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ROCKOLLECTIONS: GOES TO THE MOVIES PT.4

One thing I’d like to clear up before anything else, I didn’t mean to mislead anyone in the previous half hour- the Johnny Horton song, Sink The Bismark, was used in U.S. theater trailers for the film, it was not used in the film itself.
I will be staying in the 60’s for this episode of Rockollections Goes To The Movies.
And I’ll open with a tip on how to get into the Movies- write the script!
That was what an ex-standup comedian did to assure his being in the Movie.
You’ll hear from him and the title song from it.
After that, music and more from some real Classic Movies of the 60’s, particularly my favorite year 1967, the year I discovered FM Rock & Roll radio.
And a look at that decade’s emergence of the Anti-Hero, a profound shift from the Movies we had seen previously- the rebels, criminals, outlaws, etc.
There were all kinds of new things happening in the 60’s, particularly with the music.
I had fun with this one, and I hope you will too- but look out, there will be some curveballs in here!

Mike

Tags: Classic Movies, Criminals, Curveballs, Ex-standup Comedian, FM Rock & Roll Radio, Johnny Horton, Outlaws, Rebels, Script, Sink The Bismark, The 60's, The Anti-Hero, The Year 1967

ROCKOLLECTIONS: GOES TO THE MOVIES PT.3

As I continue our series, Rockollections Goes To The Movies, I felt that it was necessary to include Adult Movies…I mean why not?
Not that I’ve ever seen one, lol!
So, a tune for them from Steely Dan, which if you know the origin of their name, is altogether fitting!
Then, after the ground we covered last week, we will sensibly move into the 60’s.
I will be dealing primarily with the early to mid 60’s, a time when Rock & Roll music finally and begrudgingly began to be taken seriously by the Motion Picture industry.
Until then, there had been some awful B-movies like Don’t Knock The Rock and others that were too often built around a skimpy plot involving famous DJ’s like Alan Freed.
But things were about to explode with our Music, as the British Invasion would be arriving- naturally the Movies would feel the effects of that.
The Music, the Movies, and pretty much the whole world, would never be quite the same again!
I invite you to give a listen, as the seeds are planted and begin to grow.

Mike

Tags: Adult Movies, Alan Freed, B-movies, British Invasion, DJ's, Don't Knock The Rock, Motion Picture Industry, Rock & Roll Music, Steely Dan, The 60's

ROCKOLLECTIONS: HOME FOR THANKSGIVING 2010 PT.2

As we continue with our Home For Thanksgiving series, the Free-Form Radio nature of this show led me to take the last song played in the previous half hour and expand on it a bit.
So we will take some rural back roads Home- with none of the selections sung by authentic country folk, lol!
Then another song written by, and I’ve said it before, that most underrated and underappreciated American songwriter in all of Rock & Roll, John Sebastian.
An absolute beauty from him and the Lovin’ Spoonful!
I will take us out this time with songs about those who can’t go home- the homeless, the drunks, the druggies, all those who have no Home to go to.
A bit somber, but I won’t shy away from a part of real life.
As I recall, Engineer Ken Stanley was very deeply affected by the first tune.
I mean surprisingly so- he couldn’t look at me.
And in the final song, you will hear the story of a man’s life in precisely 3 minutes!
Even after many years, and I first heard it in the 60’s when Scott Muni played it on WNEW-FM, that one still gets to me.
When the going Home continues next week, I promise I will counter this with a very Happy beginning.
Please do come back and join me to find out just what I mean.
But until then, I hope you enjoy what is played here.
You can always let me know.
 
Mike

Tags: American Songwriter, Back Roads, Engineer Ken Stanley, Free-form Radio, John Sebastian, Rock & Roll, Scott Muni, The 60's, WNEW-FM

ROCKOLLECTIONS: JUNE IS NATIONAL RIVERS MONTH PT.2

Opening up this chapter on Rivers, I have a test for you.
Sometimes I like to see just how smart the listeners are, lol!
So you have the length of three songs to figure out the answer, although with my high regard for you, I doubt it will take that long.
And please stick with the first song, don’t bail on me- it is a beauty by Eric Andersen, but you may not be familiar with it.
The next two you should DEFINITELY know…and will answer my pop quiz, lol!
After that slight puzzle, I’ve got a River song in here that for some reason was indelibly stamped into my memory back in the 60’s.
It’s by David Ackles, and it’s the only song I can remember by him. called Down River.
It’s about a guy who is released from prison, so is it the opposite of being sent Up The River?
Everything is changed for him, and he tries so desperately to hide his crushing disappointment to the now married to someone else woman he loves- it is truly heartbreaking.
Following that, a long song that has some not-recommended lyrics- if you ever do them, they will absolutely get you put in prison.
I will close this episode out with a million-selling instrumental River song from the 50’s- a real Rocker!
Guess what it is?
Coming up, I have an idea for our Rivers presentation next week that I think you might enjoy.
So I hope you will return for a listen, as we musically celebrate June being National Rivers Month.

Mike

Tags: A Million-selling Instrumental River Song, David Ackles, Down River, Eric Andersen, The 50's, The 60's, Up The River

ROCKOLLECTIONS: IT’S BLOOMING TIME PT.3

I didn’t realize it or plan it, but this is the all 60’s chapter of our little musical look at Flowers & Gardens and things that grow out of the ground.
And back in the 60’s, as the times they were a-changin, flowers were a large part of it.
At least as a symbol of where your head was at- even as a political statement!
We will take a look and listen at those days in our opening set. Including a father/daughter generation gap that gets a little smaller.
Then it is on to some different TYPES of flowers- even those that are not real!
There will be many surprises in this one, I would think…unless of course you are getting to know me!

Mike

Tags: Father Daughter Generation Gap, Flowers, Gardens, Political Statement, The 60's

ROCKOLLECTIONS: IT’S BLOOMING TIME PT.1

April Showers Bring May Flowers…as we all know!
We are in the middle of Spring, the weather has gotten very hot here in the Northeast, and I will begin a new Theme series with Gardens, Flowers, Grass and some other things that grow out of the ground.
And this from a CITY GUY!
I may not know much about gardens, flowers, etc. But I do know music.
And I can promise you a truly enjoyable time, as I pick from Rock & Roll, Folk, Soul, Country and anything else to produce a free-form musical bouquet.
I will begin with the 45 RPM SINGLE version of a very long song from the 60’s- it’s so long I didn’t want to scare anyone away. But I’ll play it in full here someday.
Then something live from the old Fillmore East from early 1971, followed by a song from a 1993 CD dedicated to our planet.
When I do these Theme shows, I often take time to look at the topic from a different angle.
In this case, I had a choice of two songs, wanted to play both, but time restraints made me settle for one…well, what was the FIRST Garden?
Closing out this opening seed, we’ll hear Arlo Guthrie doing what he does best- getting into a song and having fun with the audience, and the audience with him.
Using the OLD way of teaching that still works!
And check out the false start- the shows were always either live, or live in the sense that once Engineer Ken and I started, we never stopped for anything short of a very large problem.
In this case, just as I was starting the show, somebody opened the door to my studio totally unexpectedly!
While it surprised me, it also struck me funny because over the years just about everything strange that can happen in radio, eventually will, lol!

Mike

Tags: 45 RPM SINGLE, April Showers Bring May Flowers, CITY GUY, country, Engineer Ken, Fillmore East, Flowers, Folk Music, Gardens, Grass, Rock & Roll, Soul, The 60's, The Audience, The First Garden, The Old Way Of Teaching