948; electric organ), Phalon Jones (b. 1949; saxophone), and Carl Cunningham (b. 1949; drums) died in a plane crash in Lake Monona while on their way to a performance in Madison, Wisconsin. Trumpeter Ben Cauley survived the crash and bassist James Alexander was on another plane, since there were eight members in Redding's party and the chartered plane could only hold seven. Cauley and Alexander rebuilt the group.  The re-formed band consisted of Cauley; Alexander; Harvey Henderson, saxophone; Michael Toles, guitar; Ronnie Gorden, organ; Willie Hall, drums and later Larry Dodson, lead vocals.  The group backed dozens of major Stax artists on recordings afterwards, including Isaac Hayes's Hot Buttered Soul.  Cauley left the group in 1971, with Lloyd Smith joining in 1973 and the band changed musical direction in the during that decade to have a successful funk music career on Mercury Records. The Bar-Kays continued to have hits on R&B charts well into the 1980s.  Marcus Price was also a member of the Bar-Kays, until he was murdered coming from rehearsal in 1984, a crime never solved by the Memphis police. The band took a hiatus in the late 1980s, but regrouped in 1991, with Alexander once again being the only original member involved.