Willis Alan Ramsey “Willis Alan Ramsey”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#1001 in the Series) is Willis Alan Ramsey, Willis Alan Ramsey Willis Alan Ramsey is the Harper Lee of the Americana, Alternative Country scene of the 1970’s and his eponymous album is his To Kill a Mockingbird. Released on New Year’s Day 1972 Willis Alan Ramsey was the first, last, and only album to be released by an artist that many consider to be one of the forefathers of the Outlaw sound who heavily influenced such Cosmic Cowboys as Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett, Jerry Jeff Walker and Ray Wylie Hubbard. With a Texas Troubadour sound that is more Steve Earle, Guy Clark, and Joe Ely than Willie Nelson, Willis Alan quickly...
“The Harder They Come” Original Soundtrack Recording
Today’s Cool Album of the Day is the soundtrack to the film, The Harder they Come. The Harder They Come could almost be considered a Jimmy Cliff album. In fact, Cliff, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, has his name featured prominently on the cover. Officially however, this album is considered a soundtrack to the film with the same name. Other artists that appear on the album include Desmond Dekker (He of ‘Israelites’ fame), The Maytals, The Slickers and Scotty. The film and soundtrack have long been considered classics. Forty years later, the film is still the number one movie produced in Jamaica by Jamaicans. The Harder They Come went a long way in pulling Reggae music into...
The Grateful Dead ‘Sunshine Daydream’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “The Promised Land” from Sunshine Daydream by Grateful Dead (from the film Sunshine Daydream, Veneta Oregon, 8/27/72) I look all around me and see dead people…” We’re in our local movie theater in Lincolnshire, Illinois waiting for the Third Annual – (Jerry Garcia’s Birthday) -Grateful Dead Meet-up At The Movies to begin. This year’s film is from footage that was shot at a benefit show for the Springfield Creamery (makers of Yogurt) in Veneta Oregon on August 27, 1972. The superb footage in this film is a treat for the eyes …where has this footage been for 41 years? The film captures the band basking in the afterglow of their triumphant...
Bobby Darin ‘Bobby Darin’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Sail Away” by Bobby Darin By 1972, Bobby Darin was long past his “Splish-Splash” rock ‘n’ roll beginnings and the supper club success that followed. He’d moved from his successful home at Atco records to the new confines of Capitol records where the supper club hits began to dry up. The late ‘60s was a turbulent time in our country and, especially in Darin’s life. He was deeply dedicated to supporting Bobby Kennedy in his 1968 bid for the presidency, and was present at the Ambassador Hotel the night he was assassinated. Shortly thereafter, he was told that the girl he thought was his sister was actually his mother, and that...
Mott The Hoople ‘All the Young Dudes’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Sucker” by Mott The Hoople Mott The Hoople were a British pub rock group consisting of Ian Hunter on vocals, guitar and piano, Mick Ralphs on guitar and vocals, Verden Allen on organ and vocals, Pete Overend Watts on bass and Dale “Buffin” Griffin on drums. By 1972, the band had released four poorly received albums and was ready to throw in the towel. Enter David Bowie to the rescue! Bowie was much too big a fan of the band to let them call it quits, so he urged them to glam up their image, offered to produce their next album, set them up with Tony Defries and MainMan management and...
Original Sound Track Recording ‘Cabaret’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Willkommen” by Joel Grey from the film “Cabaret” A funny thing happened to the Broadway Musical Cabaret during its adaptation to the big screen. It lost ten out of its original fifteen songs. Many of the original Broadway songs were in the play to express the emotions of the characters and move the plot line forward, something that the medium of film was able to accomplish by using visuals. As a result, Bob Fosse only used the songs “Wilkommen,” “Two Ladies,” “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” “If You Could See Her,” and “Cabaret” for the film. The rest were dumped, as were characters and elements of the original plot. Cabaret opened...
Dr. John ‘Dr. John’s Gumbo’
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Iko Iko” by Dr. John Where do you go after you’ve taken on an assumed name (“The Night Tripper”) and released four of the trippiest, psychedelic, voodoo-inspired albums in all of music history? If you’re Dr. John, you go straight back home! “I decided I’d had enough of the mighty-coo-de-fiyo hoodoo show, so I dumped the Gris-Gris routine we had been touring with since 1967 and worked up a new act—a Mardi Gras revue.” Actually, going home was probably a good idea for Rebennack, since he needed to take some time out to clean himself up after acquiring a massive drug habit while touring the world as “The Night Tripper.”...
Bobby Charles ‘Bobby Charles’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#810 in the Series) is Bobby Charles, Bobby Charles Bobby Charles is one of those artists that you know intimately, has been in your life for a long time, but you just can’t remember, or never really knew how the relationship got started. Born in 1938, a true Cajun by birth, Charles was one of the swamp rock founding fathers, a genre that deliciously combines zydeco, boogie rock, rockabilly, and old juke joint rhythm and blues. A typical “he’s big overseas” artist, in his early days he was generally known as a songwriter penning “See You Later Alligator,” famously covered by Bill Haley and the Comments, and “Walking to New Orleans” for...
Cat Stevens “Catch Bull At Four”
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#799 in the Series) is Cat Stevens, Catch Bull At Four Catch Bull at Four was, surprising to me, Cat Stevens most popular album in the United States. If forced to guess I would have named Tea For The Tillerman or Teaser and The Firecat. Most listeners I know consider those albums superior to this one. They directly preceded this one and I’m sure that the sales here were caused as a result of those albums popularity. Tea For The Tillerman peaked at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. Teaser and the Firecat reach all the way up to #2 on the strength of three huge singles, “Morning Has Broken,” “Moonshadow” and “Peace Train.” By...
Deep Purple ‘Machine Head’
Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#790 in the Series) is Deep Purple, Machine Head Many musicians that are in their early 60s claim it was seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show that pushed them into the music stores to grab their first guitars and to begin the dream about making music. For those a bit younger it was one riff that made many of them jump. Thinking back I really feel for the guitar teachers of 1972, while they were handing kids an acoustic and making attempts to teach them C, D, G and maybe the odd A-minor chord, the kids just wanted to learn one thing. “Show me how to play ‘Smoke on the...
