Eternal Father

 

If you have worn the uniform, this music is sacred to you

It gives me chills every time I hear it. 

 

"Eternal Father, Strong to Save" is a hymn written by William Whiting in 1860 inspired by the dangers of the sea described in Psalm 107. This hymn is commonly associated with seafarers, particularly in the naval armed services, and is often referred to as the "Navy Hymn." This hymn also has a long tradition in civilian maritime settings and is regularly called upon by ship's chaplains and sung during services on ocean travels.

1 Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm does bind the restless wave,
Who bids the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee 
For those in peril on the sea.

2 O Savior, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walked upon the foaming deep,
And calm amid the rage did sleep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee 
For those in peril on the sea.

3 O Holy Spirit, who did brood
Upon the waters dark and rude,
And bid their angry tumult cease,
And give for wild confusion peace;
O hear us when we cry to Thee 
For those in peril on the sea.

4 O Trinity of love and pow'r,
Your children shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire, and foe,
Protect them where-so-e'er they go;
Thus, evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

There exist a myriad of alternate verses to the hymn. One, for example, was written by David B. Miller in 1965 and specially dedicated to naval submariners.  

Lord God, our power evermore,
Whose arm doth reach the ocean floor,
Dive with our men beneath the sea;
Traverse the depths protectively.
O hear us when we pray, and keep
Them safe from peril on the deep.

The Story Behind Eternal Father, Strong to Save

The original hymn was penned in 1860 by William Whiting, an Anglican churchman from Winchester, United Kingdom. Whiting grew up near the shores of England, and at the age of thirty-five had felt his life saved by God when a fierce storm nearly destroyed the ship he was traveling on, instilling a faith in God's control over the rage and calm of the sea. As headmaster of the Winchester College Choristers' School some years later, he was approached by a student about to travel to the United States, who expressed to Whiting a tremendous fear of the ocean voyage. Whiting shared his experiences of the ocean and wrote the hymn to "anchor his faith". Whiting is commonly believed to have been inspired by Psalm 107, which describes the power and danger of the seas in great detail:

"Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.  They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep.  For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away."

Psalm 107: 23–26

This hymn was popularised by the Royal Navy and the United States Navy in the late 19th century, and alterations of it were soon adopted by many branches of the armed services in the United Kingdom and the United States. Services who have adopted the hymn include the Royal Marines, Royal Air Force, the British Army, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Marine Corps, as well as many navies of the British Commonwealth. Correspondingly, it is known by many titles, periodically referred to as the Hymn of Her Majesty's Armed Forces, the Royal Navy Hymn, the United States Navy Hymn (or just The Navy Hymn), and sometimes by the last line of its first verse, "For Those in Peril on the Sea". 

Wikipedia Reference
 

There's Something Happening Here

 

 

“For What It’s Worth” is one of the most widely known protest songs of the 1960s. Recorded by Buffalo Springfield as a single, it was eventually released in 1967 on their self-titled album. It has transcended its origin story to become one of pop’s most-covered protest songs – a sort of “We Shall Overcome” of its time, its references to police, guns and paranoia remaining continually relevant even to this day. 

Buffalo Springfield was the house band for LA’s famous Whiskey A Go Go Club during the time of the LA riots, which led Stephen Stills to pen the song.

“For What It’s Worth” was penned solely by Stills in response to the Sunset Strip curfew riots in Los Angeles in 1966. It all started in the mid-1960s when hippies and young people associated with rock and roll culture would frequently gather on the famous street in West Hollywood. The commercial merchants on Sunset Boulevard decided that the element of young people on the street every night was not conducive to commercial enterprise. When bunch of kids got together on a street corner and said we aren’t moving, the local government put in place curfew and anti-loitering laws to stop people from congregating at the behest of local businesses.

 

This tension between the free-spirited culture and local government came to a head in November and December 1966 when protesters clashed with police, particularly on the night of November 12 when a local radio station announced there would be a protest over the closing of Pandora’s Box, a popular nightclub for young people. Roughly 1,000 people showed up to protest. Three busloads of Los Angeles police showed up, who looked very much like storm troopers. 

 

According to reports, a fight broke out for reasons having nothing to do with the curfew; a car carrying a group of Marines was bumped by another vehicle. Egged on by that fight, the protesters (some of whom carried placards that read “We’re Your Children! Don’t Destroy Us”) trashed a city bus and threw bottles and rocks at storefronts. 

  

The LAPD instigated a 10 p.m. curfew for anyone under 18. 

 

 

The riot was really four different things intertwined, including the war and the absurdity of what was happening on the Strip. 

 

Despite having a reputation as being an anti-war song, as it was also written during the Vietnam War, Stills said that “For What It’s Worth” was mostly written in response to the Sunset Strip riots. 

 

“It was really four different things intertwined, including the war and the absurdity of what was happening on the Strip,” Stills explained in an archived interview, according to the Los Angeles Times. “But I knew I had to skedaddle and headed back to Topanga, where I wrote my song in about 15 minutes. For me, there was no riot. It was basically a cop dance. … Riot is a ridiculous name. It was a funeral for Pandora’s Box. But it looked like a revolution.” 

  

The beginning of the song is a study in understatement. An electric guitar plays two notes, slowly repeated, with tremolo. The drums set up a quiet pulse-like beat. An acoustic guitar enters, strumming two chords, then beginning a quiet riff that is a definition of laid-back L.A. funk. (Audio clip – 80K.) Finally Steve Stills’ voice enters, in a quiet, conversational tone. (Audio clip – 64K.) 

 

[Verse 1]
There's something happening here
But what it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
A-telling me I got to beware

[Chorus]
I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

[Verse 2]
There's battle lines being drawn
And nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Are gettin' so much resistance from behind

[Chorus]
It's time we stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

[Verse 3]
What a field day for the heat 
A thousand people in the street 
Singing songs and a-carryin' signs 
Mostly say, "Hooray for our side" 

[Chorus]
It's time we stopped
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

[Verse 4]
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life, it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step out of line, the man come and take you away

[Chorus]
We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going
We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going
We better stop
Now, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going
We better stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

While watching the new today, this song from my past came to mind and has not left. Once again we have riots in LA, and beginning to start in other cities. We have battle lines being drawn between Trump supporters and Trump non-supporters; Republicans and Democrats; those who want peace and those who want to take peace. When will we learn that nobody's right if everybody's wrong?

We teach our young people to "speak their mind" but we forget to teach them to consider those around them before they speak. Our "freedom of speech" does not give us the right to trespass, steal or destroy other people's property. Our "freedom of speech" does not give us the right to bully or demean any other human.  

Nearly 50 years later, and in very different times, we still haven't learned from our mistakes of the 1960s.  

Our Natinal Anthem - As You Have Never Heard It Before

 The story of the United States of America National Arnhem, as you have never heard before.

To celebrate their victory over British forces during the War of 1812, U.S. soldiers raised a large American flag at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 14, 1814.

Poet Francis Scott Key was inspired by seeing the flag after witnessing the fort’s bombardment. He wrote a poem called "Defense of Fort M'Henry." This eventually became the Star-Spangled Banner and the United States national anthem.

Defence of Fort M'Henry

By Francis Scott Key

O! say can you see, by the dawn's early light,

    What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

    O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?

        And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

        Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there —

            O! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

            O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

    Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze o'er the towering steep,

    As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

        Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,

        In full glory reflected now shines on the stream —

            'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave

            O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

    That the havock of war and the battle's confusion

A home and a country should leave us no more?

    Their blood has wash'd out their foul foot-steps' pollution,

        No refuge could save the hireling and slave,

        From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave;

            And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

            O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand

    Between their lov'd home, and the war's desolation,

Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land

    Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!

        Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

        And this be our motto — "In God is our trust!"

            And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

            O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

 The story behind the song

 The Flag that inspired the song 

Behind the lyrics of 'The Star-Spangled Banner'

 

 

Back in My Day...

 

Instead of all the mass killings of today, when I was young we had THE STREAK!

 

Ray Stevens was inspired to write this classic song for his 11th studio album "Boogity Boogity" after reading an article while on an airplane about the then-popular craze of streaking. "The Streak" was released in March of 1974 and became an international hit, selling more than 5 million copies, which made it all the way up to #1 on the Hot 100 Billboard and #3 on Country Singles Billboard charts. Don't Look Ethel! - www.RayStevens.com

 

Streaking was a fad in the 1970s; someone would disrupt a public event by running naked through it. It started off being harmless fun with people clapping and the police exercising "catch and release" (throwing the person out of the event or after taking them to the station). But people got tired of the disruption and the police started arresting the streakers, causing a few of them to be labeled sexual offenders for the rest of their lives. That took all the fun out of it. 

From: American Heritage: https://www.americanheritage.com

That Streaking Fad

Frederic D. O'Brien  April 1999 Volume 50, issue 2

On April 2, at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, a naked man ran across the stage as David Niven was reading an introduction. Niven was shaken but recovered his customary urbanity fast enough to quip, “Just think, the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off his clothes and showing his shortcomings.” The incident marked the high point—or low, if you prefer—of a practice that vied with Pet Rocks for the coveted title of Dumbest Fad of the 1970s: streaking.

Streaking, or running naked through a public place, began on college campuses in the late fall and winter of 1973. Unsurprisingly, it was most popular at warm-weather schools. At the University of Georgia the phenomenon grew and grew until more than fifteen hundred people participated in a mass streak. Students finally had to parachute naked onto the Georgia campus to attract any attention. (Seventy miles west, in Atlanta, after a few people had streaked a city bus, the driver was asked if they were male or female. He replied, “I couldn’t tell—they were wearing masks.”) Even in the North a few hardy souls challenged the elements, including groups in Calgary, Alberta (four degrees below zero), and Anchorage, Alaska (eight below). A different sort of bravery was shown by several dozen cadets who dared to streak West Point (and reportedly escaped without punishment).

By March streaking had become a nationwide craze. Time and Newsweek jumped all over the story, grateful (like National Geographic ) for any chance to print photographs of bare-breasted women. Academics and experts contributed their opinions as well. The Christian Century called streaking “an expression of praxis. … It is Kierkegaard’s leap of faith; Tillich’s courage to be.” A more likely explanation is that too much Kierkegaard and Tillich were what had made bored college students run around naked in the first place.

In Davie, Florida, residents of a local nudist colony turned the tables by running through town with clothes on. At Columbia University a group of forty naked men invaded all-female Barnard College in an attempt to recruit volunteers but, as usual, attracted no interest from the students there. The next day’s events showed the reason for Barnard’s standoffishness: When one bold woman disrobed and mounted the campus’s statue of Alma Mater, hordes of overeager Columbia men started pinching her until she had to be removed under protection.

Dozens of pop songs were rushed out to capitalize on the fad. Most successful was “The Streak,” by Ray Stevens, which stayed on top of Billboard’s sales chart for an improbable three weeks. Stevens was best known as a novelty artist, although his previous number one hit had been a serious-minded plea for love and tolerance titled “Everything Is Beautiful.” After countless newspaper photos of overweight streakers proved the falsehood of that title, Stevens went back to comedy, and while he never had another chart topper, he did achieve some success with a 1977 remake of “In the Mood” performed by clucking chickens.

Even a beleaguered President Nixon got in on the act. When asked about the gray hairs on his temple, the President replied, “They call that streaking”—generally conceded to be his best one-liner since “I am not a crook.” Comedians and cartoonists across the nation picked up on the theme of presidential streaking, with the phrase cover-up figuring prominently in most cases. Literary scholars recalled Bob Dylan’s prescient line from “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”: “Even the President of the United States must some times have to stand naked.”

And then it was all over. A month and a half after the Academy Awards incident, Dr. Joyce Brothers explained streaking’s sudden demise by saying, “The challenge of finding new and unusual ways to streak was no longer there.” Or maybe it was just finals. Whatever the explanation, streaking vanished from America’s college campuses, to be reborn in the 1980s and 1990s in the guise of “Coed Naked” sports and “Nude Olympics.” The revival demonstrated once again the truth of Karl Marx’s famous dictum as applied to American popular culture: History repeats itself—the first time as travesty, the second as farce.

Johnny B. Goode

 

Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode (Live) (1958)

Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," released in 1958, is a legendary rock 'n' roll anthem that became one of the era's most influential songs. Telling the story of Johnny, a Louisiana country boy with dreams of fame through his guitar skills, the song captures youthful ambition and the American dream. Berry's energetic performance and signature guitar riffs made it an instant classic, influencing countless artists across genres.

 

Partly reflecting Berry's life and his pianist Johnnie Johnson, "Johnny B. Goode" combines fact and fiction, adding authenticity and inspiring aspiring musicians. The song's widespread impact is evident in its numerous covers, features in films, and inclusion in the Voyager Golden Record, representing humanity's cultural heritage.

 

Reaching number two on the Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on the pre-Hot 100 chart in 1958, "Johnny B. Goode" resonated with a broad audience. Artists like Buck Owens, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Tosh, and Judas Priest have covered the song, each adding their style to this rock staple.

 

Berry's performance of "Johnny B. Goode" during his 1986 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame highlighted its status as a rock anthem. The song's inclusion in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and its ranking in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" further underscore its significance in rock history.

 

"Johnny B. Goode" also made a memorable appearance in "Back to the Future," introducing it to new generations. Its continued chart success and certifications in various countries attest to its enduring popularity and appeal.

 

Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" transcends being a mere song to become a cultural phenomenon. Its autobiographical roots and wide-reaching influence embody the spirit of rock 'n' roll, showcasing Berry's genius and the power of music to inspire across time and space.

Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu

Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu is an upbeat, infectious rock 'n' roll hit by Johnny Rivers, released in 1972. Originally written and recorded by Huey "Piano" Smith in 1957, the song was reinterpreted by Rivers with a lively arrangement featuring groovy piano riffs and a driving rhythm. Rivers’ version keeps the playful spirit of the original, with its catchy, danceable melody and lyrics that use “rockin’ pneumonia” and “boogie woogie flu” as metaphors for an uncontrollable urge to dance. The song became a fun and energetic addition to Rivers' catalog, blending rock, blues, and boogie-woogie influences.

Johnny Rivers' version of "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" became a hit, reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972, giving the song new life 15 years after its original release by Huey "Piano" Smith.

Huey "Piano" Smith first recorded the song in 1957 as a New Orleans R&B track, which became a regional hit and a classic of the genre, but it was Rivers' cover that brought it mainstream success.

Johnny Rivers was already well-known for hits like "Secret Agent Man" and "Memphis," and his version of "Rockin' Pneumonia" further cemented his reputation as a versatile artist able to blend rock, pop, and blues.

The song was part of Rivers' "L.A. Reggae" album, which, despite its title, was more of a rock and roll record with a few reggae-inspired elements.

The boogie-woogie piano style featured in the song pays homage to the energetic, rhythm-based style that was popular in the early days of rock 'n' roll and blues, tying it back to its original roots.

"Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" remains a fun and enduring hit, thanks to its catchy beat, playful lyrics, and Johnny Rivers' lively interpretation, making it a staple of 1970s rock.

Listen to the Music

 

The Doobie Brothers performed March 16, 1973 on The Midnight Special

From 73 to my last WestPac cruse this was playing in all the "sailor" clubs in the Pacific.

The Doobie Brothers have been together for 50 years! Can you believe it? To celebrate their 50th anniversary, they are going on tour and working on a new album. 2020 was actually supposed to be their 50th-anniversary tour, but like many other artists, it was delayed due to the pandemic.

Band member Tom Johnston said, “We had everything going and it got dumped on by the pandemic, which kind of sucked. We did the virtual induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, that was pretty much it. Then it was a year of every day’s Thursday and nothing ever changes. It was pretty much a lost year.”

However, they are back at it! The Doobie Brothers are set to hit 30 cities in North America throughout 2020. On this 50th anniversary, it will be the first time in 25 years Johnston, McDonald, Simmons, and McFee will be touring on the road together. Such a reunion has been a long time coming.

Smoke on the Water

 

Whenever the conversation of the greatest guitar riffs of all time crops up, Smoke on the Water is usually the first uttered. It was voted the best ever, according from a 2008 survey of students from music schools in London.

Despite the riff's popularity, its origin is still something of an enigma. Back in 2007, Blackmore said he conceived Smoke on the Water after listening to the foreboding chimes of Beethoven’s track: “I thought [I’d] play [Beethoven’s fifth symphony] backwards, put something to it… that’s how I came up with it.”

When asked to clarify if Smoke on the Water really was just Beethoven’s fifth backwards, Blackmore explained, “It’s an interpretation of inversion. You turn it back, and play it back and forth, it’s actually Beethoven’s fifth.”

However, Blackmore's tongue-in-cheek humor is well documented, meaning the riff may have just been a classic example of “talented guitarist plays guitar and stumbles on something that sounds good”. Judging by the comments used in the latest Classic Rock, though, this looks far more likely.

In the winter of 1971, when Purple began work on the Machine Head album in Montreux, Switzerland, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore played the riff in their first jam session, and as Gillan recalled: “We didn’t make a big deal out of it. It was just another riff. We didn’t work on the arrangement – it was a jam.” 

But by the end of the recording sessions they came up short of material, and so, in Gillan’s words, “We dug out that jam and put vocals to it.” Blackmore played his Strat and was plugged into – as far as Gillan could recall – “a Vox AC30 and/or a Marshall”. Over that mighty riff, the singer told the true story of how the Montreux casino – where Purple had been scheduled to record – burned down in a fire that started during a Frank Zappa concert. And with that, a deathless rock classic was created. 

If you were a WestPac sailor anytime between 72 and 78 (my years) you heard this in every "sailor" bar you went into. And most of the hotels and restaurants. I still remember walking across the bridge over shit river (yea, that's what we called it) in Olongapo separating the town from the base and hearing Smoke on the Water. 

Just one of my remembrances of WestPac 72 - 78.

High School Memories - the Music We Listened To

 

Tommy James and the Shondells - Crimson & Clover

This brings back memories of Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox Illinois. I ran track (mile) and cross country for all 4 years. Our cross country (2-mile) practice consisted of a 5 mile run from the high school down Rt. 30 into town then down Cedar Road to Francis Road then down Schoolhouse Road back to the school. I would listen to WLS radio station on a tiny transistor radio while running. My senior year, I almost always heard Crimson & Clover on my run.  I didn't really get the words, but I really liked the guitar. 

 

You can find the meaning behind the song here.  At that time there were very few songs that held meaning to me, most of the time I just liked the rhythm, melody or the guitar. 

Edmund Fitzgerald

The legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains the most mysterious and controversial of all shipwreck tales heard around the Great Lakes. Her story is surpassed in books, film and media only by that of the Titanic. Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot inspired popular interest in this vessel with his 1976 ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'gitche gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya
At seven pm a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters

Lake Huron rolls, superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the maritime sailors' cathedral
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 'gitche gumee'
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early

Songwriters: Gordon Lightfoot

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

The Fateful Journey

SS Edmund Fitzgerald

 

On Nov. 10, 1975 the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in the big lake Gitche Gumee

Rare radio chatter between the Arthur M. Anderson and the Coast Guard November 10th, 1975. The last time anyone ever heard from the Edmund Fitzgerald...

 

This is the last interview of Capt. Bernie Cooper of the Arthur M. Anderson conducted by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society before he passed in 1993. The Anderson was 10 miles behind the Fitzgerald in the teeth of Lake Superior during that fateful night of November 10th, 1975 when all 29 men went down. Hear a first hand account of what it was like that night and Capt. Coopers theories on what may have happened to the Fitz.

 

 

Watch videographer and historian Ric Mixter give his lecture on, "The Edmund Fitzgerald Exploration." This event took place on October 6, 2017 at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library Auditorium as part of the Library's "Modern Explorers" lecture series.

 

Below is a documentary from 1989. Not to be confused with the 1983 film. Commercials are included. I don't own the content that are shown in this video. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

 

 

This was probably one of the best documentary on Big Fitz ..all theory very well explained and presented..God Bless the Crew and Family of the Edmond Fitzgerald and all sailors who have lost there lives to the seas....You are not forgotten...God Bless you all and rest your soul...

The Beach Boys

 Needs no introduction or explanation!

 

 

The Beach Boys Live in Concert 50th Anniversary

 

Do It Again (Live/2012)

 

 My favorite...I can hear music

Turn Turn Turn

Memories...I had just entered Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox, Illinois. We lived on a small farm, grew our own vegetables and raised chickens. I spent most of my time dodging work and sneaking off fishing. 

On October 1, 1965, THE BYRDS released the single TURN! TURN! TURN! (TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON.

 

Written by Pete Seeger in the late 1950s and first recorded in 1959, TURN! TURN! TURN! was built around the first eight verses of the third chapter of the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes. 

 

The song became an international hit in late 1965 when it was adapted in a folk rock arrangement by The Byrds. 

 

The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 4th 1965. "Turn! Turn! Turn!" had first been arranged by the Byrds' lead guitarist Jim McGuinn in a chamber-folk style during sessions for Judy Collins' 1963 album, Judy Collins 3.

 

The idea of reviving the song came to McGuinn during the Byrds' July 1965 tour of the American Midwest, when his future wife, Dolores, requested the tune on the Byrds' tour bus.

 

The rendering that McGuinn dutifully played came out sounding not like a folk song but more like a rock/folk hybrid, perfectly in keeping with the Byrds' status as pioneers of the folk rock genre.

 

McGuinn explained, "It was a standard folk song by that time, but I played it and it came out rock 'n' roll because that's what I was programmed to do like a computer. I couldn't do it as it was traditionally. It came out with that samba beat, and we thought it would make a good single."

 

The song reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in late January 1965.

 

Nights In White Satin by The Moody Blues

Another memory from <God, I can't believe it...> over 50 years ago <sigh> Am I REALLY THAT old? It's amazing what memories a song can bring back. I can't remember what I had for breakfast just a few hours ago, but a song from over 50 years ago can bring back a memory so vivid and clear that it could have just happened.

1969, one hell of a year...Graduated high school, scared stiff over the "draft", gained a "Love", enlisted in the Navy and had no idea of what to expect, went to a high school prom - that dress REALLY accented her bu...bre..."womanly" features, began a career that lasted almost 50 years...and lost a "love". 

Nights In White Satin by The Moody Blues, one of the few "popular" songs that made it into my "country music" era. The video above, consists of clips of Paris and the famous monuments there, and the band singing the song from a staircase to in front of what appears to be a statue and a patterned room. The video has over 63 million views since its upload in 2006.

Justin Hayward started writing the song after he was dumped by a girlfriend. Remembering a gift a different girlfriend had given him he eventually wrote a song that became a multi million-selling, era-defining classic.

First released in November 1967, Nights In White Satin was a masterpiece that bridged pop and symphonic music, with a lyric ripped directly from Hayward’s personal life – it finds him caught between ecstasy and despair, between the end of one love affair while embarking on a new one.

“There was a lot of emotion that went into the song,” Hayward affirms. “I was nineteen or twenty at the time, living in a two-room flat in Bayswater with Graeme [Edge, Moody Blues drummer] and our girlfriends. I came back from a gig one night, around four or five in the morning, when the birds were just twittering, I sat on the side of the bed and wrote a couple of verses. The only people writing in the Moodies then were [keyboard player] Mike Pinder and myself. He’d been working on a song called Dawn Is A Feeling, which I’d heard him fiddling around with, and I knew the other guys were expecting something from me at rehearsal the next day.”

Searching for some kind of metaphor for his emotional turmoil, Hayward remembered the recent gift he’d been given. “Another girlfriend, who was neither the one that had just dumped me or the one that I was then going with, had given me some white satin sheets. They just happened to be in my suitcase and I was trying them out in this place that Graeme and I lived in. They were very romantic-looking, but totally impractical.”

Shaped by producer Tony Clarke and arranger/conductor Peter Knight, Nights In White Satin became a sumptuous epic in the studio. It formed the centerpiece of the Moodies’ second album, Days Of Future Passed, a dawn-to-darkness song cycle that made full use of the Mellotron’s ability to simulate an orchestra. Topped off by a spoken-word poem, Late Lament, Hayward’s song clocked in at nearly seven and a half minutes. Nights was duly edited down as a single, although not everyone at Deram, Decca’s new subsidiary label, was convinced of its worth.

The song continues to enjoy a prolonged afterlife. South Carolina’s Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach has unveiled the Nights In White Satin: The Trip - theme park, a sensory experience based on Hayward’s tune, with on-board audio, digital effects and psychedelic imagery.

So, what's MY memory of a ROCK song invading my era of country and western music? Like it's writer, I felt as though I had been "dumped" by my then girlfriend. I remember I was in the Navy, just out of bootcamp and just entered Electronic Technician "A" school at Great lakes, Ill. On a weekend liberty I went to my girlfriend's apartment in Chicago. When I left I kinda felt as if I had just gotten dumped. On the train ride back to Great Lakes I remember hearing the song and the "low and slow" "Oh I love you oh how I love you." Kinda had me down for a while.

The down feeling didn't last long, in a few months when I graduated, I was sent to California...I learned what "I wish they all could be California girls" meant (I later married one). The Moody Blues and hometown girls were quickly forgotten. It's good that when you are young you can just "push the past aside" and start over again. When you get older, it's harder to just "push stuff aside" and start over. Our character might say "forget it - move on" but our emotions, that only strengthen over the years, say "not yet, give it one more try, maybe something can be worked out". ... It's those strengthened emotions that let us smile and shake hands with one of those things that didn't go exactly the way we wanted it to. How we handle memories adds to those qualities that define our character. 

Now when I hear Nights in White Satan, I get nostalgic and remember home - new Lenox Ill., high school, the draft, a girl. Memories remind me that life changes, instead of being sad over lost loves, things that I did wrong or things I should have done or not done, I'm happy that I had an opportunity to just live and add strength to my emotions and build the qualities distinctive to the Pogi Americano.

The Moody Blues perform "Nights in White Satin" and "Late Lament" at the 2018 Ceremony

City of New Orleans

One of my favorites is a song about a train ride from my hometown of Chicago to New Orleans.

One of the great American songs of the late twentieth century is “City of New Orleans.” The song was originally written and recorded by Steve Goodman but made famous by Arlo Guthrie. 

"City of New Orleans" is a country folk song describing in bittersweet and nostalgic terms, a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans on the Illinois Central Railroad's train called "City of New Orleans". Goodman got the idea while traveling on the Illinois Central line for a visit to his wife's family.

While at the Quiet Knight bar in Chicago, Goodman saw Arlo Guthrie, and asked to be allowed to play a song for him. Guthrie grudgingly agreed, on the condition that if Goodman bought him a beer, Guthrie would listen to him play for as long as it took to drink the beer. Goodman played "City of New Orleans", which Guthrie liked enough that he asked to record it. The song was a hit for Guthrie in 1972.

The City of New Orleans was a train that the Illinois Central Railroad began operating in April 1947. The overnight train had the longest daytime regularly scheduled route in the country for a time. The train went between New Orleans, Louisiana and (my hometown) Chicago, Illinois. In May 1971, Amtrak took over the City of New Orleans train. The company converted it to a nighttime route, renaming it the Panama Limited.

After the song “City of New Orleans” became popular in the 1970s, Amtrak, hoping to capitalize on the song’s popularity, brought back the “City of New Orleans” train name in 1981.

Riding on the City of New Orleans
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields
Passin' trains that have no names
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles

Good morning America how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done

Dealin' cards with the old men in the club car
Penny a point ain't no one keepin' score
Won't you pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor
And the sons of Pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steam
Mothers with their babes asleep
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they dream

Good morning America how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done

Nighttime on The City of New Orleans
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rolling down to the sea
And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news
The conductor sings his song again
The passengers will please refrain
This train's got the disappearing railroad blues

Good night, America, how are you?
Don't you know me I'm your native son
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done

The Eagles

They always bring the memories back from a time that as I look back on it now, I really had no "worries" My supervisor or "CO" was responsible for everything. All I had to do was keep my equipment running. ... A time wen we could "Take it to the Limit!" ... And we did.

Eagles Live 2021 "You just can't kill the beat!"

 

Colosseum: The Complete Reunion Concert 1994 - FULL

 

I went through my 20's and started my 30's with the Eagles. They were known in EVERY Liberty port on the Pacific. Every bar, restaurant and whore house played the Eagles. It's amassing, how music can make memories come flooding back.

Listening to this stuff, I remember Mombasa Kenya. We had to anchor out and take a whaleboat in...There was no "port" the boat captain just ran the boat ashore. We had heavy seas coming in so we were all soaked when we made landfall. The taxi drivers saw us coming in and lined up for us. 

After we climbed up from a rocky beach. I was with 4 other guys, we crammed into an old Toyota taxi. The driver didn't know any English so we made an "eating" motion and he shook his head yes. When he stopped, he said "steak" and pointed to the building. We thought GREAT! paid him and went in. I think it was probably water buffalo, you needed a chainsaw to cut it. Well, anyway we ate and got up to settle the bill, we sent one guy outside to flag down a taxi. Just about that time we could hear a radio playing "Hotel California." Kinda appropriate for what came next...A few minutes later our taxi hailer comes running in, said "the taxi driver knows one English word...Whorehouse... Ya want to go?" We learned later that it was a big hotel "downtown" that threw a party for the ship's company. The food was better and the beer flowed. And the Eagles was played.

"You just can't kill the beat!"

 

And where would we be without...

 

Hotel California

 

Or

 

Take It to the Limit (Live at The Forum, Los Angeles, CA, 10/20-22/1976)

 

Or

 

Lyin' Eyes (2013 Remaster)

 

 Or

 

Eagles - Desperado [Live from Melbourne] 

 

And

 

Take It Easy (2018 Remaster)

 

 

 

The Eagles Greatest Hits

 
 

 

Baker Street

What a haunting sax...they don't make music like this anymore. It's funny how you can hear a tune and it can transport you over decades to a place you barely recognize anymore.

Most people remember “Baker Street” for its wailing saxophone, and I was for many years no different. But at some point — a few years after I left the Navy — I
began to pay attention to the song’s lyrics. They go like this:

Winding your way down on Baker Street
Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well, another crazy day
You'll drink the night away
And forget about everything

This city desert makes you feel so cold
It's got so many people, but it's got no soul
And it's taken you so long
To find out you were wrong
When you thought it held everything

You used to think that it was so easy
You used to say that it was so easy
But you're trying, you're trying now

Another year and then you'd be happy
Just one more year and then you'd be happy
But you're crying, you're crying now

Way down the street there's a light in his place
He opens the door, he's got that look on his face
And he asks you where you've been
You tell him who you've seen
And you talk about anything

He's got this dream about buying some land
He's gonna give up the booze and the one-night stands
And then he'll settle down
In some quiet little town
And forget about everything

But you know he'll always keep moving
You know he's never gonna stop moving
'Cause he's rolling, he's the rolling stone
And when you wake up, it's a new morning
The sun is shining, it's a new morning
And you're going, you're going home

The first few lines could have been written to describe me. 

Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well, another crazy day
You'll drink the night away
And forget about everything

That was me, I was drinking my nights away at a tavern across the street from my apartment. I didn't have a "care in the world" because I just didn't care about anything. Just work, drink, sleep, then repeat.

I was in San Diego, where "it was happening" whatever "it" was. But I didn't see it. It wasn't happening to me nor was "it" any part of my life. 

This city desert makes you feel so cold
It's got so many people, but it's got no soul
And it's taken you so long
To find out you were wrong
When you thought it held everything

When I got out of the Navy I landed a really good job, it payed very well and I had medical benefits. I also had a nice place to live. I thought it would be easy to transition into civilian life. It wasn't. I suffered from PTSD and drank myself to sleep every night to keep from having nightmares. ... I kept telling myself it was easy, and in another year, I'll be happy.

You used to think that it was so easy
You used to say that it was so easy
But you're trying, you're trying now

Another year and then you'd be happy
Just one more year and then you'd be happy
But you're crying, you're crying now

The rest could be about my friend Chris. The "place" was Jimmy's Bar and Grill across the street from my apartment, where I spent most of my nights. Chris was the night bartender.

Way down the street there's a light in his place
He opens the door, he's got that look on his face
And he asks you where you've been
You tell him who you've seen
And you talk about anything

He's got this dream about buying some land
He's gonna give up the booze and the one-night stands
And then he'll settle down
In some quiet little town
And forget about everything

  you know he'll always keep moving

You know he's never gonna stop moving
'Cause he's rolling, he's the rolling stone
And when you wake up, it's a new morning
The sun is shining, it's a new morning
And you're going, you're going home

Happily, my life changed one night when an old friend, Walter happened by and we talked ...Well, he talked and I drank for a couple of hours. Walter made sure I got home that night and as he turned to leave he dropped my keys on my chest, shook his head and said "I knew you when you were good." His last line stuck with me. It made me to want to get better and do something with my life.

Sometimes I think back on those days, mostly when I hear a song from that era or see an old picture. It is kind of haunting, difficult to ignore and forget. Not the best time of my life, a time I wish I could forget, a time I wish never happened. I guess that's why the wailing saxophone effects me so much.