On This day – Keith Moon
Sep 7, 2009 Departures, On This Day
On this day in 1978 Keith Moon died. He overdosed on a drug called Heminevrin. Ironically this had been prescribed to help him over alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
“Moon the Loon” joined The Who in 1964 after Doug Samden left and played on all their albums from “My Generation” (1865) to “Who Are You” released just 2 weeks before his death. His style was not conventional, eschewing the traditional focus on back beats in favour of dramatic fast rolls across tom toms and cymbals. He was never still behind the drum kit, always looking to add drama and urgency into the songs.
Although a rock drummer of distinction it is for his destructive tendencies that Keith Moon seems to be mainly remembered. he had a fascination with destroying toilets. He used to blow them up with explosives starting with penny bangers (cherry bombs) and graduating to dynamite. So obsessed was he with blowing up toilets that he and the band were banned from several hotel chains and named hotels.
His most famous escapade, however, involved a car, not explosives. On the occasion of his 21st birthday (he was actually 20 but wanted to be able to drink in all the states in the USA, so, naturally he said it was his 21st). Moon was drunk and decided that what he really needed to do was to drive a car into a swimming pool. Variously said to be either a Cadillac or a Lincoln Continental it was this act, as well as serial toilet destruction incidents, that led Moon to be banned from the Holiday Inn chain, for life.
Keith Moon died after spending an evening with Paul and Linda McCartney. They had been to a preview of the film The Buddy Holly Story and then to dinner. After returning to their flat Moon and his girlfriend went to bed. Before going to bed Moon took 32 tablets of Clomethiazole (Heminevrin). This was prescribed drug to help Moon with alcohol withdrawal symptoms. He had been told by his doctor never to take more than 3 tablets in any 24 hour period.
Tags: classic rock music, deaths, keith moon, love rock music, On This Day, rock and blues, the who
Les Paul
Aug 14, 2009 Departures, On This Day
Les Paul has died, aged 94. He suffered from complications associated with pneumonia.
It is too easy when talking about music to use lots of superlatives which only leads to them being devalued. So, when I say that Les Paul was one of the true greats of popular music that is exactly what I mean. I am not trying to ‘big him up’, he was the real deal.
He was still performing right up to his death. He was regarded with awe and affection by many leading guitarists (only last year Slash was quoted as saying that he spoke to Les Paul once a week and spoke of their friendship). He said: “Les Paul was a shining example of how full one’s life can be. He was so vibrant and full of positive energy. I’m honoured and humbled to have known and played with him over the years.”
Les Paul invented multi-tracking, for which we should all be grateful (and by extension to Bing Crosby – read why here). He experimented with echo and effects, he and Mary Ford, his wife, recorded in different rooms of their home to get different feels to the recordings. Paving the way for people like Joe Meek. He was also a pioneer in other recording techniques such as phasing and over dubbing.
Oh yes, he also invented and designed the most successful electric guitar in the world. The guitar he designed and that bears his name was the preferred choice for many guitar greats including: Joe Satriani, Jimmy Page, Gary Moore, Peter Green, Pete Townsend and many, many more.
His personal story is as full, interesting and inspiring as his professional story. Born on 9th June 1915 and named lester William Polsfuss. At the age of eight he learned harmonica and it was not until he was 13 (after he had failed to play banjo) that he turned to the guitar. he left school when he was 17 to concentrate on a life as a musician.
In the thirties he was playing on the radio in Chicago and developing the individual style that still influences modern guitarists to this day. He eventually moved to Hollywood in 1943, formed a trio and gained the role of Bing Crosby’s backing group on his radio and TV shows. This helped propel him to stardom. he also met and Married Mary Ford and together they recorded many records employing all his skills, leaving rivals in their wake. His recording career continued into his 80s and won two Grammys in 2006 for his album ‘Les Paul & Friends: American made World Played Hero’
In 1948 he had a serious car accident smashing his right arm and elbow. He was told that his arm would never work again, there would be no movement in it and that it would have to be set. He told the doctors to set his arm at an angle so that he could play the guitar. It took Les Paul 18 months to learn how to play guitar again.
In the ’30s he became dissatisfied with acoustic guitars for performance. he wanted something louder with more presence. HI solution was, initially, a 4×4 piece of wood with a bridge and guitar neck and a pick up running through an amplifier. It was called ‘the log’. As well as not being particularly attractive it also suffered from feedback. The solution was to take an acoustic guitar split it legnth ways and put the log inside it. Style and playability (though still pretty heavy). Gibson loved the design and so began manufacture (any colour you want as long as it is a goldtop, at least at first).
Together with Fender, Gibson revolutionised modern music. It is arguably which design of guitar has most affect, and really that is a sterile debate. What is beyond doubt is that Les Paul himself had an enormous affect on modern music and we all owe him a great debt.
Tags: classic rock music, les paul, love rock music, On This Day, real rock and blues, rock and blues
Sam Phillips Dies 30 July 2003
Jul 30, 2009 Blues, Departures, On This Day, rock and blues
Sam Phillips did more than most to shape popular music in the 50s and 60s.
As Owner and leading light of the mighty Sun Records he discovered or developed Presley, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis and more.
Inpite of this roll call of talent it is easy to forget that the path that Sun Records trod was not always easy. He had to sell Elvis’ contract to RCA to raise enough cash for the label to continue in 1955.
The legacy left by Sun Records is great and glorious.
Tags: blues music, classic rock music, love rock music, On This Day, real rock and blues, rock and blues, sam phillips, sun records
Michael Jackson Why Wait Till He’s Dead ? (part 2)
Jul 20, 2009 About and things, Departures
I touched on this in a previous post.
It now seems that Michael Jackson has sold 2.3 million albums in the last 2 weeks, in thew States alone. Good news for the owners of the state. (Expect more legal wrangling). My question remains the same, why now? Are we so stupid that we forget about music we love until someone dies and then when faced with the publicity we all rush to the shops? Apparently so.
Michael Jackson with his hair on fire.
On another tack video footage of MJ catching fire while filming a 1984 ad for Pepsi has become available. Pepsi are not amused. Speaking for Pepsi Nicole Bradley said “We don’t know how the footage became available. Twenty-five years later, we’d question why anyone would want to share such frightening images. It was a terrifying event that we’ll never forget. We were grateful for Michael’s recovery and for the chance to continue working with him on a number of successful projects.
“As for Michael as an artist, his music helped us define a generation and, like everyone else, we’re deeply saddened by his passing.”
Jackson had second and third degree burns after a pyrotechnique display went off early during the shoot. Jackson was awarded $1.5 Million in damages, which he donated to the burns centre that treated him.
What else about Michael jackson this week? The cost of policing and controlling traffic etc. at Michael Jackson’s memorial service is estimated to be $1.4 million. The mayor of LA (Who’s name I have forgotten) says that the tax payer will pick up the cost. Why?
If I was Michael’s doctor I would be worried. There are unverified stories about liberal drug prescriptions. 14 years ago yesterday Elvis’ former physician, Dr George Nichopoulous lost his linense. he was seen to be too liberal in his prescription policy over addictive drugs. Dr Nichopoulous was not impressed with the decision. He called it ‘idiotic’ and suggested that it had something to do with Presley’s death in 1977.
John Henry Hammond
Jul 10, 2009 Departures
John Hammond died on this day in 1987.
JH was one of those people who were enormously influencial but often overlooked. Often given credit where it was not deserved but denied the credit that was due to him.
John Hammond was a record producer rather than a talent scout. Back in the early ’30s he was writing about the racial divide in the USA and ridiculing it using jazz as the vehicle for this line of reasoning. He was instrumental in promoting Billie Holiday, arranging her first recording debut, she appeared on a Benny Goodman session. Later he also championed the Count Basie orchestra.
For those two instances he deserves to be remembered. However along with promoting blues music and musicians he did one other thing that makes him one of the most important people in popular music development.
He oversaw and championed (but did not produce as many think) “King of the Delta Blues Singers” released in 1961 this was a rerelease of all the recordings made by Robert Johnson. This is possibly one of the 5 most influencial records ever released.
Tags: billie holiday, blues music, deaths, john hammond, On This Day, robert johnson
On This day – Brian Jones
Jul 3, 2009 Departures, On This Day
1969, is it really 40 years ago? Brian jones was found dead in his swimming pool.
He was the original guitatist with the Stolling Bones, arguably their best period – when they still played blues based rock. Jones’ influences were jazz and blues with him citing Elmore james, Robert Johnson (see my article Records that Changed the World, point proved),and Cannonball Adderley (yes Iknow he played sax), among others.
He left his native Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK in disgrace having got his 14 year old girlfriend pregnant. He spent sometime abroad before making his way to London.
It was Jones who placed the original advert in a local jazz newsletter for musicians that brought the Stones together. Ian ‘Stew’ Stewart (the Stone that who too old for their image but stayed and played with them for years, as an employee of the band I believe) was the first to respond. The others came over time, jagger introduced Richards (who brought his love of Chuckles Berry to the band) and finally Bill Wyman (who brought his Vox AC30).
Then there was Alexis Korner who helped the band and the rest is history.
By the time he died Jone was a shadow of his former self, a victim of LSD, uppers, downers, alcohol, and effectively ousted from his own band. He was found floating face down in the pool at his house in East Sussex. His then girlfriend claimed that he was alive when pulled from the pool but was dead by the time the ambulance arrived. There is a widely known story that he was murdered by a builder working on the house. There are stories of a death bed confession, witnesses that refuse to talk to the police, looting and thefts from the house after his death.
The truth will probably never be known for certain. One thing that we do know is that this man stated what was, for a considerable time, the best rock band in the world.
Tags: brian jones, classic rock, love rock music, On This Day, real rock
Michael Jackson
Jun 26, 2009 Departures
MJ died overnight as I slept in the UK. While I am not going to go into details of his life (follow this link to WikiP if you want that stuff) his contribution to music is worth comment.
MJ is significant to Real Rock and Blues for 2 reasons. Firstly, it is difficult for many (younger) people to appreciate that in the early 60’s there was white music and there was black music, certainly in the USA – less so in the UK. The Jackson 5 used rock guitar (white rock guitar) on some of their (black) pop music. For association with that action that helped breakdown racial divides in music MJ is worthy of mention. Not that as a young boy he would have been the main decision maker, but he was there.
Secondly, when I was asked to write an article about 10 records that changed the world of music Thriller was in there. Until Thriller each album spawned one or two singles. With Thriller the paradigm changed. 7 of the tracks were hits in the USA. All around the world singles taken from Thriller were hits, and lots of them. Post Thriller, music companies were looking for albums to be mere collections of hit singles rather than somewhere where an artist could breath (alright getting carried away a bit there).
One thing is for sure Thriller is the biggest selling album of all time. It is likely to remain so as so many people now download their music.
Departed on this Day
Jun 22, 2009 Departures
Judy Garland died on this day in 1999 while Fredastaire died on this day 2 years earlier.
OK so are you asking whether JG & FA are really “real rock” people? Too right they are. FA was obsessed with perfection but what made him real rock was his refusal to treat the audience as dummies.
As for JG she lived the rock’n'roll life before R’n'R.
Tags: deaths
