LookBack #20: Mooning Around

This week our Classic Track LookBack looks back at moon songs. We sure have a ton to pick from, starting with the dawn of rock and sliding through all of the decades that we cover, so let’s lean toward the road less travelled and call on some songs that might not instantly come to mind.

1965 - The Beatles

Our first choice comes from Beatles 65, a North American LP release. The last track on the album is one called Mr. Moonlight and it’s rare to the point that some of you might not even remember it. But here on the LookBack, we never let that stand in our way. We’ll just link to it and then you’ll know the song.

Mr. Moonlight

1972 - April Wine

Our 70s moon music comes to us from one of the best all-time Canadian bands, April Wine, best known in the U.S. for their song You Could Have Been a Lady. I’ve always believed that their music was under-represented in the U.S. for some reason, so I’ll take this opportunity to give you the chance to hear one of their best, an Elton John/Bernie Taupin composition. And it fits just right in with our moon theme.

Bad Side of the Moon

1982 - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

From 1982 comes a Bob Seger track written by country singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell, who had his own version of this song, which charted as a country hit. At any rate, here’s Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band who proclaim "Shame on the Moon".

Shame on the Moon



Till next time, that’s another Classic Track LookBack. In the meantime, don’t forget that the previous week’s #rockhistory tweets and links are always Storified here.

LookBack #18: October Monkee-ing Around

This week our Classic Track LookBack looks back at The Monkees first single, a late 80s #1 album from the Boss and the making of one specific Beatles LP.

1966 - The Monkees

We'll begin with this week in 1966, when The Monkees had their first #1 song with Last Train to Clarksville. It was later revealed that though they sang on their early recordings, they did not play any of the instruments due to TV filming commitments. Since we were not privy to that fact until later, could we say that someone was engaging in a little Monkee business? (Ok, I'll wait while you groan.) Then, since most of us who listened to pop music back in '66 are familiar with the A Side of The Monkees' first hit single, we'll flip it over and treat you to the B Bide.

Take a Giant Step

1967 - The Beatles

It seems that albums are born in all sorts of ways. Take The Beatles' album Magical Mystery Tour for instance. This week in 1967, the group finished recording the tracks Flying, Magical Mystery Tour, and the rather eclectic Blue Jay Way. At that point, they had recorded six new songs, which was not enough for a new album. So they decided to release a Double EP, a format which meant that the 6 songs would be spread over 2 45s, with each including two songs on one side with one song on the other. Still with me? Ok, the story continued with Capitol Records concluding that the EP format wouldn't fly in North America. So they took the 6 new songs, added 5 of the 6 tracks that had released on singles during 1967 and voila, the Magical Mystery Tour album was born. Here's its most eclectic track.

Blue Jay Way

1987 - Bruce Springsteen

In November '87 Springsteen's 8th studio album Tunnel of Love topped the charts. The album went triple platinum in the US and featured one of the Boss' biggest hit singles, Brilliant Disguise, which peaked at number 5 on Billboard's Hot 100.

Brilliant Disguise


Till next time, that's another Classic Track LookBack at rock history.

Oh and don't forget that here at Maindog Sound, you can always visit previous #rockhistory tweets at their new(ish) Storify home!

Some Time for Britain

It's an all British Classic Track Look Back this week, with an artist and a group who were part of the British Invasion and well beyond, and a record setting band with iconic status.

1965 - The Who

First, back to this week in 1965 when The Who released My Generation. The song reached #2 in the UK, but only #74 in America. What's interesting about this chart anomaly is that later on, Rolling Stone would list the strack as #11 among the Top 500 of All Time. Further, VH1 rated it #13 among history's top 100 Greatest Rock and Roll Songs. So it seems that even a song that is buried in the middle of the top 100's bottom 50 when charting can later distinguish itself on "all time" lists. I think if My Generation had been released 2 or 3 years later, it would have been an American smash as well. Perhaps in 1965 the record buying public, who was busy buying hits from Herman's Hermits, Gerry and the Pacemakers and classic Motown artists and groups, just wasn't ready for it.

My Generation

1971 - John Lennon

In the Fall of 1971 as October became November, John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band's album Imagine was the UK's #1 album and was doing great west of the Atlantic as well. Two tracks on the LP demonstrated that John was still working out his resentment toward Paul McCartney. One was called Crippled Inside, while the other, is featured this week.

How Do You Sleep

1983 - Pink Floyd

This week in 1983 marked Pink Floyd's 491st week on the US album charts with Dark Side of the Moon. That made it the longest charting album in history, surpassing Johnny's Greatest Hits by Johnny Mathis. When it finally slipped from the list in October 1988 it had spent a grand total of 741 weeks on the chart. It could be said that our featured track from the album gets too much radio play on classic rock stations, but who can argue with its success?

Time


Till next time, that's another Classic Track Look Back at rock history. Oh, and don't forget that last week's #rockhistory tweets and links are now Storified!

Opinions and Judgements

This week the Classic Track Look Back features 3 artists who stood out from the rock & roll pack as individuals who were proud to go their own way. Two of them are still with us, both with ample reasons to be proud of what they have accomplished and are still accomplishing. The third, no longer with us, blazed a trail which took him from rock's roots through the 70s and into the mid 80s.

1966 - Beach Boys

First, let's head back to this week in 1966 when the Beach Boys' Good Vibrations entered the U.S. singles charts. Of course it was a future #1 which is still played today. The track, written by Brian Wilson an Mike Love, took 6 weeks to record, a feat that was spread among four Los Angeles studios. The recording engineer later commented that the final take sounded exactly like the first.

Good Vibrations

1971 - Rick Nelson

October 1971 found Rick Nelson enthusiastically booed at a Madison Square Gardens oldies show show for playing new material instead of sticking with his 50s and 60s hits. I expect that the audience was judging him for his audacity to believe that his new stuff was also relevant and worth sharing. The performance and the audience's reaction served as the inspiration for Rick's last big hit. (And get it? "Garden" Party!).

Random Fact: Maindog's fave line in the song: "But if memories were all I sang, I'd rather drive a truck."

Garden Party

Squaring off: Fogerty vs. Creedence Clearwater Revival

This week in 1988, Creedence Clearwater Revival's label and John Fogerty squared off in court. The claim, advanced by the owners of songs written by Fogerty for the Creedence catalog, was that the song writer ripped off his own Run Through the Jungle when writing Old Man Down the Road. Since he no longer owned Run Through the Jungle, the owners of the song believed their claim to be actionable.

Fogerty won the case, but it would be years before he would be allowed to perform songs which he had written for Creedence. Crazy? Welcome to the run through the jungle which is the justice system. And how about those 2 songs. Was there indeed a similarity? You be the judge. First up:

Run Through the Jungle


Next up is Old Man Down the Road. The link to that song, featured here, is the only studio version of the song that we could find that contained no audio anomalies.

Old Man Down the Road

Till next time, that's another Classic Track Look Back at rock history. Oh and don't forget that last week's #rockhistory tweets and links are now Storified. Check out the stories from the last couple of weeks, all in one place.

Rolling from Yesterday through Today

This week's Classic Track Look Back features a cast that includes the Beatles, the Stones and a song that was deemed too naughty for number 1 status in the UK. We're rocking you back with the music that made our memories.

1965 - The Beatles 

In mid-October the Beatles started a 4 week #1 run on the US singles charts with Yesterday. Oddly enough, the song was not released as a single in the UK until 1976.
Yesterday

1968 - Big Brother and the Holding Company 

Big Brother and the Holding Company held the #1 position among charting albums in North America in mid October 1968 with Cheap Thrills. Janis Joplin was their lead singer on most tracks, including this one.
Piece of My Heart

1969 - The Beatles 

On a mid-October Sunday afternoon in 1969, DJ Russ Gibb from Detroit's WKNR FM received a listener call claiming that if you played the Beatles track Revolution Number Nine backwards, you could hear the words "turn me on dead man." The conversation soon evolved into a rumor that Paul was dead. It spread worldwide, gathering steam and supposed song references. One offered the certainty that Strawberry Fields Forever included the spoken John Lennon lyric line "I buried Paul." Rumors abound in rock history.
Strawberry Fields Forever

1969 - Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg 

This week in 1969 for the first time ever the UK show Top of the Pops refused to air the #1 song, due to its suggestive content. The song, Je t'aime by Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg holds the distinction of being the only track to appear at 2 different chart positions on the same UK chart. It's the same song in both cases, performed by the same artists. The reason why is simple. Je t'aime was originally released on Fontana Records, which pulled the song not long after release, due to the controversy building around it. However, some records pressed on the Fontana label made it into stores. The track was then released on Major Minor records, meaning that, for a time Je t'aime boasted 2 separate labels. Since UK chart positions were based on the record's label as well as the song and artist, it appeared at 2 distinct chart positions for 2 weeks.
Je t'aime... moi non plus

1971 - Led Zeppelin 

Led Zeppelin II was #1 on the US album charts for 7 weeks in fall 1971. The album climbed to number 1 twice, both times dethroning the Beatles Abbey Road, while enjoying a hundred weeks on the UK charts.
Whole Lotta Love

1971 - Three Dog Night 

In fall 1971, Three Dog Night hit #1 for 2 weeks, bringing joy to their world.
Joy to the World

1974 - Billy Preston 

In mid-October 1974, Billy Preston subtracted Nothing from Nothing and took the answer to #1.
Nothing from Nothing

1975 - Neil Sedaka and Elton John 

Sedaka was definitely back. Singing with Elton John, Neil had the #1 song this week in 1975. This was Sedaka's second time around for significant chart success. In the early 60s he scored big with songs like Happy Birthday Sweet 16, Breaking Up is Hard to Do and Next Door to an Angel. Here's how he sounded with Elton.
Bad Blood

1981 - A-Ha 

This week in 1981, A-Ha took on the task of hitting #1 and succeeded admirably.
Take On Me

1988 - Pink Floyd

Completing the ultimate display of chart success, Pink Floyd finally exited Billboard's Hot 200 list in October 1988, after spending a record 741 weeks on that chart. You could say that they certainly earned a lot of what our featured Floyd track is all about.
Money

2012 - Rolling Stones 

It's been a while since we've heard a new Stones track. But one was released a few days ago and it rocks. They recorded it to mark their 50 years as a band. So this weeks 2012 track is Doom and Gloom by the Rolling Stones.
Doom and Gloom


Till next time, that's another Classic Track Look Back at rock history.

A Double Shot Look Back

Our Classic Track Look Back takes a weekly look and a listen at the music that made our memories. Lots of double shots of rock, and check out the Remaking Rock History at the end of this post.

Rock continues to evolve as it should. Our mission is to remind you of where it has been, and offer a peak of where it's going.

1962 - The Beatles 

The Beatles' Love Me Do was released in England 50 years ago this week spending 26 weeks on theUK charts and peaking at number 17. The Fab 4 classic would not cross the Atlantic as a North American hit until 1964.
Love Me Do

1965 - The McCoys

Our next Classic Track Look Back takes us for another ride in the way back machine, this time to October 1965 for a song with 2 titles. When the McCoys released it, it was called Hang On Sloopy. It was with this song that they enjoyed their only chart topper. Not long before, the song had been released by the Vibrations, who called it My Girl Sloopy. Here's the McCoys version.
Hang On Sloopy

1969 - The Beatles 

Last week marked the anniversary of Abbey Road's UK release. This week, another track from that album, as we celebrate its' October 1969 arrival in North American record stores. Here's one from the album that we don't hear as often as we should.
Oh! Darling

1969 - Creedence Clearwater Revival 

None of their singles topped the charts but CCR's Green River LP hit #1 and stayed for 5 weeks in October 1969. This album is about more than the hits it contained. Check out Wrote a Song for Everyone.
Wrote a Song for Everyone

1971 - Janis Joplin 

This week in 1970 Janis Joplin died after an accidental heroin overdose. Still her music lived on. In 1971 her Pearl album and Me and Bobby McGee single topped the end of year charts.
Me and Bobby McGee

1971 - Rod Stewart

In October 1971, Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells a Story album netted him a double sided 45 hit with Maggie May and Reason to Believe. Together, the tracks topped the singles charts for 5 weeks. The album remains my favourite Stewart release.
Maggie May (Side A)


Reason to Believe (Side B)

1975 - Pink Floyd 

Pink Floyd's album Wish You Were Here was selling strong in October 1975. The album included a tribute to former Floyd member Syd Barrett. That track is featured here.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond

1982 - John Mellencamp 

John Mellencamp doubled the fun with his double No. 1 in October '82. #1 LP with American Fool & #1 single with Jack and Diane.
Jack and Diane

1983 - Bonnie Tyler 

In Fall '83 Bonnie Tyler enjoyed a total eclipse of the chart, when Total Eclipse of the Heart eclipsed all other tracks of the day, landing at No. 1. That accomplishment made her the only Welsh singer to achieve No. 1 status.
Total Eclipse of the Heart

1987 - Aerosmith 

This week in 1987, Aerosmith hit the album charts for a long stay with Permanent Vacation. The album included 2 hit singles, Dude Looks Like a Lady and Rag Doll.
Dude Looks Like a Lady

Remaking Rock History 

This week we're closing with a rock remake. The song Money has received generous air play from at least 4 artists. First came:

1962 - Barrett Strong - Money (That's What I Want)


Then there was the Beatles in 1964, the Kingsmen in the same year... and and then came the most recent, just 50 years after the original...

2012 - David Gray - Money (That's What I Want)


Till next time, that's our Classic Track Look Back, yet another slice of rock history.

What's New and Looking Back

This week, our Classic Track Look Back continues in its new direction. Whether you're hearing each featured song for the first time or are just rocking with it once again, I hope you enjoy our new twist to the Classic Track Look Back.

Beach Boys News

Hate to start the Look Back on a downer, but something happened this week in rock that deserves the space. After a summer of putting differences in the past and playing together as the Beach Boys, Mike Love apparently decided that enough was enough. He has chosen to fire 3 members of the group, including Brian Wilson. Can the Beachboys be the Beach Boys without Brian? In this bloggers not so humble opinion, the group, as many of us new them, are now part of rock history. Still, we at least have the music.
I Get Around

1964 - Roy Orbison

Roy ended September 1964 with the #1 record on the singles charts only 4 weeks after its chart debut.
Oh, Pretty Woman

1968 - The Beatles

Fall '68, Hey Jude from the Beatles started a 9 week #1run. It was also the year's top single.
Hey Jude

1969 - The Beatles

This week in 1969 saw the Beatles UK Release of Abbey Road. Though the fab 4 had not officially decided it would be their final album, they sensed that it might well be the last. So they decided to set their differences aside and go out on a high note.
Octopus' Garden
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1970 - The Partridge Family

This week in 1970 ABC TV debuted the Partridge Family. Teen and pre-teen girls loved it. And here at Maindog, we give them a (very brief) nod (and to score a few brownie points with a certain Maindog's wife).
I Think I Love You

1980 - Led Zeppelin

A sad day this week in 1980, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham passed away. Bonzo was 32 years old.
Rock and Roll

1980 - David Bowie

In fall 1980, David Bowie's latest LP Scary Monsters and Super Creeps topped the UK album charts.
Ashes to Ashes

1981 - The GoGo's

The Go-Go's hit #1 in late September '81 with their album Beauty and the Beat.
We Got the Beat

1983 - Billy Joel

In Fall 1983 Billy Joel topped the singles charts with a song advising guys to Tell Her About It.
Tell Her About It

1983 - ZZ Top

September '83 saw ZZ Top's Eliminator go platinum. It featured Legs and Sharp Dressed Man.
Legs


Till next time, that's another Classic Track Look Back at rock history.

Looking Back: Born to be Wild and Crazy

This week, our Classic Track Look Back moves in a new direction. It will now be based on the rock history tweets that I present during the week. As is only natural, some of those tweets rise above others in their importance to music's legacy. So what I'll do is present the best of those tweets, eeach week in this space. Of course, I'll also offer a YouTube link to each entry, so that you can hear each song.

Whether you're hearing each classic track for the first time or are just rocking with it once again, I hope you enjoy our new twist to the Classic Track Look Back.

1968 Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf took their brand of "heavy metal thunder" all the way to the million seller mark this week in 1968.
Born to Be Wild

1969 Blind Faith

In the Fall of '69, Blind Faith was hot with their self-titled and only album
Can't Find My Way Home

1969 John Lennon

In a September 1969 meeting with Paul and Ringo, John Lennon announced he was leaving the Beatles.
Cold Turkey

1970 Edwin Starr

It could be said that Edwin Starr was anti-war. His song that said so topped the charts for 3 weeks as summer turned to Fall in 1970. The Temptations were the first to record the song, but it was decided to have Edwin Starr record the single due to concerns that the track might offend more conservative elements among the Temptations fan base.
War

1970 Jimi Hendrix

Was this week the week the music died? No, but in 1970 it was the week when we lost Jimi Hendrix
Angel

1974 Barry White

Back to 1974 when Barry White enjoyed his only #1 single
Can't Get Enough of Your Love Baby

1974 David Bowie 

Early Fall '75 meant Fame 4 David Bowie as the song he co-wrote with John Lennon hit #1
Fame
  

1980 Queen

Queen played the album charts game and won when their LP the game hit #1 in fall 1980
Another One Bites the Dust

1981 Rolling Stones

Did the Stones tattoo your album buying dollars to their fall '81 release? If so, you're not alone. Tattoo You began a 9 week #1 album run that year as fall was born.
Start Me Up

1994 Dave Matthews Band

Fall '94 saw the release of Under the Table and dreaming by the Dave Matthews Band.
What Would You Say


'Til next time, that's another Classic Track Look Back at rock history.

I Want My, I Want My, I Want My MTV... Back

Before August gets away from us, I want to take a classic track look back to August 1, 1981, when a very cool all-music video service called MTV was born. It launched its new music service with the perfectly-themed video, the 1979 hit which became even bigger, when MTV played Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles.

MTV of the 80s was much different from MTV as we know it now, except to say that in my not-so-humble opinion, today's MTV is a far cry from the original. In the 80s, MTV played music videos - all videos, all the time. There were no made-for-MTV series and no reality shows. It just played the best music videos that the 80s could offer, played by hosts - the VJs. Only the hourly music news stopped the music, and that was just the talk about the music. With the exception of the late J.J. Jackson who passed away in 2004, all of the original VJs are now anchoring Sirius/XM's 80s channel, a perfect rockin' home for them. 

The 80s were truly the MTV decade. During MTV's prime, they were even mentioned in songs such as Dire Straits' Money for Nothing, where Sting joins in, singing the falsetto introduction "I Want My MTV." Didn't we all?

In 1987, MTV Europe was born, opening with Money for Nothing. Another obvious choice.

So what happened to the network that gave us radio with pictures?

As the '80s became the '90s, MTV gradually evolved, and, in my opinion, not in a positive direction. Non-music shows were aired, such as Beavis and Butthead (in September '92), and obviously were aimed at teens and young adults. Slowly these types of shows began to creep into the daily broadcast schedule, gradually taking over from music videos.

 Truly worthwhile content, right? You be the judge.

Unquestionably, MTV is still aimed at teens and young adults, but now airs reality shows and original series. Although there was no specific day when the all-music-all-the-time concept died on MTV; the days of non-stop videos hosted by people who knew the music - the VJ stars of the day.

'Til next time, that's another classic track look back at rock history, and the day-in-day-out videos that we watched, defining rock history throughout the 80s and 90s.

A Numbers Game

The other day, while preparing my #RockHistory feature for Twitter (and of course, I invite you to check it out and follow me!), I happened to notice that Michael Jackson's Thriller from 1982, still sits atop the world's top 10 selling album list.

That's in the whole world, folks! Pretty impressive! For 30 years now, there sits Thriller.

Thriller by Michael Jackson

The world's top 10 album sales list should be pretty clear cut and seldom changeable, right? Well most of the time, yes. But these days maybe not so much. Could that be true? Could Michael Jackson's Thriller be unseated from its lofty height? Yes music lovers, I think it could possibly happen.

As of this writing, most sources for the Top 10 albums of all time show no recent changes. But according to at least one source, namely the Rock Telegraph, Adele's album, 21, has moved into the No. 7 position.

Rumor Has It by Adele

Quite the dramatic themes happening in both of these videos, don't you think?

21 is still selling strong and shows no sign of moving into the slow lane anytime soon. To crack the top 3, it would need to surpass Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, now at No. 3 and AC/DC's Back in Black, currently the runner up.

Formidable competition to say the least. Still, in my mind, 21 stands a real chance of rising to the top. It has already surpassed Dark Side of the Moon in UK album sales. Without a doubt it could become the top seller of this century.

'Til next time, that's another classic track look back at rock history, not to mention a look ahead at the album that seems poised to reshape rock history a bit.

Lost: My Brave Face

On my Live 365 radio stations, 101.1 Doghouse Radio and 101 Maindog Gold. I like to play Lost 45s along with past hits that we still know and love. Lost 45s are songs that were once hits, but for some reason known only to the consultants who seem to rule terrestrial (aka traditional over-the-air) radio these days and they are played no more. (What's a 45, you ask?)

One of the Lost 45s that ought to be found by said radio consultants was recorded by none other than Paul McCartney.

Yes, they have overlooked Paul. Really! This 1989 hit called My Brave Face was from his album Flowers In the Dirt.

Holy Japanese, Batman!

Give it a listen and see if you can explain to this lost DJ why this 45 got lost.

'Til next time, that's another classic track look back at rock history.