(From the LA Times.Photo by Friedman. Report by Randy Lewis) In the truth is stranger than fiction department, Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose district includes Griffith Park, told Pop & Hiss over the weekend that the pine tree planted in 2004 near Griffith Observatory in memory of George Harrison will be replanted shortly because the original tree died as the result of an insect infestation. Yes, the George Harrison Tree was killed by beetles. Except for the loss of tree life, Harrison likely would have been amused at the irony. He once said his biggest break in life was getting into the Beatles; his second biggest was getting out. The sapling went in, unobtrusively, near the observatory with...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #16 – The Beatles: “Paperback Writer” b/w “Rain” – Capitol 45 RPM Single 5651 (K2/L2) “The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within. We’ve hit ground zero for classic singles! It really doesn’t get any better than the coupling of “Paperback Writer” and “Rain” on a single slab of 45RPM vinyl. And, the single wasn’t even intended to be a double A-side, it just worked...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Lovely Rita” by The Beatles I just heard The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band for the first time today! Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve been listening to this record since it was new. I guess that’s one of the big positives of having older siblings, you got to hear cool records when they came out, way before your peer group caught on to them. I’ve been reading the Howard Kaylan biography Shell Shocked which was written by Kaylan and Jeff Tamarkin. Howard Kaylan was a member of The Turtles and The Mother’s Of Invention. He was also Eddie of Flo & Eddie. So far, the book is a...

  Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Knocking ‘Round The Zoo” by James Taylor It is indeed an amazing story as to how a recovering from heroin singer songwriter from America came to the attention of The Beatles in 1968, leading to the release of the first album by an American artist to be released on The Beatles’ newly-christened Apple Records. James Taylor came from a wealthy family and grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he learned to play cello and then guitar. The family vacationed in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts during the summers where he first met Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar at the age of 14. Even at their young age, Kootch realized that Taylor’s singing...

  More and more turntables are coming out of moth balls and still more are shipping to those that might not have or never had them in the past. I guess it’s no surprise that the public wants to get their hands and needles on some Beatles albums once again. They will now be able too. The Beatles’ acclaimed original studio album remasters, released on CD in 2009 and in 2010 for digital download exclusively on iTunes, will make their long-awaited stereo vinyl debut on 12th November (13th November in North America). Manufactured on 180-gram, audiophile quality vinyl with replicated artwork,  the 14 albums return to their original glory with details including the poster in The Beatles (The White...

  Today’ Cool Album of the Day (#575 in the Series) is Ringo Starr, Ringo People sometimes forget that directly after The Beatles breakup, that you wouldn’t have been necessarily wrong if you said Ringo had the early lead on best Beatle solo career.  He really did have a nice run of hits in the early 70’s. It began with “It Don’t Come Easy” (which was just a single) which was a huge hit. It was followed up by two #1 hits from the Ringo album.  “Photograph” and “You’re Sixteen” topped the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.  As an album, the Ringo album reached as high as #2 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart. ‘It Don’t Come...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#418 in the Series)is George Harrison, All Things Must Pass I know I’ve mentioned the purpose of the Whale Wednesday Series. Yeah, the plan was to feature some of the bigger releases and give them some representation on the site as well.  However I meant that to mean “bigger” in regards to profile or sales etc. I didn’t intend it to mean the actual size of the recording! So here we have one that fits the term ‘Huge’ on a couple fronts. The first of those being that it was recorded by George Harrison along with some well-known friends. The second being how well this was accepted.  All Things Must Pass sold over...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day is Delaney & Bonnie, D & B Together Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Lynn O’Farrell did not have the name recognition of Sonny & Cher or the album sales of Buckingham-Nicks, yet between 1969 and 1972, as Delaney & Bonnie they created a sound that combined rock, blues, funk, soul, a little country, and a dose of gospel that was so hip and incendiary that followers the likes of Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, and George Harrison were all influenced in one way or another by the duo. Separately, or as together they had a hand in writing Clapton’s “Let It Rain” and Karen Carpenter’s “ Superstar” as well as many other hit...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#402 in the Series) is Leon Russell. The year was 1970,  the 23 year old British Singer-Songwriter who had recently changed his name to Elton John, in his first American concert at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, Ca, was nervously sitting at his piano bench, about to start “Sixty Years On”, gazing over the packed- in audience in wonderment that all these people were here to see him, when he paused and noticed Leon Russell was in the house.   This was 40 years before Elton would collaborate with his idol and one of the original “piano men” and release the excellent The Union album. This was also before the “ Rocket Man” became...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#301 in the Series, and #1 in the new, Whale Wednesday Series) is The Beatles, Revolver Do I really need to say much about Revolver? I don’t think so. So I’ll keep it rather short so you can scroll down and check out some of the videos before the Apple Records minions have them removed! I know quite a few people that call Revolver their favorite Beatles album. Mine is “whichever one I’m currently playing!” I do like where this fits into their chronology. It’s not “early Beatles” it’s not “psychedelic Beatles” (well, maybe a little) and it’s not “later Beatles.”  I believe that’s why so many people like it as much as...