So, what have you been listening to lately?

[gearHed289]

I'll have to check this out. This past Saturday I was chatting with my buddy's dad who played bass with Johnny Winter in the early 60s. Johnny was living with him in Chicago for a while, and was my bud's godfather. And my buddy's name is Johnny. Also an awesome bass player. 

[uwe]

Johnny was often very entwined with his bass players, here at 03:25, NSFW unless you have a hopelessly dirty mind. Which no one here has.

[Dave W]

From the Johnny Winter And... album. Johnny on vocals

[uwe]

Herr Franklin is immediately likable, has a good sense of self-deprecating humor and a story to tell.



I once saw him in a Whitesnake line up touring Restless Heart. He was the high point of a low gig where Coverdale was already struggling with his voice.

PS: And in case you wondered: I'm not binge-watching Stranger Things though I might in the future.

[uwe]

No nose wrinkling yet, but her ears are cute ...

[uwe]

Well, he was a skilled lyricist. No 4 in the German charts in 1980 (No 1 in Norway) – possibly because very few people understood what he was singing about. The Zappa fans loved him for that subversive entry. Introduced the English term “golden shower” to my unsuspecting country(wo)men before they could even get out their umbrellas. A cultural transfer so to leak. And ‘tower of power’ wasn’t name-checking the band either …



This song is probabbly today perceived as very low pc, albeit for different reasons than back then!

[uwe]

The Kursaal Flyers, a clever Brit pub rock band (fleetingly popular around the time when Dr Feelgood first caught attention) and their only - untypical for their other music - (freak) hit, a hilariously grandiose Phil Spector pastiche produced by Mike Batt who got the joke:



Generally, they were a lot more Brit RnB:



They're still around:

[morrow]

Something a little different for me . Listening to a bunch of this stuff , will be trying some arrangements with some friends , and if we find enough similar material for a nights work might try some gigs .
But for the time being it’s simply a nice diversion . Another guilty pleasure .

[uwe]

Remarkable song about a remarkable man by favourite Welsh socialist agitprop'ers:



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Robeson

Were you aware of him in 50ies/60ies America, Dave?

[Basvarken]

Bill McClintock is a genius

[uwe]

For a variety of reasons, it makes a lot more sense to sing a love ode to marijuana/'Mary Jane' than to wail about drowned clergy. 'Mary Jane' was the former Neil Young bandmate's



lifelong mistress  - or was it the other way around?

James was a complex personality and lived a wild life, he deserves a biopic of his own. He was so much more than the loudmouth disco artist he is known as. That said, when he appeared on German Rock Palast (a TV live show reserved for overwhelmingly rock bands) early 80ies, he showed that he can captivate a white bre(a)d rock kids audience by the sheer energy of his music.

[Basvarken]

Maybe because they thought he had Eddie van Halen in his band? 

[uwe]

(spluttering) You mean that wasn't Eddie playing in his band? !!!

I hate it when you atomize cherished myths, Holländer.

Can we at least agree on that it was George Lynch instead, pleeeeze?



I remember seeing this on TV and thinking what is the disco dude doing here, but he won me over quickly. Rock Palast did a lot for black artists over the years, they introduced Mothers Finest, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Rick James and Prince to European rock audiences just based on the latters' all strong live act reputations.

[Basvarken]

Ah yes, Mothers Finest at Rockpalast.
That has got to be one of the best live performances ever.
I think they owe the largest part of their career to that magical night in Essen. Europe fell head over heels for MF.




PS. that Rick James guitarist is Tom McDermott. I had to look him up. Never heard of him.
But if you had told me it was Brad Gillis I would have believed you too.

[uwe]

And you wouldn't have been far off, before there was Night Ranger, Super Strats and Floyd Roses, there was a black Les Paul, satin shirts (and pants), dance moves and ... RUBICON (just look at him @22:05), a Sly & the Family Stone spin-off that had the wrong complexion (just like Mothers Finest, only in reverse):



Rick James would have been elated to have Brad in his band I think. And he wouldn't have minded if Brad had taken his Rubicon bass buddy - a cat named Jack B. - with him as well (@4:35):