Former stadium in San Francisco, California
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41 episodes with Candlestick Park
6 episodes with Candlestick Park
6 episodes with Candlestick Park
4 episodes with Candlestick Park
2 episodes with Candlestick Park
2 episodes with Candlestick Park
2 episodes with Candlestick Park
2 episodes with Candlestick Park
3 episodes with Candlestick Park
July 14, 1916 - Ernie Koob of the St. Louis Browns went the distance in a 17-inning 0-0 tie with the Boston Red Sox. Carl Mays went the first fifteen innings for the Red Sox and Dutch Leonard finished.1956 - Mel Parnell of the Boston Red Sox pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox for a 4-0 victory at Fenway Park. This would be the first no hitter for the Sox since 1923 when Howard Ehmke would blank the Philadelphia A's.1967 - Eddie Mathews of the Astros hit his 500th home run off San Francisco's Juan Marichal at Candlestick Park. Houston beat the Giants 8-6. Matthews would become only the 7th member of the 500 Club.Hammerin' Hank Aaron collected his 500th home run off Mike McCormick on July 14th 1968 as the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2. As Curt Simmons would say "Trying to throw a fastball past Hank Aaron is like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster".On July 14th 1970 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds scored on Jim Hickman's 12th-inning single after bowling over Cleveland's Ray Fosse at home plate to give the National League a 5-4 victory over the American League at Riverfront Stadium. The collision is often blamed for Fosse's shortened career, but the following year Fosse was again an All Star Catcher and also won a Gold Glove.Mentioned in this episode:Classic Baseball BroadcastsClassic Baseball Broadcasts
On July 11, 1985, Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros becomes the first pitcher in history to record 4,000 strikeouts. Ryan notches the milestone dismissing New York Mets outfielder Danny Heep with 3 pitches in the sixth inning.On July 11, 1968, the Baltimore Orioles name future Hall of Famer Earl Weaver their manager. Weaver, a lifetime minor league player had been serving as the team's first base coach, and replaced the fired Hank Bauer. Under Weaver's managerial philosophy of ""Double-plays and the Three Run Homer" the 1970 Orioles would be World Champions. In addition to the 1970 World Series, Weaver's Orioles would win 100 plus games 5 times, four pennants, and six division titles.On July 11, 1914, "The Babe", George Herman Ruth makes his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox. Striking out in his first at-bat, Ruth would have to settle for a no-decision as the starting pitcher, after getting pulled for a pinch-hitter in the seventh. The Red Sox would win the game 4-3.On July 11, 1950, network television broadcasts an All-Star Game for the first time in history. In the first-ever extra-inning All-Star Game, the NL defeats the AL, 4-3. St. Louis Cardinals star Red Schoendienst wins the game with a home run in the 14th inning against Ted Gray.On July 11, 1961, San Francisco Giants pitcher Stu Miller is literally blown off the mound during the All-Star Game at Candlestick Park. In the ninth inning, high winds cause the 165-pound Miller to lose his balance. Umpires call a balk, allowing the tying run to score. The National League eventually wins, 5-4, in 10 innings.On July 11, 1967, Tony Perez of the Cincinnati Reds hits a 15th inning home run against Jim "Catfish" Hunter of the Kansas City A's. Perez' dramatic blast gives the National League a 2-1 victory ending the longest game in All Star history. The 2008 15 inning All Star game would tie that recordHistorical Recap performed by:Robyn Newton from - Robyn SaysTrivia is provided by -Horseshide TriviaThis Day In Baseball is Sponsored by - www.vintagebaseballreflections.com - Join the membership today and listen to 50 years of baseball history told to you by the folks who were there! As a special offer, all our listeners can use the term - thisdayinbaseball at the membership check out. Mentioned in this episode:Classic Baseball BroadcastsClassic Baseball Broadcasts
After a long unexpected hiatus, SnapSessions! presents Episode 60, featuring an interview with Grammy-nominated guitarist Alex de Grassi and a SnapSessions! tribute to San Francisco Giants star centerfielder, Willie Mays—"the Say Hey Kid”, just maybe the greatest baseball player of all time. Alex de Grassi has been a guitarist since his early teens, growing up in a musical family in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s and 60s. Dropping the trumpet for the guitar after being exposed to the Beatles, the Stones and Mississippi John Hurt, de Grassi attended UC Berkeley in the early/middle 70s and took a lot of music theory along with his Economic Geography major. This led to classical guitar as well as ongoing labors as a street musician from Berkeley and SF to London, and then finally a connection with Windham Hill records and to his first album, Slow Circle, which came out in 1979. Since then, Alex has released a total of 16 albums dabbling in a variety of styles from Southern soul to Bolivian folk music to classical lullabies to the Woody the Woodpecker theme. In 1998 he was nominated for a Grammy for his album Water Garden. In addition, we talk to Alex about working with neuroscientist Daniel Levitin on his “Your Brain on Music” series, musing on the possible existence of a music gene. There's also an appreciative nod to some recent work he's done with the Real Sarahs. And we find out just how many guitars Alex de Grassi actually owns. SnapSessions! also pays tribute to the NY & SF Giants' great center fielder Willie Mays who died at the end of last summer. We cover Mays' great career, his extraordinary feats as an outfielder and hitter, and offer Doug's personal experiences of seeing Willie play both in Seals Stadium and at Candlestick Park. In addition, we've uncovered some outstanding recorded highlights as well as a musical gem saluting Willie Mays from the 1950s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The strongest man in the world 50 years ago was Vasily Alekseyev of the Soviet Union and there he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated on April 14th, 1975. The question is… was he a nice guy? Apparently the answer was no. Because also in that issue was the 2nd part of a 4 part series from the book, “Nice Guys Finish Last,” from former player and Hall of Fame manager, Leo Durocher. The “Lip” was a heckuva ballplayer, spanning 20 years with the Yankees, Reds, Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1925-1945. A 3-time All-Star, and 4-time World Series champion, Durocher ended his playing days as a player/manager in Brooklyn and would go on to retire as the 5th winningest skipper in MLB history. Starting in 1939 with the Dodgers and then spending 8 more years with the Nw York Giants from 1948-1955, Durocher won his only World Series as a manager when Willie Mays and the Giants swept the Cleveland Indians in 1954. The next year was his last in New York and he wouldn't manage again until the Cubs hired him in 1966. Chicago was 59-103 in his first season guiding the team but didn't have a losing season in the remainder of his 5+ seasons at the helm. He would finish his Hall of Fame managerial career in Houston with another winning season in 1973. On that '73 teams was a young lefty who started 40 games for the Astros, completing 12 of them and amassing 279 innings pitched. Jerry Reuss was just 23 years old when he played for Durocher and the two had an adventurous time together with Durocher riding his young stud as often as he could, and Reuss often questioning the tactics of the veteran manager. It was a memorable season in Houston for the southpaw who would go on to win 220 games in his 22 years in the bigs. Reuss tells us how he pranked Dave Parker when he and The Cobra met up with Muhammad Ali in an elevator while playing for the Pirates. He takes us to Candlestick Park on a warm June night in 1980 when he no-hit the Giants, and he recounts the time Ron Cey was beaned in the head by a Goose Gossage fastball in the '81 world Series. But more than anything we talk to Reuss about what was it like for a kid born in 1950 to play for a manager who had been managing in the majors for 23 years by the time their paths crossed in the Lone Star state. It was a bumpy ride to say the least. Reuss tells us that much of it was his fault and that he and Durocher didn't see eye-to-eye most of the time. He goes on to tell us that years later they met up in the office of another Dodgers manager, Tommy Lasorda, and both admitted they could have handled things differently. Reuss and The Lip patched things up and shortly thereafter, Durocher passed away. One of the greatest managers in baseball history was a mercurial and difficult man who never finished last in his 24 years as a manager. Was it because he was a Hall of Fame manager or because only Nice Guys Finish Last? In Durocher's case… probably a little of both. Listen, download, subscribe and review the Past Our Prime podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On his mom's side, Woody LaBounty's San Francisco roots go back to 1850. In Part 1, get to know Woody, who, today, is the president and CEO of SF Heritage. But he's so, so much more than that. He begins by tracing his lineage back to the early days of the Gold Rush. His maternal great-great-great-grandfather arrived here mid-Nineteenth Century. Woody even knows what ship he was on and the exact day that it arrived in the recently christened city of San Francisco. On Woody's dad's side, the roots are about 100 years younger than that. His father grew up in Fort Worth, Texas (like I did). His dad's mom was single and fell on hard times in Texas. She came to San Francisco, where she had a step-brother. Woody's parents met at the Donut Bowl at 10th Avenue and Geary Boulevard (where Boudin Bakery is today). Donut Bowl was a combination donut shop/hot dog joint. At the time the two met, his dad worked as a cook there and his mom was in high school. His mom and her friends went to nearby Washington High and would hang out at the donut shop after school. The next year or so, his parents had their first kid—Woody. They came from different sides of the track, as it were. Woody's mom's family wasn't crazy about her dating his working-class dad, who didn't finish high school. But once his mom became pregnant with Woody, everything changed. The couple had two more sons after Woody. One of his brothers played for the 49ers in the Nineties and lives in Oregon today. His other brother works with underserved high school kids in New Jersey, helping them get into college. Woody shares some impressions of his first 10 years or so of life by describing The City in the mid-Seventies. Yes, kids played in the streets and rode Muni to Candlestick Park and The Tenderloin to go bowling. It was also the era of Patty Hearst and the SLA, Jonestown, and the Moscone/Milk murders. But for 10-year-old Woody, it was home. It felt safe, like a village. Because I'm a dork, I ask Woody to share his memories of when Star Wars came out. Obliging me, he goes on a sidebar about how the cinematic phenomenon came into his world in San Francisco. He did, in fact, see Star Wars in its first run at the Coronet. He attended Sacred Heart on Cathedral Hill when it was an all-boys high school. He grew up Catholic, although you didn't have to be to go to one of SF's three Catholic boys' high schools. Woody describes, in broad terms, the types of families that sent their boys to the three schools. Sacred Heart was generally for kids of working-class folks. After school, if they didn't take Muni back home to the Richmond District, Woody and his friends might head over to Fisherman's Wharf to play early era video games. Or, most likely, they'd head over to any number of high schools to talk to girls. Because parental supervision was lacking, let's say, Woody and his buddies also frequently went to several 18+ and 21+ spots. The I-Beam in the Haight, The Triangle in the Marina, The Pierce Street Annex, Enrico's in North Beach, Mabuhay Gardens. There, he saw bands like The Tubes and The Dead Kennedy's, although punk wasn't really his thing. Woody was more into jazz, RnB, and late-disco. We chat a little about café culture in San Francisco, something that didn't really exist until the Eighties. To this day, Woody still spends his Friday mornings at Simple Pleasures Cafe. And we end Part 1 with Woody's brief time at UC Berkeley (one year) and the real reason he even bothered to try college. Check back next week for Part 2 with Woody LaBounty. And this Thursday, look for a bonus episode all about We Players and their upcoming production of Macbeth at Fort Point. We recorded this episode in Mountain Lake Park in March 2025. Photography by Jeff Hunt
Michele Tafoya, who was the sideline reporter for NBC Sunday Night Football from 2011-22 and worked five Super Bowls and multiple Olympics for NBC, including the poolside reporter role during Michael Phelps's last Olympics at Rio in '16, joins Says Who Sports to discuss a variety of topics, including the upcoming Super Bowl, the intensity of an NFL sideline and the necessity of being able to adjust on-the-fly to ever-changing storylines during a game and relay key information at a moment's notice to viewers during a television broadcast.Tafoya, who grew up in Southern California in a family of San Francisco 49ers fans (her parents were from the Bay Area), recalls the excitement of trips to old Candlestick Park to watch the Joe Montana-era Niners play, and the thrill of meeting Montana for the first time early in her career. Tafoya talks the importance of preparation, keys to improvement (including willingness to accept criticism) and the work ethic needed to succeed for decades at the highest level.She shares the excitement of covering Phelps, Katie Ledecky and company at the Rio 2016 Games, including the added joy of being able to share it with her family, who accompanied her on the trip. Tafoya, who left NBC Sports in '22 to become host of The Michele Tafoya Podcast, shares the reasons behind her move, discusses her concern for the slide of sports media coverage into activism and identity politics, and shares her perspectives on keeping our minds right to overcome life's challenges.
Guest: Larry Baer, CEO of the San Francisco GiantsIn 1992, Larry Baer was part of the ownership group that bought the San Francisco Giants and successfully prevented the team from being moved to Tampa, Florida. Back then, they had a big problem to solve: An old, uncomfortable ballpark that voters wanted to see replaced, but didn't want to pay for.20 years after the construction and financial success of Candlestick Park's replacement, Oracle Park, Baer — now the CEO of the Giants — embarked on an even bigger project, developing an entire neighborhood near Oracle called Mission Rock. “We're in the baseball business, but really, we're in the media, entertainment, sports, real estate business,” he says. Chapters:(01:05) - Growing up a fan (04:37) - Larry's dad (07:28) - Stopping the move (13:28) - The Giants in 1992 (15:18) - “What am I doing here?” (19:31) - Hiring with urgency (23:34) - Last out to first pitch (27:45) - Buster Posey (30:13) - The Candlestick problem (36:36) - Making a new stadium (43:00) - Always hungry (45:01) - Becoming CEO (49:52) - Homegrown talent (52:55) - The Mission Rock neighborhood (57:27) - Revitalizing San Francisco (01:03:20) - “It all starts here” (01:07:20) - What Oracle Park means (01:09:52) - What “grit” means to Larry Mentioned in this episode: Barry Bonds, Candlestick Park, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Josh Harris, Larry and Bob Tisch, CBS, Peter Magowan and Safeway, Charles Schwab, Don Fisher, Bill Hewlett, Arthur Rock, Charles Johnson, Harmon Burns, Bank of America, Walter Shorenstein, Dianne Feinstein, Bob Lurie, Bobby Bonds, Dennis Gilbert, Roger Craig, Al Rosen, Dusty Baker, Bob Quinn, Brian Sabean, George Steinbrenner, Bob Lillis, Matt Williams, Greg Johnson, the 1994 baseball strike, Chase Manhattan Bank, Warren Hellman, Jimmy Lee, Pacific Bell, Coca-Cola Company, J.T. Snow, Jeff Kent, Bill Neukom, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Sergio Romo, Hunter Pence, Marco Scutaro, Joseph Lacob and the Golden State Warriors, Tishman Speyer, Al Kelly, Ryan McInerney, Visa, Che Fico, Arsicault, Trick Dog and Josh Harris, the Chase Center, Sam Altman and Open AI, Anthropic, Daniel Lurie, Salesforce and Dreamforce, Imagine Dragons, Pink, the Moscone Center, and Billy Crystal. Links:Connect with LarryLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm
Tonight's guest is Jared, who comes to us from the state of California. He will be sharing two major encounters and a myriad of minor strange experiences. The most profound experience he had was a sighting of a UFO that transformed from one giant triangle into 9 orbs in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1992.More information on this episode on the podcast website:https://ufochroniclespodcast.com/ep-304-candlestick-park/Want to share your encounter on the show?Email: UFOChronicles@gmail.comOr Fill out Guest Form:https://forms.gle/uGQ8PTVRkcjy4nxS7Podcast Merchandise:https://www.teepublic.com/user/ufo-chronicles-podcastHelp Support UFO CHRONICLES by becoming a Patron:https://patreon.com/UFOChroniclespodcastX: https://x.com/UFOchronpodcast/All Links for Podcast:https://linktr.ee/UFOChroniclesPodcastThank you for listening!Like share and subscribe it really helps me when people share the show on social media, it means we can reach more people and more witnesses and without your amazing support, it wouldn't be possible.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ufo-chronicles-podcast--3395068/support.
Tonight's guest is Jared, who comes to us from the state of California. He will be sharing two major encounters and a myriad of minor strange experiences. The most profound experience he had was a sighting of a UFO that transformed from one giant triangle into 9 orbs in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1992.More information on this episode on the podcast website:https://ufochroniclespodcast.com/ep-304-candlestick-park/Want to share your encounter on the show?Email: UFOChronicles@gmail.comOr Fill out Guest Form:https://forms.gle/uGQ8PTVRkcjy4nxS7Podcast Merchandise:https://www.teepublic.com/user/ufo-chronicles-podcastHelp Support UFO CHRONICLES by becoming a Patron:https://patreon.com/UFOChroniclespodcastX: https://x.com/UFOchronpodcast/All Links for Podcast:https://linktr.ee/UFOChroniclesPodcastThank you for listening!Like share and subscribe it really helps me when people share the show on social media, it means we can reach more people and more witnesses and without your amazing support, it wouldn't be possible.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ufo-chronicles-podcast--3395068/support.
Hall of Fame linebacker Patrick Willis joined The Roast to talk about getting his Hall of Fame ring, his memories at Candlestick Park and what he likes most about Fred Warner.
September 30, 1972 Roberto Clemente doubles off the Mets' Jon Matlack to become the eleventh major leaguer to collect 3000 hits. On hand for the event was Clemente's hero, Willie Mays, now a New York Met, who called Clemente "The Greatest". Sealing the mutual admiration Clemente was quoted saying ""Willie Mays is the greatest player I've ever seen. I never saw Joe DiMaggio play, but if Joe DiMaggio was better than Willie Mays, he belongs in heaven." Sadly, the Pirate right fielder's 3000th hit would be his last, as he would die on New Year's Eve in a plane crash while attempting to bring relief aid to earthquake-stricken Managua, Nicaragua.September 30, 1945 Hank Greenberg hits a pennant-winning grand slam on the final day of the season. The Tiger left fielder's ninth-inning 4 run bomb beats the Browns 6 - 3 clinching the American League flag for Detroit over the second-place Senators.September 30, 1962 Willie Mays' 47th home run, an 8th-inning blast off Dick Farrell, leads the Giants to a critical 2 - 1 win. They would all stay in the clubhouse after the win to hear the results of the Dodger game. The season would end in a tie which required a three game playoff to settle the pennant in the Giants favor.September 30, 1999 The largest regular-season crowd in Candlestick Park history, 61,389 fans, watch the Dodgers beat the home team 9 - 4 in the last baseball game to ever be played at the 'Point'. Giant greats help mark the occasion with Juan Marichal tossing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game and Willie Mays throwing out the ballpark's final pitch after the game.
September 30, 1972 Roberto Clemente doubles off the Mets' Jon Matlack to become the eleventh major leaguer to collect 3000 hits. On hand for the event was Clemente's hero, Willie Mays, now a New York Met, who called Clemente "The Greatest". Sealing the mutual admiration Clemente was quoted saying ""Willie Mays is the greatest player I've ever seen. I never saw Joe DiMaggio play, but if Joe DiMaggio was better than Willie Mays, he belongs in heaven." Sadly, the Pirate right fielder's 3000th hit would be his last, as he would die on New Year's Eve in a plane crash while attempting to bring relief aid to earthquake-stricken Managua, Nicaragua.September 30, 1945 Hank Greenberg hits a pennant-winning grand slam on the final day of the season. The Tiger left fielder's ninth-inning 4 run bomb beats the Browns 6 - 3 clinching the American League flag for Detroit over the second-place Senators.September 30, 1962 Willie Mays' 47th home run, an 8th-inning blast off Dick Farrell, leads the Giants to a critical 2 - 1 win. They would all stay in the clubhouse after the win to hear the results of the Dodger game. The season would end in a tie which required a three game playoff to settle the pennant in the Giants favor.September 30, 1999 The largest regular-season crowd in Candlestick Park history, 61,389 fans, watch the Dodgers beat the home team 9 - 4 in the last baseball game to ever be played at the 'Point'. Giant greats help mark the occasion with Juan Marichal tossing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game and Willie Mays throwing out the ballpark's final pitch after the game.
Solario is a life-long Giants fan originally from the San Francisco area, who now calls Honolulu, Hawaii home. He shares stories of growing up attending games at Candlestick Park, where freezing summer winds couldn't keep him away from his beloved Giants. Now, a professional illustrator, Solario talks about how his love for baseball logos and uniforms played a big part in shaping his passion for design.We also dive into his experiences with international baseball. He's never missed a World Baseball Classic and is a huge fan of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), having visited almost every stadium in Japan. We chat about what makes international baseball so special, from the energetic fan culture to the unique atmosphere in the stands.Solario also shares his involvement in vintage baseball leagues while living in San Francisco, playing by 1800s rules in full vintage gear, and how he's working on starting a similar league in Hawaii. Find Solario Online: Instagram: @solario.art.waikikiFind Baseball Bucket List Online:Twitter: @BaseballBucketFacebook: @BaseballBucketListInstagram: @Baseball.Bucket.ListWebsite: baseballbucketlist.comThis podcast is part of the Curved Brim Media Network:Twitter: @CurvedBrimWebsite: curvedbrimmedia.com------Learn more about JapanBall's tour offerings at japanball.com
Major League Baseball, like America, is at its best when it's diverse and reflective of the countries that play the game. So this week, 59 years after the anniversary of Masahiro Murakami Day at Candlestick Park, Mike and Bill, along with special guest and Murakami biographer Rob Fitts (robfitts.com), remember the first player of Japanese descent to play in the Big Leagues. Mashi's career took him from Japan to Phoenix to Fresno and San Francisco before finally returning to Japan in 1966. Along the way they discuss how the 20 year old came to be a Giant, why he was exactly what the club and San Francisco needed in 1964 and 1965, why he went back to his homeland, and why it took 30 years for another Japanese player to play in the Majors.
Shannon Paulk ////// 780Part 1 of 1 www.TrueCrimeGarage.com One week before the start of the school year a little girl was taken from her Candlestick Park neighborhood. The entire city of Prattville, Alabama was looking for this little girl. Eleven year old Shannon Paulk was missing for about two months when rabbit hunters found her remains in a remote hunting area. This is the crime that forever changed Prattville. The murderer is still out there, hiding from the men and women of the law that are yet to get justice for this little angel. Anyone with any information at all is urged to call Prattville CSI Sergeant Tom Allen at 334-595-0256. Beer of the Week - Goatopia Juicy IPA by Goat Island Brewing CompanyGarage Grade - 3 and 3 quarter bottle caps out of 5 Check out the True Crime Garage sale happening on our website's store page - www.TrueCrimeGarage.com While there join in the discussion on our blog. More True Crime Garage can be found on Patreon and Apple subscriptions with our show - Off The Record. Catch dozens of episodes of Off The Record plus a couple of Bonus episodes and our first 50 shows, when you sign up today. Follow the show on X and Insta @TrueCrimeGarage / Follow Nic on X @TCGNIC / Follow The Captain on X @TCGCaptain Thanks for listening and thanks for telling a friend. Be good, be kind, and don't litter!
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park with 40 highlights from The Rated Rabbi Sports Cards Podcast. #sportscards #baseballcards #vintagebaseballcards #nostalgia #80s
Baseball has lost one of its most legendary figures with the passing of Willie Mays. Our Chris Dimino was lucky enough to have spoken with Willie about his career and the game of baseball a few years ago. This is a must listen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan continue their breakdown of the 49ers' schedule, share their win-loss projections for the team next season and why the win column might look different compared to last season. Then, Matt and Jennifer recap the Dwight Clark Legacy Series event and share an exclusive segment including Brock Purdy and some former 49ers greats.(1:26) How tough is the 49ers' schedule? (7:30) Projecting the 49ers' 2024 win-loss record(16:36) When will Greenlaw be ready? (25:43) Recapping the Dwight Clark Legacy Series event(24:30) Purdy, Smith, Garcia and Young on their playoff comebacks (49:01) Memories of Candlestick Park (54:09) Analyzing Purdy's unique skill See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Originally aired April 2020. Melissa Jacobs (The Football Girl/The Guardian/BBC) regales host Thomas Emerick with the scene at Candlestick Park as Alex Smith and Drew Brees go blow-for-blow in one of the most incredible finishes in NFL playoff history — 28 points in the final 4 minutes. Though this one was especially shocking because, frankly, people didn't know Smith had it in'em. See the betting market, where a 13-3 team coming off a bye gets more than a FG at home. It's January 2012, Saints at Niners. I'm your host Thomas Emerick and my guest is Melissa Jacobs, founder and managing editor of The Football Girl and a Niners fan at Candlestick that fateful day. This is Remember That Game, the podcast about sporting events that take you on a journey and chart the path of the zeitgeist. I'm your host Thomas Emerick, enjoy the show. Follow Remember That Game for the full archive: Apple Spotify YouTube "Remember That Game" in search wherever you get your podcasts More from the Saints-Niners 2011 divisional: Pro Football Reference gamebook: San Francisco 49ers 36, New Orleans Saints 32 Game highlights: Alex Smith to Vernon Davis for what some would call The Catch III, The Grab, Post to Davis, or whatever you think sticks Full game: Michael Crabtree finds the end zone, while Drew Brees finds Marques Colston, Jimmy Graham, and Darren Sproles each for six HOST RotoViz Contributor Thomas Emerick (@ThomasEmerick) Guest The Football Girl founder and managing editor Melissa Jacobs (@thefootballgirl) SHOW NOTES BetterHelp - This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ROTOVIZ and get on your way to being your best self. Underdog Fantasy – Get a 100% deposit match on your first deposit up to $100 when you sign up at Underdogfantasy.com using this link or the promo code ROTOVIZ. Listeners of RotoViz Radio can save 10% on a one-year RotoViz subscription by visiting RotoViz.com/podcast or by using the promotional code "rvradio2024" at the time of purchase. Gametime - Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code ROTOVIZ for $20 off your first purchase. RotoViz Radio provides the power for Remember That Game: Subscribe to the RotoViz Radio on YouTube Follow and direct message: @ThomasEmerick Email: emericktc@gmail.com Subscribe: Remember That Game on YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
For those who haven't heard the announcement I just posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a multi-episode look at the Byrds in 1966-69 and the birth of country rock. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode, on "With a Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Resources No Mixcloud at this time as there are too many Byrds songs in the first chunk, but I will try to put together a multi-part Mixcloud when all the episodes for this song are up. My main source for the Byrds is Timeless Flight Revisited by Johnny Rogan, I also used Chris Hillman's autobiography, the 331/3 books on The Notorious Byrd Brothers and The Gilded Palace of Sin, I used Barney Hoskyns' Hotel California and John Einarson's Desperadoes as general background on Californian country-rock, Calling Me Hone, Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock by Bob Kealing for information on Parsons, and Requiem For The Timeless Vol 2 by Johnny Rogan for information about the post-Byrds careers of many members. Information on Gary Usher comes from The California Sound by Stephen McParland. And this three-CD set is a reasonable way of getting most of the Byrds' important recordings. The International Submarine Band's only album can be bought from Bandcamp. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Before we begin, a brief warning – this episode contains brief mentions of suicide, alcoholism, abortion, and heroin addiction, and a brief excerpt of chanting of a Nazi slogan. If you find those subjects upsetting, you may want to read the transcript rather than listen. As we heard in the last part, in October 1967 Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman fired David Crosby from the Byrds. It was only many years later, in a conversation with the group's ex-manager Jim Dickson, that Crosby realised that they didn't actually have a legal right to fire him -- the Byrds had no partnership agreement, and according to Dickson given that the original group had been Crosby, McGuinn, and Gene Clark, it would have been possible for Crosby and McGuinn to fire Hillman, but not for McGuinn and Hillman to fire Crosby. But Crosby was unaware of this at the time, and accepted a pay-off, with which he bought a boat and sailed to Florida, where saw a Canadian singer-songwriter performing live: [Excerpt: Joni Mitchell, "Both Sides Now (live Ann Arbor, MI, 27/10/67)"] We'll find out what happened when David Crosby brought Joni Mitchell back to California in a future story... With Crosby gone, the group had a major problem. They were known for two things -- their jangly twelve-string guitar and their soaring harmonies. They still had the twelve-string, even in their new slimmed-down trio format, but they only had two of their four vocalists -- and while McGuinn had sung lead on most of their hits, the sound of the Byrds' harmony had been defined by Crosby on the high harmonies and Gene Clark's baritone. There was an obvious solution available, of course, and they took it. Gene Clark had quit the Byrds in large part because of his conflicts with David Crosby, and had remained friendly with the others. Clark's solo album had featured Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke, and had been produced by Gary Usher who was now producing the Byrds' records, and it had been a flop and he was at a loose end. After recording the Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers album, Clark had started work with Curt Boettcher, a singer-songwriter-producer who had produced hits for Tommy Roe and the Association, and who was currently working with Gary Usher. Boettcher produced two tracks for Clark, but they went unreleased: [Excerpt: Gene Clark, "Only Colombe"] That had been intended as the start of sessions for an album, but Clark had been dropped by Columbia rather than getting to record a second album. He had put together a touring band with guitarist Clarence White, bass player John York, and session drummer "Fast" Eddie Hoh, but hadn't played many gigs, and while he'd been demoing songs for a possible second solo album he didn't have a record deal to use them on. Chisa Records, a label co-owned by Larry Spector, Peter Fonda, and Hugh Masekela, had put out some promo copies of one track, "Yesterday, Am I Right", but hadn't released it properly: [Excerpt: Gene Clark, "Yesterday, Am I Right"] Clark, like the Byrds, had left Dickson and Tickner's management organisation and signed with Larry Spector, and Spector was wanting to make the most of his artists -- and things were very different for the Byrds now. Clark had had three main problems with being in the Byrds -- ego clashes with David Crosby, the stresses of being a pop star with a screaming teenage fanbase, and his fear of flying. Clark had really wanted to have the same kind of role in the Byrds that Brian Wilson had with the Beach Boys -- appear on the records, write songs, do TV appearances, maybe play local club gigs, but not go on tour playing to screaming fans. But now David Crosby was out of the group and there were no screaming fans any more -- the Byrds weren't having the kind of pop hits they'd had a few years earlier and were now playing to the hippie audience. Clark promised that with everything else being different, he could cope with the idea of flying -- if necessary he'd just take tranquilisers or get so drunk he passed out. So Gene Clark rejoined the Byrds. According to some sources he sang on their next single, "Goin' Back," though I don't hear his voice in the mix: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Goin' Back"] According to McGuinn, Clark was also an uncredited co-writer on one song on the album they were recording, "Get to You". But before sessions had gone very far, the group went on tour. They appeared on the Smothers Brothers TV show, miming their new single and "Mr. Spaceman", and Clark seemed in good spirits, but on the tour of the Midwest that followed, according to their road manager of the time, Clark was terrified, singing flat and playing badly, and his guitar and vocal mic were left out of the mix. And then it came time to get on a plane, and Clark's old fears came back, and he refused to fly from Minneapolis to New York with the rest of the group, instead getting a train back to LA. And that was the end of Clark's second stint in the Byrds. For the moment, the Byrds decided they were going to continue as a trio on stage and a duo in the studio -- though Michael Clarke did make an occasional return to the sessions as they progressed. But of course, McGuinn and Hillman couldn't record an album entirely by themselves. They did have several tracks in a semi-completed state still featuring Crosby, but they needed people to fill his vocal and instrumental roles on the remaining tracks. For the vocals, Usher brought in his friend and collaborator Curt Boettcher, with whom he was also working at the time in a band called Sagittarius: [Excerpt: Sagittarius, "Another Time"] Boettcher was a skilled harmony vocalist -- according to Usher, he was one of the few vocal arrangers that Brian Wilson looked up to, and Jerry Yester had said of the Modern Folk Quartet that “the only vocals that competed with us back then was Curt Boettcher's group” -- and he was more than capable of filling Crosby's vocal gap, but there was never any real camaraderie between him and the Byrds. He particularly disliked McGuinn, who he said "was just such a poker face. He never let you know where you stood. There was never any lightness," and he said of the sessions as a whole "I was really thrilled to be working with The Byrds, and, at the same time, I was glad when it was all over. There was just no fun, and they were such weird guys to work with. They really freaked me out!" Someone else who Usher brought in, who seems to have made a better impression, was Red Rhodes: [Excerpt: Red Rhodes, "Red's Ride"] Rhodes was a pedal steel player, and one of the few people to make a career on the instrument outside pure country music, which is the genre with which the instrument is usually identified. Rhodes was a country player, but he was the country pedal steel player of choice for musicians from the pop and folk-rock worlds. He worked with Usher and Boettcher on albums by Sagittarius and the Millennium, and played on records by Cass Elliot, Carole King, the Beach Boys, and the Carpenters, among many others -- though he would be best known for his longstanding association with Michael Nesmith of the Monkees, playing on most of Nesmith's recordings from 1968 through 1992. Someone else who was associated with the Monkees was Moog player Paul Beaver, who we talked about in the episode on "Hey Jude", and who had recently played on the Monkees' Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd album: [Excerpt: The Monkees, "Star Collector"] And the fourth person brought in to help the group out was someone who was already familiar to them. Clarence White was, like Red Rhodes, from the country world -- he'd started out in a bluegrass group called the Kentucky Colonels: [Excerpt: The Kentucky Colonels, "Clinch Mountain Backstep"] But White had gone electric and formed one of the first country-rock bands, a group named Nashville West, as well as becoming a popular session player. He had already played on a couple of tracks on Younger Than Yesterday, as well as playing with Hillman and Michael Clarke on Gene Clark's album with the Gosdin Brothers and being part of Clark's touring band with John York and "Fast" Eddie Hoh. The album that the group put together with these session players was a triumph of sequencing and production. Usher had recently been keen on the idea of crossfading tracks into each other, as the Beatles had on Sgt Pepper, and had done the same on the two Chad and Jeremy albums he produced. By clever crossfading and mixing, Usher managed to create something that had the feel of being a continuous piece, despite being the product of several very different creative minds, with Usher's pop sensibility and arrangement ideas being the glue that held everything together. McGuinn was interested in sonic experimentation. He, more than any of the others, seems to have been the one who was most pushing for them to use the Moog, and he continued his interest in science fiction, with a song, "Space Odyssey", inspired by the Arthur C. Clarke short story "The Sentinel", which was also the inspiration for the then-forthcoming film 2001: A Space Odyssey: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Space Odyssey"] Then there was Chris Hillman, who was coming up with country material like "Old John Robertson": [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Old John Robertson"] And finally there was David Crosby. Even though he'd been fired from the group, both McGuinn and Hillman didn't see any problem with using the songs he had already contributed. Three of the album's eleven songs are compositions that are primarily by Crosby, though they're all co-credited to either Hillman or both Hillman and McGuinn. Two of those songs are largely unchanged from Crosby's original vision, just finished off by the rest of the group after his departure, but one song is rather different: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Draft Morning"] "Draft Morning" was a song that was important to Crosby, and was about his -- and the group's -- feelings about the draft and the ongoing Vietnam War. It was a song that had meant a lot to him, and he'd been part of the recording for the backing track. But when it came to doing the final vocals, McGuinn and Hillman had a problem -- they couldn't remember all the words to the song, and obviously there was no way they were going to get Crosby to give them the original lyrics. So they rewrote it, coming up with new lyrics where they couldn't remember the originals: [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Draft Morning"] But there was one other contribution to the track that was very distinctively the work of Usher. Gary Usher had a predilection at this point for putting musique concrete sections in otherwise straightforward pop songs. He'd done it with "Fakin' It" by Simon and Garfunkel, on which he did uncredited production work, and did it so often that it became something of a signature of records on Columbia in 1967 and 68, even being copied by his friend Jim Guercio on "Susan" by the Buckinghams. Usher had done this, in particular, on the first two singles by Sagittarius, his project with Curt Boettcher. In particular, the second Sagittarius single, "Hotel Indiscreet", had had a very jarring section (and a warning here, this contains some brief chanting of a Nazi slogan): [Excerpt: Sagittarius, "Hotel Indiscreet"] That was the work of a comedy group that Usher had discovered and signed to Columbia. The Firesign Theatre were so named because, like Usher, they were all interested in astrology, and they were all "fire signs". Usher was working on their first album, Waiting For The Electrician or Someone Like Him, at the same time as he was working on the Byrds album: [Excerpt: The Firesign Theatre, "W.C. Fields Forever"] And he decided to bring in the Firesigns to contribute to "Draft Morning": [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Draft Morning"] Crosby was, understandably, apoplectic when he heard the released version of "Draft Morning". As far as Hillman and McGuinn were concerned, it was always a Byrds song, and just because Crosby had left the band didn't mean they couldn't use material he'd written for the Byrds. Crosby took a different view, saying later "It was one of the sleaziest things they ever did. I had an entire song finished. They just casually rewrote it and decided to take half the credit. How's that? Without even asking me. I had a finished song, entirely mine. I left. They did the song anyway. They rewrote it and put it in their names. And mine was better. They just took it because they didn't have enough songs." What didn't help was that the publicity around the album, titled The Notorious Byrd Brothers minimised Crosby's contributions. Crosby is on five of the eleven tracks -- as he said later, "I'm all over that album, they just didn't give me credit. I played, I sang, I wrote, I even played bass on one track, and they tried to make out that I wasn't even on it, that they could be that good without me." But the album, like earlier Byrds albums, didn't have credits saying who played what, and the cover only featured McGuinn, Hillman, and Michael Clarke in the photo -- along with a horse, which Crosby took as another insult, as representing him. Though as McGuinn said, "If we had intended to do that, we would have turned the horse around". Even though Michael Clarke was featured on the cover, and even owned the horse that took Crosby's place, by the time the album came out he too had been fired. Unlike Crosby, he went quietly and didn't even ask for any money. According to McGuinn, he was increasingly uninterested in being in the band -- suffering from depression, and missing the teenage girls who had been the group's fans a year or two earlier. He gladly stopped being a Byrd, and went off to work in a hotel instead. In his place came Hillman's cousin, Kevin Kelley, fresh out of a band called the Rising Sons: [Excerpt: The Rising Sons, "Take a Giant Step"] We've mentioned the Rising Sons briefly in some previous episodes, but they were one of the earliest LA folk-rock bands, and had been tipped to go on to greater things -- and indeed, many of them did, though not as part of the Rising Sons. Jesse Lee Kincaid, the least well-known of the band, only went on to release a couple of singles and never had much success, but his songs were picked up by other acts -- his "Baby You Come Rollin' 'Cross My Mind" was a minor hit for the Peppermint Trolley Company: [Excerpt: The Peppermint Trolley Company, "Baby You Come Rollin' 'Cross My Mind"] And Harry Nilsson recorded Kincaid's "She Sang Hymns Out of Tune": [Excerpt: Harry Nilsson, "She Sang Hymns Out of Tune"] But Kincaid was the least successful of the band members, and most of the other members are going to come up in future episodes of the podcast -- bass player Gary Marker played for a while with Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, lead singer Taj Mahal is one of the most respected blues singers of the last sixty years, original drummer Ed Cassidy went on to form the progressive rock band Spirit, and lead guitarist Ry Cooder went on to become one of the most important guitarists in rock music. Kelley had been the last to join the Rising Sons, replacing Cassidy but he was in the band by the time they released their one single, a version of Rev. Gary Davis' "Candy Man" produced by Terry Melcher, with Kincaid on lead vocals: [Excerpt: The Rising Sons, "Candy Man"] That hadn't been a success, and the group's attempt at a follow-up, the Goffin and King song "Take a Giant Step", which we heard earlier, was blocked from release by Columbia as being too druggy -- though there were no complaints when the Monkees released their version as the B-side to "Last Train to Clarksville". The Rising Sons, despite being hugely popular as a live act, fell apart without ever releasing a second single. According to Marker, Mahal realised that he would be better off as a solo artist, but also Columbia didn't know how to market a white group with a Black lead vocalist (leading to Kincaid singing lead on their one released single, and producer Terry Melcher trying to get Mahal to sing more like a white singer on "Take a Giant Step"), and some in the band thought that Terry Melcher was deliberately trying to sink their career because they refused to sign to his publishing company. After the band split up, Marker and Kelley had formed a band called Fusion, which Byrds biographer Johnny Rogan describes as being a jazz-fusion band, presumably because of their name. Listening to the one album the group recorded, it is in fact more blues-rock, very like the music Marker made with the Rising Sons and Captain Beefheart. But Kelley's not on that album, because before it was recorded he was approached by his cousin Chris Hillman and asked to join the Byrds. At the time, Fusion were doing so badly that Kelley had to work a day job in a clothes shop, so he was eager to join a band with a string of hits who were just about to conclude a lucrative renegotiation of their record contract -- a renegotiation which may have played a part in McGuinn and Hillman firing Crosby and Clarke, as they were now the only members on the new contracts. The choice of Kelley made a lot of sense. He was mostly just chosen because he was someone they knew and they needed a drummer in a hurry -- they needed someone new to promote The Notorious Byrd Brothers and didn't have time to go through a laborious process of audtioning, and so just choosing Hillman's cousin made sense, but Kelley also had a very strong, high voice, and so he could fill in the harmony parts that Crosby had sung, stopping the new power-trio version of the band from being *too* thin-sounding in comparison to the five-man band they'd been not that much earlier. The Notorious Byrd Brothers was not a commercial success -- it didn't even make the top forty in the US, though it did in the UK -- to the presumed chagrin of Columbia, who'd just paid a substantial amount of money for this band who were getting less successful by the day. But it was, though, a gigantic critical success, and is generally regarded as the group's creative pinnacle. Robert Christgau, for example, talked about how LA rather than San Francisco was where the truly interesting music was coming from, and gave guarded praise to Captain Beefheart, Van Dyke Parks, and the Fifth Dimension (the vocal group, not the Byrds album) but talked about three albums as being truly great -- the Beach Boys' Wild Honey, Love's Forever Changes, and The Notorious Byrd Brothers. (He also, incidentally, talked about how the two songs that Crosby's new discovery Joni Mitchell had contributed to a Judy Collins album were much better than most folk music, and how he could hardly wait for her first album to come out). And that, more or less, was the critical consensus about The Notorious Byrd Brothers -- that it was, in Christgau's words "simply the best album the Byrds have ever recorded" and that "Gone are the weak--usually folky--tracks that have always flawed their work." McGuinn, though, thought that the album wasn't yet what he wanted. He had become particularly excited by the potentials of the Moog synthesiser -- an instrument that Gary Usher also loved -- during the recording of the album, and had spent a lot of time experimenting with it, coming up with tracks like the then-unreleased "Moog Raga": [Excerpt: The Byrds, "Moog Raga"] And McGuinn had a concept for the next Byrds album -- a concept he was very excited about. It was going to be nothing less than a grand sweeping history of American popular music. It was going to be a double album -- the new contract said that they should deliver two albums a year to Columbia, so a double album made sense -- and it would start with Appalachian folk music, go through country, jazz, and R&B, through the folk-rock music the Byrds had previously been known for, and into Moog experimentation. But to do this, the Byrds needed a keyboard player. Not only would a keyboard player help them fill out their thin onstage sound, if they got a jazz keyboardist, then they could cover the jazz material in McGuinn's concept album idea as well. So they went out and looked for a jazz piano player, and happily Larry Spector was managing one. Or at least, Larry Spector was managing someone who *said* he was a jazz pianist. But Gram Parsons said he was a lot of things... [Excerpt: Gram Parsons, "Brass Buttons (1965 version)"] Gram Parsons was someone who had come from a background of unimaginable privilege. His maternal grandfather was the owner of a Florida citrus fruit and real-estate empire so big that his mansion was right in the centre of what was then Florida's biggest theme park -- built on land he owned. As a teenager, Parsons had had a whole wing of his parents' house to himself, and had had servants to look after his every need, and as an adult he had a trust fund that paid him a hundred thousand dollars a year -- which in 1968 dollars would be equivalent to a little under nine hundred thousand in today's money. Two events in his childhood had profoundly shaped the life of young Gram. The first was in February 1956, when he went to see a new singer who he'd heard on the radio, and who according to the local newspaper had just recorded a new song called "Heartburn Motel". Parsons had tried to persuade his friends that this new singer was about to become a big star -- one of his friends had said "I'll wait til he becomes famous!" As it turned out, the day Parsons and the couple of friends he did manage to persuade to go with him saw Elvis Presley was also the day that "Heartbreak Hotel" entered the Billboard charts at number sixty-eight. But even at this point, Elvis was an obvious star and the headliner of the show. Young Gram was enthralled -- but in retrospect he was more impressed by the other acts he saw on the bill. That was an all-star line-up of country musicians, including Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, and especially the Louvin Brothers, arguably the greatest country music vocal duo of all time: [Excerpt: The Louvin Brothers, "The Christian Life"] Young Gram remained mostly a fan of rockabilly music rather than country, and would remain so for another decade or so, but a seed had been planted. The other event, much more tragic, was the death of his father. Both Parsons' parents were functioning alcoholics, and both by all accounts were unfaithful to each other, and their marriage was starting to break down. Gram's father was also, by many accounts, dealing with what we would now call post-traumatic stress disorder from his time serving in the second world war. On December the twenty-third 1958, Gram's father died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Everyone involved seems sure it was suicide, but it was officially recorded as natural causes because of the family's wealth and prominence in the local community. Gram's Christmas present from his parents that year was a reel-to-reel tape recorder, and according to some stories I've read his father had left a last message on a tape in the recorder, but by the time the authorities got to hear it, it had been erased apart from the phrase "I love you, Gram." After that Gram's mother's drinking got even worse, but in most ways his life still seemed charmed, and the descriptions of him as a teenager are about what you'd expect from someone who was troubled, with a predisposition to addiction, but who was also unbelievably wealthy, good-looking, charming, and talented. And the talent was definitely there. One thing everyone is agreed on is that from a very young age Gram Parsons took his music seriously and was determined to make a career as a musician. Keith Richards later said of him "Of the musicians I know personally (although Otis Redding, who I didn't know, fits this too), the two who had an attitude towards music that was the same as mine were Gram Parsons and John Lennon. And that was: whatever bag the business wants to put you in is immaterial; that's just a selling point, a tool that makes it easier. You're going to get chowed into this pocket or that pocket because it makes it easier for them to make charts up and figure out who's selling. But Gram and John were really pure musicians. All they liked was music, and then they got thrown into the game." That's not the impression many other people have of Parsons, who is almost uniformly described as an incessant self-promoter, and who from his teens onwards would regularly plant fake stories about himself in the local press, usually some variant of him having been signed to RCA records. Most people seem to think that image was more important to him than anything. In his teens, he started playing in a series of garage bands around Florida and Georgia, the two states in which he was brought up. One of his early bands was largely created by poaching the rhythm section who were then playing with Kent Lavoie, who later became famous as Lobo and had hits like "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo". Lavoie apparently held a grudge -- decades later he would still say that Parsons couldn't sing or play or write. Another musician on the scene with whom Parsons associated was Bobby Braddock, who would later go on to co-write songs like "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" for Tammy Wynette, and the song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", often considered the greatest country song ever written, for George Jones: [Excerpt: George Jones, "He Stopped Loving Her Today"] Jones would soon become one of Parsons' musical idols, but at this time he was still more interested in being Elvis or Little Richard. We're lucky enough to have a 1962 live recording of one of his garage bands, the Legends -- the band that featured the bass player and drummer he'd poached from Lobo. They made an appearance on a local TV show and a friend with a tape recorder recorded it off the TV and decades later posted it online. Of the four songs in that performance, two are R&B covers -- Little Richard's "Rip It Up" and Ray Charles' "What'd I Say?", and a third is the old Western Swing classic "Guitar Boogie Shuffle". But the interesting thing about the version of "Rip it Up" is that it's sung in an Everly Brothers style harmony, and the fourth song is a recording of the Everlys' "Let It Be Me". The Everlys were, of course, hugely influenced by the Louvin Brothers, who had so impressed young Gram six years earlier, and in this performance you can hear for the first time the hints of the style that Parsons would make his own a few years later: [Excerpt: Gram Parsons and the Legends, "Let it Be Me"] Incidentally, the other guitarist in the Legends, Jim Stafford, also went on to a successful musical career, having a top five hit in the seventies with "Spiders & Snakes": [Excerpt: Jim Stafford, "Spiders & Snakes"] Soon after that TV performance though, like many musicians of his generation, Parsons decided to give up on rock and roll, and instead to join a folk group. The group he joined, The Shilos, were a trio who were particularly influenced by the Journeymen, John Phillips' folk group before he formed the Mamas and the Papas, which we talked about in the episode on "San Francisco". At various times the group expanded with the addition of some female singers, trying to capture something of the sound of the New Chrisy Minstrels. In 1964, with the band members still in school, the Shilos decided to make a trip to Greenwich Village and see if they could make the big time as folk-music stars. They met up with John Phillips, and Parsons stayed with John and Michelle Phillips in their home in New York -- this was around the time the two of them were writing "California Dreamin'". Phillips got the Shilos an audition with Albert Grossman, who seemed eager to sign them until he realised they were still schoolchildren just on a break. The group were, though, impressive enough that he was interested, and we have some recordings of them from a year later which show that they were surprisingly good for a bunch of teenagers: [Excerpt: The Shilos, "The Bells of Rhymney"] Other than Phillips, the other major connection that Parsons made in New York was the folk singer Fred Neil, who we've talked about occasionally before. Neil was one of the great songwriters of the Greenwich Village scene, and many of his songs became successful for others -- his "Dolphins" was recorded by Tim Buckley, most famously his "Everybody's Talkin'" was a hit for Harry Nilsson, and he wrote "Another Side of This Life" which became something of a standard -- it was recorded by the Animals and the Lovin' Spoonful, and Jefferson Airplane, as well as recording the song, included it in their regular setlists, including at Monterey: [Excerpt: Jefferson Airplane, "The Other Side of This Life (live at Monterey)"] According to at least one biographer, though, Neil had another, more pernicious, influence on Parsons -- he may well have been the one who introduced Parsons to heroin, though several of Parsons' friends from the time said he wasn't yet using hard drugs. By spring 1965, Parsons was starting to rethink his commitment to folk music, particularly after "Mr. Tambourine Man" became a hit. He talked with the other members about their need to embrace the changes in music that Dylan and the Byrds were bringing about, but at the same time he was still interested enough in acoustic music that when he was given the job of arranging the music for his high school graduation, the group he booked were the Dillards. That graduation day was another day that would change Parsons' life -- as it was the day his mother died, of alcohol-induced liver failure. Parsons was meant to go on to Harvard, but first he went back to Greenwich Village for the summer, where he hung out with Fred Neil and Dave Van Ronk (and started using heroin regularly). He went to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium, and he was neighbours with Stephen Stills and Richie Furay -- the three of them talked about forming a band together before Stills moved West. And on a brief trip back home to Florida between Greenwich Village and Harvard, Parsons spoke with his old friend Jim Stafford, who made a suggestion to him -- instead of trying to do folk music, which was clearly falling out of fashion, why not try to do *country* music but with long hair like the Beatles? He could be a country Beatle. It would be an interesting gimmick. Parsons was only at Harvard for one semester before flunking out, but it was there that he was fully reintroduced to country music, and in particular to three artists who would influence him more than any others. He'd already been vaguely aware of Buck Owens, whose "Act Naturally" had recently been covered by the Beatles: [Excerpt: Buck Owens, "Act Naturally"] But it was at Harvard that he gained a deeper appreciation of Owens. Owens was the biggest star of what had become known as the Bakersfield Sound, a style of country music that emphasised a stripped-down electric band lineup with Telecaster guitars, a heavy drumbeat, and a clean sound. It came from the same honky-tonk and Western Swing roots as the rockabilly music that Parsons had grown up on, and it appealed to him instinctively. In particular, Parsons was fascinated by the fact that Owens' latest album had a cover version of a Drifters song on it -- and then he got even more interested when Ray Charles put out his third album of country songs and included a version of Owens' "Together Again": [Excerpt: Ray Charles, "Together Again"] This suggested to Parsons that country music and the R&B he'd been playing previously might not quite be so far apart as he'd thought. At Harvard, Parsons was also introduced to the work of another Bakersfield musician, who like Owens was produced by Ken Nelson, who also produced the Louvin Brothers' records, and who we heard about in previous episodes as he produced Gene Vincent and Wanda Jackson. Merle Haggard had only had one big hit at the time, "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers": [Excerpt: Merle Haggard, "(My Friends are Gonna Be) Strangers"] But he was about to start a huge run of country hits that would see every single he released for the next twelve years make the country top ten, most of them making number one. Haggard would be one of the biggest stars in country music, but he was also to be arguably the country musician with the biggest influence on rock music since Johnny Cash, and his songs would soon start to be covered by everyone from the Grateful Dead to the Everly Brothers to the Beach Boys. And the third artist that Parsons was introduced to was someone who, in most popular narratives of country music, is set up in opposition to Haggard and Owens, because they were representatives of the Bakersfield Sound while he was the epitome of the Nashville Sound to which the Bakersfield Sound is placed in opposition, George Jones. But of course anyone with ears will notice huge similarities in the vocal styles of Jones, Haggard, and Owens: [Excerpt: George Jones, "The Race is On"] Owens, Haggard, and Jones are all somewhat outside the scope of this series, but are seriously important musicians in country music. I would urge anyone who's interested in them to check out Tyler Mahan Coe's podcast Cocaine and Rhinestones, season one of which has episodes on Haggard and Owens, as well as on the Louvin Brothers who I also mentioned earlier, and season two of which is entirely devoted to Jones. When he dropped out of Harvard after one semester, Parsons was still mostly under the thrall of the Greenwich Village folkies -- there's a recording of him made over Christmas 1965 that includes his version of "Another Side of This Life": [Excerpt: Gram Parsons, "Another Side of This Life"] But he was encouraged to go further in the country direction by John Nuese (and I hope that's the correct pronunciation – I haven't been able to find any recordings mentioning his name), who had introduced him to this music and who also played guitar. Parsons, Neuse, bass player Ian Dunlop and drummer Mickey Gauvin formed a band that was originally called Gram Parsons and the Like. They soon changed their name though, inspired by an Our Gang short in which the gang became a band: [Excerpt: Our Gang, "Mike Fright"] Shortening the name slightly, they became the International Submarine Band. Parsons rented them a house in New York, and they got a contract with Goldstar Records, and released a couple of singles. The first of them, "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming" was a cover of the theme to a comedy film that came out around that time, and is not especially interesting: [Excerpt: The International Submarine Band, "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming"] The second single is more interesting. "Sum Up Broke" is a song by Parsons and Neuse, and shows a lot of influence from the Byrds: [Excerpt: The international Submarine Band, "Sum Up Broke"] While in New York with the International Submarine Band, Parsons made another friend in the music business. Barry Tashian was the lead singer of a band called the Remains, who had put out a couple of singles: [Excerpt: The Remains, "Why Do I Cry?"] The Remains are now best known for having been on the bill on the Beatles' last ever tour, including playing as support on their last ever show at Candlestick Park, but they split up before their first album came out. After spending most of 1966 in New York, Parsons decided that he needed to move the International Submarine Band out to LA. There were two reasons for this. The first was his friend Brandon DeWilde, an actor who had been a child star in the fifties -- it's him at the end of Shane -- who was thinking of pursuing a musical career. DeWilde was still making TV appearances, but he was also a singer -- John Nuese said that DeWilde sang harmony with Parsons better than anyone except Emmylou Harris -- and he had recorded some demos with the International Submarine Band backing him, like this version of Buck Owens' "Together Again": [Excerpt: Brandon DeWilde, "Together Again"] DeWilde had told Parsons he could get the group some work in films. DeWilde made good on that promise to an extent -- he got the group a cameo in The Trip, a film we've talked about in several other episodes, which was being directed by Roger Corman, the director who worked a lot with David Crosby's father, and was coming out from American International Pictures, the company that put out the beach party films -- but while the group were filmed performing one of their own songs, in the final film their music was overdubbed by the Electric Flag. The Trip starred Peter Fonda, another member of the circle of people around David Crosby, and another son of privilege, who at this point was better known for being Henry Fonda's son than for his own film appearances. Like DeWilde, Fonda wanted to become a pop star, and he had been impressed by Parsons, and asked if he could record Parsons' song "November Nights". Parsons agreed, and the result was released on Chisa Records, the label we talked about earlier that had put out promos of Gene Clark, in a performance produced by Hugh Masekela: [Excerpt: Peter Fonda, "November Nights"] The other reason the group moved West though was that Parsons had fallen in love with David Crosby's girlfriend, Nancy Ross, who soon became pregnant with his daughter -- much to Parsons' disappointment, she refused to have an abortion. Parsons bought the International Submarine Band a house in LA to rehearse in, and moved in separately with Nancy. The group started playing all the hottest clubs around LA, supporting bands like Love and the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, but they weren't sounding great, partly because Parsons was more interested in hanging round with celebrities than rehearsing -- the rest of the band had to work for a living, and so took their live performances more seriously than he did, while he was spending time catching up with his old folk friends like John Phillips and Fred Neil, as well as getting deeper into drugs and, like seemingly every musician in 1967, Scientology, though he only dabbled in the latter. The group were also, though, starting to split along musical lines. Dunlop and Gauvin wanted to play R&B and garage rock, while Parsons and Nuese wanted to play country music. And there was a third issue -- which record label should they go with? There were two labels interested in them, neither of them particularly appealing. The offer that Dunlop in particular wanted to go with was from, of all people, Jay Ward Records: [Excerpt: A Salute to Moosylvania] Jay Ward was the producer and writer of Rocky & Bullwinkle, Peabody & Sherman, Dudley Do-Right and other cartoons, and had set up a record company, which as far as I've been able to tell had only released one record, and that five years earlier (we just heard a snippet of it). But in the mid-sixties several cartoon companies were getting into the record business -- we'll hear more about that when we get to song 186 -- and Ward's company apparently wanted to sign the International Submarine Band, and were basically offering to throw money at them. Parsons, on the other hand, wanted to go with Lee Hazlewood International. This was a new label set up by someone we've only talked about in passing, but who was very influential on the LA music scene, Lee Hazlewood. Hazlewood had got his start producing country hits like Sanford Clark's "The Fool": [Excerpt: Sanford Clark, "The Fool"] He'd then moved on to collaborating with Lester Sill, producing a series of hits for Duane Eddy, whose unique guitar sound Hazlewood helped come up with: [Excerpt: Duane Eddy, "Rebel Rouser"] After splitting off from Sill, who had gone off to work with Phil Spector, who had been learning some production techniques from Hazlewood, Hazlewood had gone to work for Reprise records, where he had a career in a rather odd niche, producing hit records for the children of Rat Pack stars. He'd produced Dino, Desi, and Billy, who consisted of future Beach Boys sideman Billy Hinsche plus Desi Arnaz Jr and Dean Martin Jr: [Excerpt: Dino, Desi, and Billy, "I'm a Fool"] He'd also produced Dean Martin's daughter Deana: [Excerpt: Deana Martin, "Baby I See You"] and rather more successfully he'd written and produced a series of hits for Nancy Sinatra, starting with "These Boots are Made for Walkin'": [Excerpt: Nancy Sinatra, "These Boots are Made for Walkin'"] Hazlewood had also moved into singing himself. He'd released a few tracks on his own, but his career as a performer hadn't really kicked into gear until he'd started writing duets for Nancy Sinatra. She apparently fell in love with his demos and insisted on having him sing them with her in the studio, and so the two made a series of collaborations like the magnificently bizarre "Some Velvet Morning": [Excerpt: Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra, "Some Velvet Morning"] Hazlewood is now considered something of a cult artist, thanks largely to a string of magnificent orchestral country-pop solo albums he recorded, but at this point he was one of the hottest people in the music industry. He wasn't offering to produce the International Submarine Band himself -- that was going to be his partner, Suzi Jane Hokom -- but Parsons thought it was better to sign for less money to a label that was run by someone with a decade-long string of massive hit records than for more money to a label that had put out one record about a cartoon moose. So the group split up. Dunlop and Gauvin went off to form another band, with Barry Tashian -- and legend has it that one of the first times Gram Parsons visited the Byrds in the studio, he mentioned the name of that band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and that was the inspiration for the Byrds titling their album The Notorious Byrd Brothers. Parsons and Nuese, on the other hand, formed a new lineup of The International Submarine Band, with bass player Chris Ethridge, drummer John Corneal, who Parsons had first played with in The Legends, and guitarist Bob Buchanan, a former member of the New Christy Minstrels who Parsons had been performing with as a duo after they'd met through Fred Neil. The International Submarine Band recorded an album, Safe At Home, which is now often called the first country-rock album -- though as we've said so often, there's no first anything. That album was a mixture of cover versions of songs by people like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard: [Excerpt: The International Submarine Band, "I Must Be Somebody Else You've Known"] And Parsons originals, like "Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonesome?", which he cowrote with Barry Goldberg of the Electric Flag: [Excerpt: The International Submarine Band, "Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonesome?"] But the recording didn't go smoothly. In particular, Corneal realised he'd been hoodwinked. Parsons had told him, when persuading him to move West, that he'd be able to sing on the record and that some of his songs would be used. But while the record was credited to The International Submarine Band, everyone involved agrees that it was actually a Gram Parsons solo album by any other name -- he was in charge, he wouldn't let other members' songs on the record, and he didn't let Corneal sing as he'd promised. And then, before the album could be released, he was off. The Byrds wanted a jazz keyboard player, and Parsons could fake being one long enough to get the gig. The Byrds had got rid of one rich kid with a giant ego who wanted to take control of everything and thought his undeniable talent excused his attempts at dominating the group, and replaced him with another one -- who also happened to be signed to another record label. We'll see how well that worked out for them in two weeks' time.
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