A -- Nothing (2002)

     Pop punk is exactly what it says it is, a hybrid of the attitude of 70's punk (sometimes it's actual sound as well), and pop. The most popular groups of this genre are Green Day and Blink-182, but there are many to choose from.

     The British group "A" recorded together from 1996 to 2005 and had some success in their home country as well as  Germany, but little elsewhere. Their most popular album was "Hi-Fi Serious" in 2002 with it's top 10 hit UK hit, "Nothing"

    They were made up of twin brothers Jason (vocals) and Adam Perry (drums), younger brother Giles (Keys) with Mark Chapman (guitar) and Steve Swindon (bass) rounding out the original lineup. In 1997,  Daniel P. Carter would take over duties at Bass until 2007, where John Mitchell took the spot for a couple of years. Although only doing a brief tour and a couple of one-off performances, Carter would again play bass since 2010 whenever the band would reform. He is mostly known today as the host of BBC 1's, "Rock Show"

     The song itself is harder rocking than most of the group's material, as they tended towards the more melodic. If you want to hear a great representation of that side of the band, check out, " 'A' Vs. Monkey Kong" (1999)

 

Black, White and Co.--Action For Love (1981)

     Being influenced in my formative years by radio and records, the video revolution didn't do much for me after the novelty wore off. Having said that, from a historical aspect, one cannot deny the way in which popular tastes were shaped and formed MTV and the music video.

     One of the reasons for this blog is to tune many of you in to the sounds and personalities that fell between the cracks in the professional music biz and there are many variables which define success. In other words, there are LOT of great talent that never gets heard.

     The same cannot be said about the video landscape, especially in the early days. There were more than a few budding young directors who cut their teeth in this arena as opposed to more seasoned veterans who didn't see the point of it all.  This led to some cutting edge videos that expanded the landscape not only for music, but for TV and film as well.

     Then there are the others.

      There are more than a few examples of videos done poorly. Shoestring budgets were always a factor in the early days, but linking less than stellar talent with even less money can cause some amusing results.

      Here I give you, "Black, White, and Co." The videos from You Tube which have any comments at all are mostly in French, so the information I can give you is sparse.  This song is on the AR Record label out of the Netherlands. Other than that, your on your own with these guys. Enjoy...and boogie your night away.

George McCurn--I'm Just a Country Boy (1963)

Gospel music has always informed popular music.  

Country, Rock and Roll, R&B and Soul all have been influenced at some level by Gospel. 

It's not surprising then that most of the singers of those genres came out of the church. 

Some, like Johnny Cash and Elvis were influenced by the songs of the church, and at least in Presley's case, it's stage manner as well. Others like Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin were actually singing gospel music before switching to more secular material. 

George "Ooppee" McCurn spent the 1950's as a member of two of gospel's greatest groups; The Fairfield Four, and The Pilgrim Travelers. After being invited to tour with The Ink Spots through Europe in 1961 and 62, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss asked him to be a part of the new A&M label. 

McCurn was blessed with a wonderful bass voice, and listening to this and his other recordings, it was obvious that he could sing just about anything with a resonance that (many times) outshown his material. This was probably the reason why he never made a dent on the charts...Alpert and Moss never really found a place for him to really open up with the material. It reached #100 and was his highest charting song.

The material in the case, was a fine folk song co-written by Fred Hellerman, a member of the seminal folk group, The Weavers. It was first recorded by Harry Belafonte in 1954 and covered by many, including a number 1 country hit by Don Williams in 1977. 

The KenJoLairs--Little White Lies (1962)

     Those of you who will be following along with me will soon pick up on a few things about this blog. First of all, for me to be inspired to write, I need some sort of structure.

      I have a radio show heard on six stations across the country called "The Rock and Roll Omnibus" which covers a wide range of music from a broad time frame. In preparation for the show I listen to a LOT of music, and being the kind of person that I am, began listening to music by the label instead of the artists. This led me to A&M Records. As I began with the first song and continued through the years, it became apparent to me that we had a lot of material and loads of stories to tell, which led to me to start up a new blog.

      I will promise that we will not go song by song....there is only enough Claudine Longet and Chris Montez one man can handle.

      We will be going through that catalog picking out interesting tidbits along the way, and hope you enjoy the ride.
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      Any of us who purport to be fans of music (any genre) can remember artists we grew up with. Local bands and/or singers that we thought had enough to make it all the way, only to fall by the wayside with only your memories and people like me picking through the best (or sometimes not so great)  to put on some blog for you to click on in the middle of the night when your up too late because of a case of insomnia.

      The KenJoLairs were one such group. I have little information to help with these guys. I know the three guys in the group were named Ken, Joe, and Larry (If you couldn't tell by the name of the group, the label of the 45 can help you out there). The Larry in question is Larry New, but his website just tells us that he was a part of the group, but nothing else that is of help.

      "Little White Lies" was written back in 1930 by Walter Donaldson. Those of a certain age might remember some of his songs; "My Mammy" (a huge hit for Al Jolson), "Makin' Whoopee" and "Yes Sir, That's My Baby". The song has been recorded many times and was a big hit for Dick Haymes and Dinah Shore in 1948, and again by Betty Johnson in 1957.

     The version by Ken, Joe and Larry in a pop ballad/folk style was actually quite easy on the ears. It also did well on the West Coast, especially in LA and San Francisco, but couldn't make much of a dent elsewhere. They were dropped from the label after a second single and not heard from again, at least from what I can tell.

     Larry New...if you read this, or anyone else who can tell me more about the group, please send me a note at rockandrollomnibus@gmail.com and we'll get the story out. In the meantime...enjoy.

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass--The Lonely Bull (1962)

      It all started in a garage.

      How many bands and artists over the years found a garage the perfect place to find their voice. It provides the perfect amount of reverb to someone who is wanting to fatten the sound of an imperfect instrument(s) and it's bigger than a bathroom shower.

      Not many can say however that their efforts would soon lead to a record label that would be sold for 500 million dollars.

      It started in a garage with someone attempting to mimic the emotions of a bullfight, it seems perhaps, even from the perspective of the bull.

      The sound of the horns in either ear being recorded separately resulting in a layered effect. The added on sounds of a crowd cheering their hero, but all with an air of sadness filtered through more than a few glasses of wine.

      Sol Lake (real name: Solomon Lachoff, 1911-1991), wrote this with the name of "Twinkle Star". The album version of the song along with the album it came from was recorded in studio (with studio musicians--the Tijuana Brass did not exist yet) and led off the juggernaut that was to become A&M Records.

     Alpert was to perfect this sound and became the background music (literally) for the mid-60's.

Rock and Roll Omnibus Radio---Playlist for Week of 6/22/15

     We are venturing out again into another direction with the Bus (as in the radio show). I've never been quite satisfied with the hits and a few rarities. The amount of good music that never gets heard beyond a few thousand people (if that) is staggering. When Tracey and I made our CD back in 1996, we got to rub elbows with a whole boatload of artists who were just like we were, making good music for just a handful to hear. It seems like a foolhardy endeavor, but if your a musician, you get it.

      Anyway, it seemed that with the success of the radio show and the blog that I could certainly do something about this. My dreams of doing the show for a large audience has gone to the same place as the idea of having lots of people listen to our stuff has gone. Now, we perform and write to suit ourselves, and if others like it, that's great, if not....it's not important.

     This is the same esthetic we're bringing to the Bus. You'll hear the occasional hit, but I want you all to hear the stuff that is not only interesting, but many times more passionate because the performer/s understand just what we did, if you can't satisfy yourself, then what's the point?

     This does NOT mean the quality of the music is any less. Sometimes the recording quality might not be up to industry standards, but again, that's not the point. On the show you will hear those who are very popular in a certain area, or maybe were never popular with anyone, but that doesn't lessen the quality.    

     So here is the playlist for this weeks show, if there is someone you hear that you like, check them out, maybe even buy one of their CD's....if nothing else, remember that the good music has not died, much of it is there just waiting for you to find.

Hour 1:

The Trashcan Sinatras—Obscurity Knocks (1990)

Chris Von Sneidern—Circles (1994) 

Chris Von Sneidern—Everything I Own (1994)

YU—Sometimes I Feel (1982)

The Whatnauts—Message From a Black Man (1970)

The Beach Boys—God Only Knows (1966)

FK9—Strangers at the Heart (1980)

John Yoko—Papa Was A Rodeo (2007)

Again Again Again—A Cold Place (1983)

John McMullan—You Are Dreaming ()

Chubby Checker—Let’s Twist Again (1961)

Prince Brownell—New Breed From a Soul Seed ()

Elijah Rock—A Piece of the Rock

Rosie Greer—Sincerely (1960)

Faces—That’s All You Need (1971)

Say Lou Lou—Julian (2013)

Hour 2:

Meet Danny Wilson—Mary’s Prayer (1988)

The DC10s—Bermuda (1980)

Charlie Roberson—Let Me Do Something For You (1984)

Bannanarama—Move In My Direction (2005)

Bannanarama—I Heard a Rumor (1987)

Dead Man Fall—Bang Your Drum (2014)

Jimmy Jules—Take It Like It Comes (1962)

I’m Dead—Page after Page (1983)

Curtis Mayfield—Superfly (1973)

Lightfall—Everytime I See You (1983)

The Cowsills—The Rain, The Park and Other Things (live from 2003—The Billy Cowsill Benefit Concert)

Nathan Angelo—September 22^nd (2006)

Roy Orbison—Oh, Pretty Woman (1964)

Alejandro Estavideo—The Ballad of the Sun and the Moon

The first airing will be on Radio Free Nashville from 10pm till Midnight Monday night 6/22.  http://www.radiofreenashville.org/

Pop goes the Rock....

     For those who are new to my blogs, welcome. For those who are wondering, "what's the deal?". I can only say it was time to change things up a bit. Over the coming days and weeks, I'll spend time talking about what led me to this new blog, but in short, I've always thought that an honest historic assessment of pop music is long overdue. While no one will mistake The Association with say, Bob Dylan, the quality of the musicianship and production of the former should at least be given serious consideration in the context of where we are today.

     As a kid growing up in the 70's, my love for Emerson, Lake, and Palmer was equaled to my devotion to early John Denver or The Carpenters. If the sales have anything to do with it, there were more than a few who shared my divided loyalties between hard rock and pop.However, most of my friends never knew of it because of my shame of being labeled as a lightweight when it came to my musical tastes.  Looking back now as a middle aged adult, it seems almost silly in which the way in which the burgeoning rock media attempted to elevate rock music (and it's stars) to a mythical status and pop music as a lesser entity. A look back at old Rolling Stone magazines reveal how pretentious many purveyors of modern rock music truly were. 

     I love a good story, and this will be the spot for many of them, along with some of the great music of our past, and present. Come along, send me your suggestions, and enjoy the ride with me.