Singles Released This Week Years Ago

 

One more journey to some songs from my musical education.

1967: The Kinks

1981: Talking Heads

1998: Madonna

1970: The Temptations

1982: ABC

1966: Wilson Pickett

1980: Roxy Music

1969: Joe Cocker

1974: Bad Company

1987: Suzanne Vega

It Started 50 Years Ago Today

The legendary festival of peace and music took place in Woodstock. As a venue pasture fields of a milk farmer served in White Lake near the provincial town of Bethel in the US federal state New York, about 35 miles southwest from the name-giving and originally planned venue in Woodstock.

Before respected 400,000 visitors stars kicked of 32 bands and solo artists of the music directions folk, rock, psychedelic rock, blues and country on, under it like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and The Who. The expected numbers of spectators were excelled around more than the double. Besides, countless potential spectators got stuck in traffic rope all around the festival area. During the event catastrophic states ruled on account of bad weather and organizational mismanagement partly. In spite of these adverse circumstances "Woodstock" has become known for his peaceful mood. Numerous musicians, employees and visitors spent the festival days under the influence of drugs like LSD, mescalin, hashish and marihuana.

Although from commercial interests the organizer, tape manager and a lot of musician escorts, "Woodstock" embodies till this day the mystified of peaceful, artistic and "other" America. By contrast the split USA were during the Vietnam war, was shocked by political murders of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy and stood under the impression of the social conflicts picked out as a central theme by the counter-culture.

My older friends glorified this festival as the high times of hippies, freedom and a way of feeling common to all others. For me it is a sentimental looking back to times when people lived together in peace and freedom where problems could be dissolved. I miss these spirit in our times now.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

A few days ago I have had a look at a TV film which is based on a true story. Beginning of this millennium a man was sent on account of different certificates by the psychiatrists who had never seen him partly in a closed institution and had released only after several years on account of a law change again. A horrible story that made me ashamed to our justice. During the movie always a piano version of Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood appeared and I couldn't get the song out of my mind. So here are some versions of this great song for your pleasure.

Nina Simone - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
The Animals - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Joe Cocker - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Brian Auger and Julie Tippet - Don't Let Me Be Missunderstood
Santa Esmeralda - Don't Let Me Be Missunderstood
Elvis Costello - Don't Let Me Be Missunderstood

Sly And Robbie

In the early 80's Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, a Jamaican rhythm section, got famous. They started their career playing as session musicians in Studio One and in various local bands. Their first recognition outside of Jamaica they got for their work on bass and drum on this tiny little hit.

The Mighty Diamonds - Right Time

The late 70's / early 80's were the days where many artists discovered reggae for itself. It seemed like everyone wanted to record at Compass Point studio in Nassau. And both prepared the floor for some good records and their production decisively stamped the reggae rhythms of these days. It is impossible to name all the collaborations they did at this place so I just selected some songs that are big over 35 years ago.

Serge Gainsbourg - Lola Rastaquouere
Joe Cocker - Look What You've Done
Ian Dury - Red letter
Grace Jones - Warm Leatherette
Bob Dylan - Jokerman
Material - Playing With Fire

Joe Cocker 1944 - 2014

While I was writing the post about Udo Jürgens the breaking news arrived that Joe Cocker died last night. When I have read this I was stunned at first and shaken. I remember ver well that 40 years ago I was in the flat of an older friend of mine checking out his records and found Joe's first record. I put the vinyl on the record player and what I heard hit me like a titan wave. Never listened to a voice like this. So broken, true and mighty. After I listened to the whole record I played it once more and finally grabbed my whole mney to buy this. This voice that sounds like he gargled with glass shards led me into Soul Music - first of all into Ray Charles to explore the whole sound of the black America in these decade. His story is well known : after success he turned into drugs and alcohol and was a wreck. Down and out. On his way back to an 'ordinary' life he spent some time in Jamaika, where he recorded together with Sly and Robbie on drum and bass one of the best white reggae songs in these times. For me a hero's gone and I miss him.

R.I.P. Joe and sing for the angels now.

Bye bye blackbird (with the young Jimmy Page on guitar):

 

He always interpreted songs from other artists in his very own way, like Randy Newman's Guilty

 

or Nillson's 'Don't forget me'

 

This one's are from his record 'Sheffied Steele'

 

Inflammable Material - First Records That Impressed Me Much # 4

In the early 70s I have worked in my school holidays in a factory to have at disposal a little money. It was a heavy job, because I had to work with a colleague on a press to produce India rubber products which the society has made as automotive supplier for the automobile industry. We have stood every day at 6 o'clock in the morning to the pressing and have worked a high chord. After half an hour were completely sweaty and have lost a lot of body liquid. But I got a very good money and most of it I spent driving through Europe by trail. But I also spent a bit of this money on buying records. One of them I bought at this time was the first record by Joe Cocker. Since the first time I listened to his songs I got shiver on my skin. There was an a working man from Sheffield who sung after work in a band. His voice was very rough and you could her in it the pints and the whiskey he drunk. But  it wasn't only his voice - he sung the soul out of himself. Sometimes you could hear him being happy about his love - but most of the times he sung about a love that wasted. I could feel the emotions that he shouted out in his songs. And everyone understood what distress he went through.

I remember the time very well when the boyfriend of my best mate's sister introduced me to the music of Joe Cocker. I were in this time as young boy into glam rock like T.Rex, Slade, The Sweet, Mud and all this stuff. Then I listened to this guy who grabbed out maybe the best songs of this decade to interpret in the way he was able to. Joe Cocker was the one who thought me listen to originals of real black music like Ray Charles and the other singers which got soul in their voices. This album might be his masterpiece (if we let go in front once the records outside which he has taken up in the time when it was a wreck in Jamaica). And with a little help from his friends meant that some of the best musicians at this time played on his first record: Jimmy Page, Albert Lee, Chris Stainton, Steve Winwood and on vocal Madeline Bell. I love this record because he had a superb choice of songs that fits to him and his way to sing them.

If you want you can get more of his career on Wiki. I don't agree in most of the songs he did the last 20 years. Some of them are superb, others don't need to be named. But for me he was an artist that lead me into another kind of musical genres. I wouldn't say that he was the one that guided me into soul but he was one of the few that grabbed MY soul while listening to his songs (the other one was Rod Steward - but this will be another story told throughout this series). Someone might name my choice as BOF-music but I stick to Mr. Cocker. He had more downs than ups in his career and I'm glad that he can earn the success to him is entitled. I get sentimental right now while I listen to his songs - so let's finish for today and maybe you can enjoy some of the song I present to you right now. It's one of the few record that accompanied me for long decades and I will never get tired to listening to. What I also love with Joe Cocker, he is which essential questions he throws in the round. For example the simple question: Do I still figure in your live  If I still mean to you something in your life.

So let's raise our glasses to one of the best white singers throughout the last 40 years (knowing that he's got rid of this drug).

Stand the rest of the working week mates - Weekend is soon ahead.

Joe Cocker - Bird On A Wire
Joe Cocker - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Joe Cocker - I Shall Be Released
Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends
Joe Cocker - Bye Bye Blackbird

And that's what my beloved comedian John Belushi did when he covered Joe Cocker: