A lot of things will be turning 50 in 2019: the moon landing, the start of the Nixon presidency, the Chicago Cubs almost winning the pennant, the author of this blog... you get the idea. 1969 often gets overlooked in the retrospectives largely because of 1968 and the impact that that year had on American … Continue reading New this week in ’69: January 4
1969
Rest in peace, Galt McDermot: Oliver, “Good Morning Starshine” (1969)
(Above: My parents had the LP. I have the 8-track.) Composer Galt McDermot passed away today, one day short of his 90th birthday. McDermot was responsible for setting the words of James Radio and Gerome Ragni to music for inclusion in a stage show the two had written - Hair: The American Tribal Love Rock … Continue reading Rest in peace, Galt McDermot: Oliver, “Good Morning Starshine” (1969)
Rest in peace, Roy Clark: “Yesterday, When I Was Young” (1969)
Country music legend Roy Clark has passed away at the age of 85. I have to admit - Hee Haw was not something that I watched. Growing up as a kid in the Chicago area, I didn't have much exposure to Country music. Sure, there were radio stations playing it, like WMAQ (during the "WMAQ's … Continue reading Rest in peace, Roy Clark: “Yesterday, When I Was Young” (1969)
Rest in peace, Don Sandburg: The Banana Splits, “Tra-La-La Song” (1969)
(Above: The original Bozo's Circus cast: Ringmaster Ned Locke, bandleader Bob Trendler, Bozo [Bob Bell], Oliver O. Oliver [Ray Rayner], Sandy [Don Sandburg].) Don Sandburg, the last surviving original cast member of the Chicago edition of Bozo's Circus, passed away over the weekend in Oregon as a result of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was … Continue reading Rest in peace, Don Sandburg: The Banana Splits, “Tra-La-La Song” (1969)
Greatest misses: Barbara Acklin, “Am I The Same Girl?” (1969)
(Above: Hidden in this album is a great song.) Sometimes, what may be the best version of a song is the one that finishes in third place. 1n 1968 session musicians at Brunswick Records went into the studio and laid down a jam. That track was released by Brunswick and first hit the Billboard Hot … Continue reading Greatest misses: Barbara Acklin, “Am I The Same Girl?” (1969)
Greatest misses: Duke Baxter, “Everybody Knows Matilda” (1969)
(Above: The song's not quite as trippy as the picture sleeve.) In August of 1969 a record made a brief appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, stalling at #52. It was a fun little number about an almost-but-not-quite-one-night-stand (if we can invent that terminology) with a seemingly popular girl named Matilda. Just who sang the … Continue reading Greatest misses: Duke Baxter, “Everybody Knows Matilda” (1969)
Rest in peace, Edwin Hawkins: The Edwin Hawkins Singers, “Oh Happy Day” (1969)
(Above: The Singers, performing live) The music world lost Edwin Hawkins today at the age of 74 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. The Edwin Hawkins Singers shared Gospel music in the late 1960s, a time when many others were singing about a desire for peace without relying on Scripture. The Singers released an LP … Continue reading Rest in peace, Edwin Hawkins: The Edwin Hawkins Singers, “Oh Happy Day” (1969)
Rest in peace, Mel Tillis: Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town” (1969)
(Above: Mel Tillis and Terry Bradshaw hiding the car in the pool in The Cannonball Run.) Word is also circulating today that country singer Mel Tillis passed away on Sunday, November 19, after a long illness at the age of 85. Tillis' recording history is astonishing. In all he placed 26 albums in the Top … Continue reading Rest in peace, Mel Tillis: Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town” (1969)
Rest in peace, Glen Campbell: “Galveston” (1969)
(Above: The picture sleeve for "Galveston" overseas) When word of Glen Campbell's Alzheimer's diagnosis was made public in 2011, I knew that this day was coming. We've dealt with Alzheimer's and a variety of forms of dementia in my family, and there's no other way to put it: it's a long, slow goodbye. Glen made … Continue reading Rest in peace, Glen Campbell: “Galveston” (1969)
Father figures and break beats: The Winstons, “Color Him Father/Amen, Brother” (1969)
(Above: The Winstons, in an ad from Billboard.) Father's Day weekend is upon us, and oldies stations will likely look for ways to adjust their playlists accordingly. You'll no doubt hear Paul Petersen's "My Dad" at some point along the way if your local station still deals in pre-Beatles material. Other stations will turn the … Continue reading Father figures and break beats: The Winstons, “Color Him Father/Amen, Brother” (1969)
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