Podcasts about Four Aces

Con Universal Production Music, Al Dual, the Marvelettes, Jackie Wilson, the Four Aces, Larry Clinton & Bea Wain, Jan & Dean, Lita Torelló, the Cleftones, Tony Ronald, Boyce & Hart, los Ángeles, Mari Trini, Raphael, Enmanuel, los Bunkers ft. Mon Laferte, Bambino, Rocío Jurado y Juan Bau.

Tonya Johnston, Mental Skills Coach speaks with professional David Wilbur who rides and trains for Emil Spadone's Redfield Farm. Tonya also answer a listener question about how to stop catastrophizing when you are having a bad day or bad ride so you can turn it around and make positive progress. Brought to you by Taylor, Harris Insurance Services.   Host: Tonya Johnston, Visit her Website, Facebook and buy her book Inside Your Ride Guest: David Wilbur is a professional rider and trainer at Emil Spadone's Redfield Farm which is based in Ocala, FL and Califon, NJ. David has been passionate about horses since a young age and is dedicated to bringing out the best in both horse and rider. This past fall at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, David rode Casey & Marita Zuraitis's Four Aces to the High Performance Hunter Championship. The pair also won the EMO High Five Award for having earned the highest score in the open divisions with a 93. At the Capital Challenge Horse Show, David and Four Aces were 2nd in the $50,000 WCHR Professional Challenge, and David received the American Style of Riding Award. David is also a "R" USEF Licensed judge and was one of the judges at this year's New England Medal Finals.Title Sponsor: Taylor, Harris Insurance ServicesSubscribe To: The Plaid Horse MagazineSponsors: Great American Insurance Group, BoneKare, Safe Saddle by Debby Buck DeJonge, Show Strides Book Series, Good Boy, Eddie and Geoff Teall on Riding Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation: Develop a Winning Style

Down Home Cajun Music- Valse De BoscoRayne Bo Ramblers- "Les Tete Fille Lafayette" (Bluebird 2083) 1940Alley Boys Of Abbeville- "Es Ce Que Tu Pense Jamais A Moi" (Vocalion 05424) 1939Louisiana Rounders- "Allons Kooche Kooche" (Decca 17040) 1937Joe Falcon- "Le Nouveau Lafayette" (Decca 17025) 1937Jolly Boys Of Lafayette- "High Society" (Decca 17036) 1937Leo Soileau's Four Aces- "A Ute" (Decca 17017) 1936Rayne Bo Ramblers- "Le Valse De Bosco" (Victor 20-2034) 1946Sons Of Acadians- "Aux Balle Chez Te Maurice" (Decca 17054) 1939Joe's Acadians- Joe's Breakdown" (Bluebird 2073) 1938Cleoma Falcon- "Blues Negres" (Decca 17004) 1934Alley Boys Of Abbeville- "Abbeville" (Vocalion 05168) 1939Leo Soileau's Rhythm Boys- "Riche Ou Pauvre" (Decca 17031) 1937Thibodeaux Boys- "La Two Step A Erby" (Bluebird 2051) 1938*All selections taken from the original 78 rpm records.

Jack Benny TV Videocasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/6BDar4CsgVEyUloEQ8sWpw?si=89123269fe144a10Jack Benny Show OTR Podcast!https://open.spotify.com/show/3UZ6NSEL7RPxOXUoQ4NiDP?si=987ab6e776a7468cJudy Garland and Friends OTR Podcasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/5ZKJYkgHOIjQzZWCt1a1NN?si=538b47b50852483dStrange New Worlds Of Dimension X-1 Podcasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/6hFMGUvEdaYqPBoxy00sOk?si=a37cc300a8e247a1Buck Benny YouTube Channelhttps://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrOoc1Q5bllBgQA469XNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNncTEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1707891281/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2f%40BuckBenny/RK=2/RS=nVp4LDJhOmL70bh7eeCi6DPNdW4-Support us on Patreonhttps://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=Awr92rDP5bllDAQAM_ZXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNncTEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1707891407/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.patreon.com%2fuser%3fu%3d4279967/RK=2/RS=9LbiSxziFkcdPQCvqIxPtxIgZ7A-ReplyForwardAdd reaction

Bing Crosby Podcast 1954-02-21 (61) Guest The Four Aces 1944-02-24 Guest Phil Silvers and Gordon MacRae's Railroad Hour 1954-02-22 (282) Martha

Thursday November 16th on the Equestrian Legacy Radio Network's CAMPFIRE CAFE… Four Aces and A Queen…Valerie Beard, Floyd Beard, Dennis Russell, Terry Nash and Dale Page!  Get ready for a Rip Roarin' Good time with these talented and Award Winning Cowboy Poets.  Join host Gary I. Holt along with cohost Bobbi Jean Bell at High Noon at Equestrianlegacy.net and on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcast, Spotify and most streaming platforms…Just search for Equestrian Legacy Radio!

Down Home Cajun Music- La BreakdownThe Four Aces- "Aces Breakdown" (Bluebird 2045)Walker Brothers- "La Valse De Louisiane (Bluebird 2098)Sons Of Acadians- "Aux Balle Chez Te Maurice" (Decca 17054)Happy Fats & his Rayne Bo Ramblers- "Le Valse De Bosco" (RCA Victor 2034)Joe Falcon- "Le Nouveau Lafayette" (Decca 17025)Hackberry Ramblers- "La Breakdown A Pete" (Bluebird 2035)The Alley Boys of Abbeville- "Te Bonne PornMoi Estere" (Vocalion 05057)Leo Soileau & his Three Aces- "Allons A Ville Platte (Bluebird 2196)Nathan Abshire & The Rayne Bo Ramblers- "Gueydan Breakdown" (Bluebird 2177)J.B. Fuselier & his Merrymakers- "La Robe Barre" (Bluebird 2063)Alleman and Walker- La Femme Qui Jovait Les Cartes" (Bluebird 2193)Jolly Boys Of Lafayette- "High Society" (Decca 17036)Leo Soileau's Four Aces- "A Ute" (Decca 17017)*All selections from the original 78 rpm records.

Programa monogràfic dedicat al gran Desmond Dekker, king of ska, referent jamaicà de l’ska per excelència. Trackslist: “King of Ska” “Honour your Mother and your Father” “Jeserene (with The Cherry Pies)” “Get Up Edina (with The Four Aces)” “007 (with … Continua llegint →

The Blue Jays lead the Guardians 2 games to 1 before the finale on Thursday afternoon with a little bit of an early recording. What is going wrong with the offense and just how good this pitching staff has been. Also deep diving the career of Joey Bats before he heads to the level of excellence and breaking down the Cubs series. ALL THAT AND MUCH MORE   Follow Us On Socials MERCH: Gate14.ca Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gate14podcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gate14pod Twitter: https://twitter.com/Gate14Pod Discord: https://discord.gg/KvCFpy7gX2

If you have ever considered wanting to build your career after you finish competing in your sport. You want to make sure that you take your fans, followers and supporters with you. The only way that can happen is by positioning yourself before that time is up. This episode is for you.(00:00) - Snippet & Intro(01:57) - Why Every Athlete Should Their Own Podcast(03:44) - Social Media Comparison (07:11) - The Podcast Industry Is Open(09:34) - Four Aces of Podcasting(12:10) - Pat McAfee Wins Big As A Kicker(13:00) - Social Media Is Leased Not Owned(13:55) - Build An All-Star Network(15:29) - No More Picking People's Brains(16:54) - The Secret Sauce To Finding Your Passion(17:38) - How To Double Your Net worthSUBSCRIBE On YouTube ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt4_jEC4--5s9gwxNsqEjrg?sub_confirmation=1 WATCH MORE ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt4_jEC4--5s9gwxNsqEjrgFollow Beyond the Ball with Jonathan Jones:YouTube: ➡️ @JonathanJonesSpeaks Twitter: ➡️ https://twitter.com/JonathanJSpeaksMAIN Instagram: ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/jonathanjonesspeaks/TikTok: ➡️ http://www.tiktok.com/@jonathanjonesspeaksLinkedin: ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/company/go-beyond-the-ball/Beyond the Ball Podcast: ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/beyondtheballpodcast/Apple Podcasts: ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-the-ball-with-jonathan-jones/id1507204404Spotify: ➡️ https://open.spotify.com/show/5iHeNCVhaU0e3qeWiksySK?si=c7260c1882db46c6

Original Air Date: August 19, 1951Host: Andrew RhynesShow: Adventures of Wild Bill HickokPhone: (707) 98 OTRDW (6-8739) Stars:• Guy Madison (Hickok)• Andy Devine (Jingles) Special Guests:• Ed Max• Hal Gerard• Ralph Moody• Barney Phillips• Junius Matthews• Jack Moyles Producer:• Paul Pierce Music:• Dick Aurandt Exit music from: Roundup on the Prairie by Aaron Kenny https://bit.ly/3kTj0kK

The World's best golfer is once again Rory McIlroy, and he won again, this time at Congaree, the new home in South Carolina to the CJ Cup. Hosts Alex Lauzon and Michael Russell marvel at Rory's 2022 year, when he was a model of consistency while also playing stand-in PGA Tour Commissioner (1:42). The PGA Tour announced the entire "elevated" tournament list, adding more mainstay tournaments to a list of bigger purse championships (6:04). The LPGA wrapped up its weekend in Korea, where Lydia Ko continued her great stretch of golf this year with another win (8:00). LIV Golf heads to Trump Doral for its season finale, where Pat Perez's Four Aces are favorites to win the season long team prize (8:45). The PGA Tour, meanwhile, heads to the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal, where several past podcast guests headline the field (10:23). In Tuned In, Michael is marveling at an incredible animatronic Halloween display in a Savannah neighborhood, while Alex went to the theaters for the critically panned "Halloween Ends" (12:25). This week's guest is Daniela Iacobelli, widely considered the "John Daly of women's golf." Daniela chats with Alex about her many years on the LPGA and Epson Tours, her love of lighting up heaters on the course, and how she may be the only golfer who hates the off-season (15:47). Alex's college football picks where pretty good this week, but only if you looked at his full slate, and not his Run Your Pool picks. A completely flip of his luck last week (40:24). In the NFL, Michael's Giants are now Super Bowl contenders, while Alex's Patriots continue to have questions as to who is the started quarterback (43:20). Major League Baseball heads to the World Series, and Michael's Yankees are woefully absent after an atrocious showing to the Astros. Alex now wonders is Aaron Judge will jump ship to the rival Mets or Red Sox (45:14). As the guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, Alex is sharing his Halloween meal plans to avoiding eating all the candy, while Michael is trying out a new sourdough bread combination of figs, goat cheese, and honey (48:39). Listen + Love + Subscribe: http://bit.ly/3fdoQed  Read Alex's Picks on Run Your Pool: https://www.runyourpool.com/articles/author/alexlauzon/  Support the First Tee - Greater Austin: https://bit.ly/3n09U4I  Join us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2NpEIKJ  Follow us on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2QJhZLQ  Watch us on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3qvq4Dt 

Challenge Of The Yukon – 08 – Four Aces www.GoooldRadio.com

Garron, Sojo, and Waldy, LIV's newest fan, sit down to discuss the latest digs at LIV from a senior PGA player, as well as talk about this past weekends LIV tournament. Bottle poppin' and stogey smoking, Dustin Johnson and his Four Aces team continue to stay hot and DJ likely has the putt of the year across all of professional golf, so the guys talk about what a win like this does to boost LIVs viewership and appeal. The show wraps up with the bums of the week which include a player injuring themselves celebrating, and a New York based sports team that has been trending in the wrong direction since the All-Star Game. As always, follow us on IG @thewashedupshow and send in some topics! Donations to the pod will prevent Sojo from having to force McDonald's down their throats

We start season four of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs with an extra-long look at "San Francisco" by Scott McKenzie, and at the Monterey Pop Festival, and the careers of the Mamas and the Papas and P.F. Sloan. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on "Up, Up, and Away" by the 5th Dimension. 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 As usual, all the songs excerpted in the podcast can be heard in full at Mixcloud. Scott McKenzie's first album is available here. There are many compilations of the Mamas and the Papas' music, but sadly none that are in print in the UK have the original mono mixes. This set is about as good as you're going to find, though, for the stereo versions. Information on the Mamas and the Papas came from Go Where You Wanna Go: The Oral History of The Mamas and the Papas by Matthew Greenwald, California Dreamin': The True Story Of The Mamas and Papas by Michelle Phillips, and Papa John by John Phillips and Jim Jerome. Information on P.F. Sloan came from PF - TRAVELLING BAREFOOT ON A ROCKY ROAD by Stephen McParland and What's Exactly the Matter With Me? by P.F. Sloan and S.E. Feinberg. The film of the Monterey Pop Festival is available on this Criterion Blu-Ray set. Sadly the CD of the performances seems to be deleted. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Welcome to season four of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs. It's good to be back. Before we start this episode, I just want to say one thing. I get a lot of credit at times for the way I don't shy away from dealing with the more unsavoury elements of the people being covered in my podcast -- particularly the more awful men. But as I said very early on, I only cover those aspects of their life when they're relevant to the music, because this is a music podcast and not a true crime podcast. But also I worry that in some cases this might mean I'm giving a false impression of some people. In the case of this episode, one of the central figures is John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas. Now, Phillips has posthumously been accused of some truly monstrous acts, the kind of thing that is truly unforgivable, and I believe those accusations. But those acts didn't take place during the time period covered by most of this episode, so I won't be covering them here -- but they're easily googlable if you want to know. I thought it best to get that out of the way at the start, so no-one's either anxiously waiting for the penny to drop or upset that I didn't acknowledge the elephant in the room. Separately, this episode will have some discussion of fatphobia and diet culture, and of a death that is at least in part attributable to those things. Those of you affected by that may want to skip this one or read the transcript. There are also some mentions of drug addiction and alcoholism. Anyway, on with the show. One of the things that causes problems with rock history is the tendency of people to have selective memories, and that's never more true than when it comes to the Summer of Love, summer of 1967. In the mythology that's built up around it, that was a golden time, the greatest time ever, a period of peace and love where everything was possible, and the world looked like it was going to just keep on getting better. But what that means, of course, is that the people remembering it that way do so because it was the best time of their lives. And what happens when the best time of your life is over in one summer? When you have one hit and never have a second, or when your band splits up after only eighteen months, and you have to cope with the reality that your best years are not only behind you, but they weren't even best years, but just best months? What stories would you tell about that time? Would you remember it as the eve of destruction, the last great moment before everything went to hell, or would you remember it as a golden summer, full of people with flowers in their hair? And would either really be true? [Excerpt: Scott McKenzie, "San Francisco"] Other than the city in which they worked, there are a few things that seem to characterise almost all the important figures on the LA music scene in the middle part of the 1960s. They almost all seem to be incredibly ambitious, as one might imagine. There seem to be a huge number of fantasists among them -- people who will not only choose the legend over reality when it suits them, but who will choose the legend over reality even when it doesn't suit them. And they almost all seem to have a story about being turned down in a rude and arrogant manner by Lou Adler, usually more or less the same story. To give an example, I'm going to read out a bit of Ray Manzarek's autobiography here. Now, Manzarek uses a few words that I can't use on this podcast and keep a clean rating, so I'm just going to do slight pauses when I get to them, but I'll leave the words in the transcript for those who aren't offended by them: "Sometimes Jim and Dorothy and I went alone. The three of us tried Dunhill Records. Lou Adler was the head man. He was shrewd and he was hip. He had the Mamas and the Papas and a big single with Barry McGuire's 'Eve of Destruction.' He was flush. We were ushered into his office. He looked cool. He was California casually disheveled and had the look of a stoner, but his eyes were as cold as a shark's. He took the twelve-inch acetate demo from me and we all sat down. He put the disc on his turntable and played each cut…for ten seconds. Ten seconds! You can't tell jack [shit] from ten seconds. At least listen to one of the songs all the way through. I wanted to rage at him. 'How dare you! We're the Doors! This is [fucking] Jim Morrison! He's going to be a [fucking] star! Can't you see that? Can't you see how [fucking] handsome he is? Can't you hear how groovy the music is? Don't you [fucking] get it? Listen to the words, man!' My brain was a boiling, lava-filled Jell-O mold of rage. I wanted to eviscerate that shark. The songs he so casually dismissed were 'Moonlight Drive,' 'Hello, I Love You,' 'Summer's Almost Gone,' 'End of the Night,' 'I Looked at You,' 'Go Insane.' He rejected the whole demo. Ten seconds on each song—maybe twenty seconds on 'Hello, I Love You' (I took that as an omen of potential airplay)—and we were dismissed out of hand. Just like that. He took the demo off the turntable and handed it back to me with an obsequious smile and said, 'Nothing here I can use.' We were shocked. We stood up, the three of us, and Jim, with a wry and knowing smile on his lips, cuttingly and coolly shot back at him, 'That's okay, man. We don't want to be *used*, anyway.'" Now, as you may have gathered from the episode on the Doors, Ray Manzarek was one of those print-the-legend types, and that's true of everyone who tells similar stories about Lou Alder. But... there are a *lot* of people who tell similar stories about Lou Adler. One of those was Phil Sloan. You can get an idea of Sloan's attitude to storytelling from a story he always used to tell. Shortly after he and his family moved to LA from New York, he got a job selling newspapers on a street corner on Hollywood Boulevard, just across from Schwab's Drug Store. One day James Dean drove up in his Porsche and made an unusual request. He wanted to buy every copy of the newspaper that Sloan had -- around a hundred and fifty copies in total. But he only wanted one article, something in the entertainment section. Sloan didn't remember what the article was, but he did remember that one of the headlines was on the final illness of Oliver Hardy, who died shortly afterwards, and thought it might have been something to do with that. Dean was going to just clip that article from every copy he bought, and then he was going to give all the newspapers back to Sloan to sell again, so Sloan ended up making a lot of extra money that day. There is one rather big problem with that story. Oliver Hardy died in August 1957, just after the Sloan family moved to LA. But James Dean died in September 1955, two years earlier. Sloan admitted that, and said he couldn't explain it, but he was insistent. He sold a hundred and fifty newspapers to James Dean two years after Dean's death. When not selling newspapers to dead celebrities, Sloan went to Fairfax High School, and developed an interest in music which was mostly oriented around the kind of white pop vocal groups that were popular at the time, groups like the Kingston Trio, the Four Lads, and the Four Aces. But the record that made Sloan decide he wanted to make music himself was "Just Goofed" by the Teen Queens: [Excerpt: The Teen Queens, "Just Goofed"] In 1959, when he was fourteen, he saw an advert for an open audition with Aladdin Records, a label he liked because of Thurston Harris. He went along to the audition, and was successful. His first single, released as by Flip Sloan -- Flip was a nickname, a corruption of "Philip" -- was produced by Bumps Blackwell and featured several of the musicians who played with Sam Cooke, plus Larry Knechtel on piano and Mike Deasey on guitar, but Aladdin shut down shortly after releasing it, and it may not even have had a general release, just promo copies. I've not been able to find a copy online anywhere. After that, he tried Arwin Records, the label that Jan and Arnie recorded for, which was owned by Marty Melcher (Doris Day's husband and Terry Melcher's stepfather). Melcher signed him, and put out a single, "She's My Girl", on Mart Records, a subsidiary of Arwin, on which Sloan was backed by a group of session players including Sandy Nelson and Bruce Johnston: [Excerpt: Philip Sloan, "She's My Girl"] That record didn't have any success, and Sloan was soon dropped by Mart Records. He went on to sign with Blue Bird Records, which was as far as can be ascertained essentially a scam organisation that would record demos for songwriters, but tell the performers that they were making a real record, so that they would record it for the royalties they would never get, rather than for a decent fee as a professional demo singer would get. But Steve Venet -- the brother of Nik Venet, and occasional songwriting collaborator with Tommy Boyce -- happened to come to Blue Bird one day, and hear one of Sloan's original songs. He thought Sloan would make a good songwriter, and took him to see Lou Adler at Columbia-Screen Gems music publishing. This was shortly after the merger between Columbia-Screen Gems and Aldon Music, and Adler was at this point the West Coast head of operations, subservient to Don Kirshner and Al Nevins, but largely left to do what he wanted. The way Sloan always told the story, Venet tried to get Adler to sign Sloan, but Adler said his songs stunk and had no commercial potential. But Sloan persisted in trying to get a contract there, and eventually Al Nevins happened to be in the office and overruled Adler, much to Adler's disgust. Sloan was signed to Columbia-Screen Gems as a songwriter, though he wasn't put on a salary like the Brill Building songwriters, just told that he could bring in songs and they would publish them. Shortly after this, Adler suggested to Sloan that he might want to form a writing team with another songwriter, Steve Barri, who had had a similar non-career non-trajectory, but was very slightly further ahead in his career, having done some work with Carol Connors, the former lead singer of the Teddy Bears. Barri had co-written a couple of flop singles for Connors, before the two of them had formed a vocal group, the Storytellers, with Connors' sister. The Storytellers had released a single, "When Two People (Are in Love)" , which was put out on a local independent label and which Adler had licensed to be released on Dimension Records, the label associated with Aldon Music: [Excerpt: The Storytellers "When Two People (Are in Love)"] That record didn't sell, but it was enough to get Barri into the Columbia-Screen Gems circle, and Adler set him and Sloan up as a songwriting team -- although the way Sloan told it, it wasn't so much a songwriting team as Sloan writing songs while Barri was also there. Sloan would later claim "it was mostly a collaboration of spirit, and it seemed that I was writing most of the music and the lyric, but it couldn't possibly have ever happened unless both of us were present at the same time". One suspects that Barri might have a different recollection of how it went... Sloan and Barri's first collaboration was a song that Sloan had half-written before they met, called "Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann", which was recorded by a West Coast Chubby Checker knockoff who went under the name Round Robin, and who had his own dance craze, the Slauson, which was much less successful than the Twist: [Excerpt: Round Robin, "Kick that Little Foot Sally Ann"] That track was produced and arranged by Jack Nitzsche, and Nitzsche asked Sloan to be one of the rhythm guitarists on the track, apparently liking Sloan's feel. Sloan would end up playing rhythm guitar or singing backing vocals on many of the records made of songs he and Barri wrote together. "Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann" only made number sixty-one nationally, but it was a regional hit, and it meant that Sloan and Barri soon became what Sloan later described as "the Goffin and King of the West Coast follow-ups." According to Sloan "We'd be given a list on Monday morning by Lou Adler with thirty names on it of the groups who needed follow-ups to their hit." They'd then write the songs to order, and they started to specialise in dance craze songs. For example, when the Swim looked like it might be the next big dance, they wrote "Swim Swim Swim", "She Only Wants to Swim", "Let's Swim Baby", "Big Boss Swimmer", "Swim Party" and "My Swimmin' Girl" (the last a collaboration with Jan Berry and Roger Christian). These songs were exactly as good as they needed to be, in order to provide album filler for mid-tier artists, and while Sloan and Barri weren't writing any massive hits, they were doing very well as mid-tier writers. According to Sloan's biographer Stephen McParland, there was a three-year period in the mid-sixties where at least one song written or co-written by Sloan was on the national charts at any given time. Most of these songs weren't for Columbia-Screen Gems though. In early 1964 Lou Adler had a falling out with Don Kirshner, and decided to start up his own company, Dunhill, which was equal parts production company, music publishers, and management -- doing for West Coast pop singers what Motown was doing for Detroit soul singers, and putting everything into one basket. Dunhill's early clients included Jan and Dean and the rockabilly singer Johnny Rivers, and Dunhill also signed Sloan and Barri as songwriters. Because of this connection, Sloan and Barri soon became an important part of Jan and Dean's hit-making process. The Matadors, the vocal group that had provided most of the backing vocals on the duo's hits, had started asking for more money than Jan Berry was willing to pay, and Jan and Dean couldn't do the vocals themselves -- as Bones Howe put it "As a singer, Dean is a wonderful graphic artist" -- and so Sloan and Barri stepped in, doing session vocals without payment in the hope that Jan and Dean would record a few of their songs. For example, on the big hit "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena", Dean Torrence is not present at all on the record -- Jan Berry sings the lead vocal, with Sloan doubling him for much of it, Sloan sings "Dean"'s falsetto, with the engineer Bones Howe helping out, and the rest of the backing vocals are sung by Sloan, Barri, and Howe: [Excerpt: Jan and Dean, "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena"] For these recordings, Sloan and Barri were known as The Fantastic Baggys, a name which came from the Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Oldham and Mick Jagger, when the two were visiting California. Oldham had been commenting on baggys, the kind of shorts worn by surfers, and had asked Jagger what he thought of The Baggys as a group name. Jagger had replied "Fantastic!" and so the Fantastic Baggys had been born. As part of this, Sloan and Barri moved hard into surf and hot-rod music from the dance songs they had been writing previously. The Fantastic Baggys recorded their own album, Tell 'Em I'm Surfin', as a quickie album suggested by Adler: [Excerpt: The Fantastic Baggys, "Tell 'Em I'm Surfin'"] And under the name The Rally Packs they recorded a version of Jan and Dean's "Move Out Little Mustang" which featured Berry's girlfriend Jill Gibson doing a spoken section: [Excerpt: The Rally Packs, "Move Out Little Mustang"] They also wrote several album tracks for Jan and Dean, and wrote "Summer Means Fun" for Bruce and Terry -- Bruce Johnston, later of the Beach Boys, and Terry Melcher: [Excerpt: Bruce and Terry, "Summer Means Fun"] And they wrote the very surf-flavoured "Secret Agent Man" for fellow Dunhill artist Johnny Rivers: [Excerpt: Johnny Rivers, "Secret Agent Man"] But of course, when you're chasing trends, you're chasing trends, and soon the craze for twangy guitars and falsetto harmonies had ended, replaced by a craze for jangly twelve-string guitars and closer harmonies. According to Sloan, he was in at the very beginning of the folk-rock trend -- the way he told the story, he was involved in the mastering of the Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man". He later talked about Terry Melcher getting him to help out, saying "He had produced a record called 'Mr. Tambourine Man', and had sent it into the head office, and it had been rejected. He called me up and said 'I've got three more hours in the studio before I'm being kicked out of Columbia. Can you come over and help me with this new record?' I did. I went over there. It was under lock and key. There were two guards outside the door. Terry asked me something about 'Summer Means Fun'. "He said 'Do you remember the guitar that we worked on with that? How we put in that double reverb?' "And I said 'yes' "And he said 'What do you think if we did something like that with the Byrds?' "And I said 'That sounds good. Let's see what it sounds like.' So we patched into all the reverb centres in Columbia Music, and mastered the record in three hours." Whether Sloan really was there at the birth of folk rock, he and Barri jumped on the folk-rock craze just as they had the surf and hot-rod craze, and wrote a string of jangly hits including "You Baby" for the Turtles: [Excerpt: The Turtles, "You Baby"] and "I Found a Girl" for Jan and Dean: [Excerpt: Jan and Dean, "I Found a Girl"] That song was later included on Jan and Dean's Folk 'n' Roll album, which also included... a song I'm not even going to name, but long-time listeners will know the one I mean. It was also notable in that "I Found a Girl" was the first song on which Sloan was credited not as Phil Sloan, but as P.F. Sloan -- he didn't have a middle name beginning with F, but rather the F stood for his nickname "Flip". Sloan would later talk of Phil Sloan and P.F. Sloan as almost being two different people, with P.F. being a far more serious, intense, songwriter. Folk 'n' Roll also contained another Sloan song, this one credited solely to Sloan. And that song is the one for which he became best known. There are two very different stories about how "Eve of Destruction" came to be written. To tell Sloan's version, I'm going to read a few paragraphs from his autobiography: "By late 1964, I had already written ‘Eve Of Destruction,' ‘The Sins Of A Family,' ‘This Mornin',' ‘Ain't No Way I'm Gonna Change My Mind,' and ‘What's Exactly The Matter With Me?' They all arrived on one cataclysmic evening, and nearly at the same time, as I worked on the lyrics almost simultaneously. ‘Eve Of Destruction' came about from hearing a voice, perhaps an angel's. The voice instructed me to place five pieces of paper and spread them out on my bed. I obeyed the voice. The voice told me that the first song would be called ‘Eve Of Destruction,' so I wrote the title at the top of the page. For the next few hours, the voice came and went as I was writing the lyric, as if this spirit—or whatever it was—stood over me like a teacher: ‘No, no … not think of all the hate there is in Red Russia … Red China!' I didn't understand. I thought the Soviet Union was the mortal threat to America, but the voice went on to reveal to me the future of the world until 2024. I was told the Soviet Union would fall, and that Red China would continue to be communist far into the future, but that communism was not going to be allowed to take over this Divine Planet—therefore, think of all the hate there is in Red China. I argued and wrestled with the voice for hours, until I was exhausted but satisfied inside with my plea to God to either take me out of the world, as I could not live in such a hypocritical society, or to show me a way to make things better. When I was writing ‘Eve,' I was on my hands and knees, pleading for an answer." Lou Adler's story is that he gave Phil Sloan a copy of Bob Dylan's Bringing it All Back Home album and told him to write a bunch of songs that sounded like that, and Sloan came back a week later as instructed with ten Dylan knock-offs. Adler said "It was a natural feel for him. He's a great mimic." As one other data point, both Steve Barri and Bones Howe, the engineer who worked on most of the sessions we're looking at today, have often talked in interviews about "Eve of Destruction" as being a Sloan/Barri collaboration, as if to them it's common knowledge that it wasn't written alone, although Sloan's is the only name on the credits. The song was given to a new signing to Dunhill Records, Barry McGuire. McGuire was someone who had been part of the folk scene for years, He'd been playing folk clubs in LA while also acting in a TV show from 1961. When the TV show had finished, he'd formed a duo, Barry and Barry, with Barry Kane, and they performed much the same repertoire as all the other early-sixties folkies: [Excerpt: Barry and Barry, "If I Had a Hammer"] After recording their one album, both Barrys joined the New Christy Minstrels. We've talked about the Christys before, but they were -- and are to this day -- an ultra-commercial folk group, led by Randy Sparks, with a revolving membership of usually eight or nine singers which included several other people who've come up in this podcast, like Gene Clark and Jerry Yester. McGuire became one of the principal lead singers of the Christys, singing lead on their version of the novelty cowboy song "Three Wheels on My Wagon", which was later released as a single in the UK and became a perennial children's favourite (though it has a problematic attitude towards Native Americans): [Excerpt: The New Christy Minstrels, "Three Wheels on My Wagon"] And he also sang lead on their big hit "Green Green", which he co-wrote with Randy Sparks: [Excerpt: The New Christy Minstrels, "Green Green"] But by 1965 McGuire had left the New Christy Minstrels. As he said later "I'd sung 'Green Green' a thousand times and I didn't want to sing it again. This is January of 1965. I went back to LA to meet some producers, and I was broke. Nobody had the time of day for me. I was walking down street one time to see Dr. Strangelove and I walked by the music store, and I heard "Green Green" comin' out of the store, ya know, on Hollywood Boulevard. And I heard my voice, and I thought, 'I got four dollars in my pocket!' I couldn't believe it, my voice is comin' out on Hollywood Boulevard, and I'm broke. And right at that moment, a car pulls up, and the radio is playing 'Chim Chim Cherie" also by the Minstrels. So I got my voice comin' at me in stereo, standin' on the sidewalk there, and I'm broke, and I can't get anyone to sign me!" But McGuire had a lot of friends who he'd met on the folk scene, some of whom were now in the new folk-rock scene that was just starting to spring up. One of them was Roger McGuinn, who told him that his band, the Byrds, were just about to put out a new single, "Mr. Tambourine Man", and that they were about to start a residency at Ciro's on Sunset Strip. McGuinn invited McGuire to the opening night of that residency, where a lot of other people from the scene were there to see the new group. Bob Dylan was there, as was Phil Sloan, and the actor Jack Nicholson, who was still at the time a minor bit-part player in low-budget films made by people like American International Pictures (the cinematographer on many of Nicholson's early films was Floyd Crosby, David Crosby's father, which may be why he was there). Someone else who was there was Lou Adler, who according to McGuire recognised him instantly. According to Adler, he actually asked Terry Melcher who the long-haired dancer wearing furs was, because "he looked like the leader of a movement", and Melcher told him that he was the former lead singer of the New Christy Minstrels. Either way, Adler approached McGuire and asked if he was currently signed -- Dunhill Records was just starting up, and getting someone like McGuire, who had a proven ability to sing lead on hit records, would be a good start for the label. As McGuire didn't have a contract, he was signed to Dunhill, and he was given some of Sloan's new songs to pick from, and chose "What's Exactly the Matter With Me?" as his single: [Excerpt: Barry McGuire, "What's Exactly the Matter With Me?"] McGuire described what happened next: "It was like, a three-hour session. We did two songs, and then the third one wasn't turning out. We only had about a half hour left in the session, so I said 'Let's do this tune', and I pulled 'Eve of Destruction' out of my pocket, and it just had Phil's words scrawled on a piece of paper, all wrinkled up. Phil worked the chords out with the musicians, who were Hal Blaine on drums and Larry Knechtel on bass." There were actually more musicians than that at the session -- apparently both Knechtel and Joe Osborn were there, so I'm not entirely sure who's playing bass -- Knechtel was a keyboard player as well as a bass player, but I don't hear any keyboards on the track. And Tommy Tedesco was playing lead guitar, and Steve Barri added percussion, along with Sloan on rhythm guitar and harmonica. The chords were apparently scribbled down for the musicians on bits of greasy paper that had been used to wrap some takeaway chicken, and they got through the track in a single take. According to McGuire "I'm reading the words off this piece of wrinkled paper, and I'm singing 'My blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin'", that part that goes 'Ahhh you can't twist the truth', and the reason I'm going 'Ahhh' is because I lost my place on the page. People said 'Man, you really sounded frustrated when you were singing.' I was. I couldn't see the words!" [Excerpt: Barry McGuire, "Eve of Destruction"] With a few overdubs -- the female backing singers in the chorus, and possibly the kettledrums, which I've seen differing claims about, with some saying that Hal Blaine played them during the basic track and others saying that Lou Adler suggested them as an overdub, the track was complete. McGuire wasn't happy with his vocal, and a session was scheduled for him to redo it, but then a record promoter working with Adler was DJing a birthday party for the head of programming at KFWB, the big top forty radio station in LA at the time, and he played a few acetates he'd picked up from Adler. Most went down OK with the crowd, but when he played "Eve of Destruction", the crowd went wild and insisted he play it three times in a row. The head of programming called Adler up and told him that "Eve of Destruction" was going to be put into rotation on the station from Monday, so he'd better get the record out. As McGuire was away for the weekend, Adler just released the track as it was, and what had been intended to be a B-side became Barry McGuire's first and only number one record: [Excerpt: Barry McGuire, "Eve of Destruction"] Sloan would later claim that that song was a major reason why the twenty-sixth amendment to the US Constitution was passed six years later, because the line "you're old enough to kill but not for votin'" shamed Congress into changing the constitution to allow eighteen-year-olds to vote. If so, that would make "Eve of Destruction" arguably the single most impactful rock record in history, though Sloan is the only person I've ever seen saying that As well as going to number one in McGuire's version, the song was also covered by the other artists who regularly performed Sloan and Barri songs, like the Turtles: [Excerpt: The Turtles, "Eve of Destruction"] And Jan and Dean, whose version on Folk & Roll used the same backing track as McGuire, but had a few lyrical changes to make it fit with Jan Berry's right-wing politics, most notably changing "Selma, Alabama" to "Watts, California", thus changing a reference to peaceful civil rights protestors being brutally attacked and murdered by white supremacist state troopers to a reference to what was seen, in the popular imaginary, as Black people rioting for no reason: [Excerpt: Jan and Dean, "Eve of Destruction"] According to Sloan, he worked on the Folk & Roll album as a favour to Berry, even though he thought Berry was being cynical and exploitative in making the record, but those changes caused a rift in their friendship. Sloan said in his autobiography "Where I was completely wrong was in helping him capitalize on something in which he didn't believe. Jan wanted the public to perceive him as a person who was deeply concerned and who embraced the values of the progressive politics of the day. But he wasn't that person. That's how I was being pulled. It was when he recorded my actual song ‘Eve Of Destruction' and changed a number of lines to reflect his own ideals that my principles demanded that I leave Folk City and never return." It's true that Sloan gave no more songs to Jan and Dean after that point -- but it's also true that the duo would record only one more album, the comedy concept album Jan and Dean Meet Batman, before Jan's accident. Incidentally, the reference to Selma, Alabama in the lyric might help people decide on which story about the writing of "Eve of Destruction" they think is more plausible. Remember that Lou Adler said that it was written after Adler gave Sloan a copy of Bringing it All Back Home and told him to write a bunch of knock-offs, while Sloan said it was written after a supernatural force gave him access to all the events that would happen in the world for the next sixty years. Sloan claimed the song was written in late 1964. Selma, Alabama, became national news in late February and early March 1965. Bringing it All Back Home was released in late March 1965. So either Adler was telling the truth, or Sloan really *was* given a supernatural insight into the events of the future. Now, as it turned out, while "Eve of Destruction" went to number one, that would be McGuire's only hit as a solo artist. His next couple of singles would reach the very low end of the Hot One Hundred, and that would be it -- he'd release several more albums, before appearing in the Broadway musical Hair, most famous for its nude scenes, and getting a small part in the cinematic masterpiece Werewolves on Wheels: [Excerpt: Werewolves on Wheels trailer] P.F. Sloan would later tell various stories about why McGuire never had another hit. Sometimes he would say that Dunhill Records had received death threats because of "Eve of Destruction" and so deliberately tried to bury McGuire's career, other times he would say that Lou Adler had told him that Billboard had said they were never going to put McGuire's records on the charts no matter how well they sold, because "Eve of Destruction" had just been too powerful and upset the advertisers. But of course at this time Dunhill were still trying for a follow-up to "Eve of Destruction", and they thought they might have one when Barry McGuire brought in a few friends of his to sing backing vocals on his second album. Now, we've covered some of the history of the Mamas and the Papas already, because they were intimately tied up with other groups like the Byrds and the Lovin' Spoonful, and with the folk scene that led to songs like "Hey Joe", so some of this will be more like a recap than a totally new story, but I'm going to recap those parts of the story anyway, so it's fresh in everyone's heads. John Phillips, Scott McKenzie, and Cass Elliot all grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, just a few miles south of Washington DC. Elliot was a few years younger than Phillips and McKenzie, and so as is the way with young men they never really noticed her, and as McKenzie later said "She lived like a quarter of a mile from me and I never met her until New York". While they didn't know who Elliot was, though, she was aware who they were, as Phillips and McKenzie sang together in a vocal group called The Smoothies. The Smoothies were a modern jazz harmony group, influenced by groups like the Modernaires, the Hi-Los, and the Four Freshmen. John Phillips later said "We were drawn to jazz, because we were sort of beatniks, really, rather than hippies, or whatever, flower children. So we used to sing modern harmonies, like Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross. Dave Lambert did a lot of our arrangements for us as a matter of fact." Now, I've not seen any evidence other than Phillips' claim that Dave Lambert ever arranged for the Smoothies, but that does tell you a lot about the kind of music that they were doing. Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross were a vocalese trio whose main star was Annie Ross, who had a career worthy of an episode in itself -- she sang with Paul Whiteman, appeared in a Little Rascals film when she was seven, had an affair with Lenny Bruce, dubbed Britt Ekland's voice in The Wicker Man, played the villain's sister in Superman III, and much more. Vocalese, you'll remember, was a style of jazz vocal where a singer would take a jazz instrumental, often an improvised one, and add lyrics which they would sing, like Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross' version of "Cloudburst": [Excerpt: Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, "Cloudburst"] Whether Dave Lambert ever really did arrange for the Smoothies or not, it's very clear that the trio had a huge influence on John Phillips' ideas about vocal arrangement, as you can hear on Mamas and Papas records like "Once Was a Time I Thought": [Excerpt: The Mamas and the Papas, "Once Was a Time I Thought"] While the Smoothies thought of themselves as a jazz group, when they signed to Decca they started out making the standard teen pop of the era, with songs like "Softly": [Excerpt, The Smoothies, "Softly"] When the folk boom started, Phillips realised that this was music that he could do easily, because the level of musicianship among the pop-folk musicians was so much lower than in the jazz world. The Smoothies made some recordings in the style of the Kingston Trio, like "Ride Ride Ride": [Excerpt: The Smoothies, "Ride Ride Ride"] Then when the Smoothies split, Phillips and McKenzie formed a trio with a banjo player, Dick Weissman, who they met through Izzy Young's Folklore Centre in Greenwich Village after Phillips asked Young to name some musicians who could make a folk record with him. Weissman was often considered the best banjo player on the scene, and was a friend of Pete Seeger's, to whom Seeger sometimes turned for banjo tips. The trio, who called themselves the Journeymen, quickly established themselves on the folk scene. Weissman later said "we had this interesting balance. John had all of this charisma -- they didn't know about the writing thing yet -- John had the personality, Scott had the voice, and I could play. If you think about it, all of those bands like the Kingston Trio, the Brothers Four, nobody could really *sing* and nobody could really *play*, relatively speaking." This is the take that most people seemed to have about John Phillips, in any band he was ever in. Nobody thought he was a particularly good singer or instrumentalist -- he could sing on key and play adequate rhythm guitar, but nobody would actually pay money to listen to him do those things. Mark Volman of the Turtles, for example, said of him "John wasn't the kind of guy who was going to be able to go up on stage and sing his songs as a singer-songwriter. He had to put himself in the context of a group." But he was charismatic, he had presence, and he also had a great musical mind. He would surround himself with the best players and best singers he could, and then he would organise and arrange them in ways that made the most of their talents. He would work out the arrangements, in a manner that was far more professional than the quick head arrangements that other folk groups used, and he instigated a level of professionalism in his groups that was not at all common on the scene. Phillips' friend Jim Mason talked about the first time he saw the Journeymen -- "They were warming up backstage, and John had all of them doing vocal exercises; one thing in particular that's pretty famous called 'Seiber Syllables' -- it's a series of vocal exercises where you enunciate different vowel and consonant sounds. It had the effect of clearing your head, and it's something that really good operetta singers do." The group were soon signed by Frank Werber, the manager of the Kingston Trio, who signed them as an insurance policy. Dave Guard, the Kingston Trio's banjo player, was increasingly having trouble with the other members, and Werber knew it was only a matter of time before he left the group. Werber wanted the Journeymen as a sort of farm team -- he had the idea that when Guard left, Phillips would join the Kingston Trio in his place as the third singer. Weissman would become the Trio's accompanist on banjo, and Scott McKenzie, who everyone agreed had a remarkable voice, would be spun off as a solo artist. But until that happened, they might as well make records by themselves. The Journeymen signed to MGM records, but were dropped before they recorded anything. They instead signed to Capitol, for whom they recorded their first album: [Excerpt: The Journeymen, "500 Miles"] After recording that album, the Journeymen moved out to California, with Phillips' wife and children. But soon Phillips' marriage was to collapse, as he met and fell in love with Michelle Gilliam. Gilliam was nine years younger than him -- he was twenty-six and she was seventeen -- and she had the kind of appearance which meant that in every interview with an older heterosexual man who knew her, that man will spend half the interview talking about how attractive he found her. Phillips soon left his wife and children, but before he did, the group had a turntable hit with "River Come Down", the B-side to "500 Miles": [Excerpt: The Journeymen, "River Come Down"] Around the same time, Dave Guard *did* leave the Kingston Trio, but the plan to split the Journeymen never happened. Instead Phillips' friend John Stewart replaced Guard -- and this soon became a new source of income for Phillips. Both Phillips and Stewart were aspiring songwriters, and they collaborated together on several songs for the Trio, including "Chilly Winds": [Excerpt: The Kingston Trio, "Chilly Winds"] Phillips became particularly good at writing songs that sounded like they could be old traditional folk songs, sometimes taking odd lines from older songs to jump-start new ones, as in "Oh Miss Mary", which he and Stewart wrote after hearing someone sing the first line of a song she couldn't remember the rest of: [Excerpt: The Kingston Trio, "Oh Miss Mary"] Phillips and Stewart became so close that Phillips actually suggested to Stewart that he quit the Kingston Trio and replace Dick Weissman in the Journeymen. Stewart did quit the Trio -- but then the next day Phillips suggested that maybe it was a bad idea and he should stay where he was. Stewart went back to the Trio, claimed he had only pretended to quit because he wanted a pay-rise, and got his raise, so everyone ended up happy. The Journeymen moved back to New York with Michelle in place of Phillips' first wife (and Michelle's sister Russell also coming along, as she was dating Scott McKenzie) and on New Year's Eve 1962 John and Michelle married -- so from this point on I will refer to them by their first names, because they both had the surname Phillips. The group continued having success through 1963, including making appearances on "Hootenanny": [Excerpt: The Journeymen, "Stack O'Lee (live on Hootenanny)"] By the time of the Journeymen's third album, though, John and Scott McKenzie were on bad terms. Weissman said "They had been the closest of friends and now they were the worst of enemies. They talked through me like I was a medium. It got to the point where we'd be standing in the dressing room and John would say to me 'Tell Scott that his right sock doesn't match his left sock...' Things like that, when they were standing five feet away from each other." Eventually, the group split up. Weissman was always going to be able to find employment given his banjo ability, and he was about to get married and didn't need the hassle of dealing with the other two. McKenzie was planning on a solo career -- everyone was agreed that he had the vocal ability. But John was another matter. He needed to be in a group. And not only that, the Journeymen had bookings they needed to complete. He quickly pulled together a group he called the New Journeymen. The core of the lineup was himself, Michelle on vocals, and banjo player Marshall Brickman. Brickman had previously been a member of a folk group called the Tarriers, who had had a revolving lineup, and had played on most of their early-sixties recordings: [Excerpt: The Tarriers, "Quinto (My Little Pony)"] We've met the Tarriers before in the podcast -- they had been formed by Erik Darling, who later replaced Pete Seeger in the Weavers after Seeger's socialist principles wouldn't let him do advertising, and Alan Arkin, later to go on to be a film star, and had had hits with "Cindy, O Cindy", with lead vocals from Vince Martin, who would later go on to be a major performer in the Greenwich Village scene, and with "The Banana Boat Song". By the time Brickman had joined, though, Darling, Arkin, and Martin had all left the group to go on to bigger things, and while he played with them for several years, it was after their commercial peak. Brickman would, though, also go on to a surprising amount of success, but as a writer rather than a musician -- he had a successful collaboration with Woody Allen in the 1970s, co-writing four of Allen's most highly regarded films -- Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Manhattan Murder Mystery -- and with another collaborator he later co-wrote the books for the stage musicals Jersey Boys and The Addams Family. Both John and Michelle were decent singers, and both have their admirers as vocalists -- P.F. Sloan always said that Michelle was the best singer in the group they eventually formed, and that it was her voice that gave the group its sound -- but for the most part they were not considered as particularly astonishing lead vocalists. Certainly, neither had a voice that stood out the way that Scott McKenzie's had. They needed a strong lead singer, and they found one in Denny Doherty. Now, we covered Denny Doherty's early career in the episode on the Lovin' Spoonful, because he was intimately involved in the formation of that group, so I won't go into too much detail here, but I'll give a very abbreviated version of what I said there. Doherty was a Canadian performer who had been a member of the Halifax Three with Zal Yanovsky: [Excerpt: The Halifax Three, "When I First Came to This Land"] After the Halifax Three had split up, Doherty and Yanovsky had performed as a duo for a while, before joining up with Cass Elliot and her husband Jim Hendricks, who both had previously been in the Big Three with Tim Rose: [Excerpt: Cass Elliot and the Big 3, "The Banjo Song"] Elliot, Hendricks, Yanovsky, and Doherty had formed The Mugwumps, sometimes joined by John Sebastian, and had tried to go in more of a rock direction after seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. They recorded one album together before splitting up: [Excerpt: The Mugwumps, "Searchin'"] Part of the reason they split up was that interpersonal relationships within the group were put under some strain -- Elliot and Hendricks split up, though they would remain friends and remain married for several years even though they were living apart, and Elliot had an unrequited crush on Doherty. But since they'd split up, and Yanovsky and Sebastian had gone off to form the Lovin' Spoonful, that meant that Doherty was free, and he was regarded as possibly the best male lead vocalist on the circuit, so the group snapped him up. The only problem was that the Journeymen still had gigs booked that needed to be played, one of them was in just three days, and Doherty didn't know the repertoire. This was a problem with an easy solution for people in their twenties though -- they took a huge amount of amphetamines, and stayed awake for three days straight rehearsing. They made the gig, and Doherty was now the lead singer of the New Journeymen: [Excerpt: The New Journeymen, "The Last Thing on My Mind"] But the New Journeymen didn't last in that form for very long, because even before joining the group, Denny Doherty had been going in a more folk-rock direction with the Mugwumps. At the time, John Phillips thought rock and roll was kids' music, and he was far more interested in folk and jazz, but he was also very interested in making money, and he soon decided it was an idea to start listening to the Beatles. There's some dispute as to who first played the Beatles for John in early 1965 -- some claim it was Doherty, others claim it was Cass Elliot, but everyone agrees it was after Denny Doherty had introduced Phillips to something else -- he brought round some LSD for John and Michelle, and Michelle's sister Rusty, to try. And then he told them he'd invited round a friend. Michelle Phillips later remembered, "I remember saying to the guys "I don't know about you guys, but this drug does nothing for me." At that point there was a knock on the door, and as I opened the door and saw Cass, the acid hit me *over the head*. I saw her standing there in a pleated skirt, a pink Angora sweater with great big eyelashes on and her hair in a flip. And all of a sudden I thought 'This is really *quite* a drug!' It was an image I will have securely fixed in my brain for the rest of my life. I said 'Hi, I'm Michelle. We just took some LSD-25, do you wanna join us?' And she said 'Sure...'" Rusty Gilliam's description matches this -- "It was mind-boggling. She had on a white pleated skirt, false eyelashes. These were the kind of eyelashes that when you put them on you were supposed to trim them to an appropriate length, which she didn't, and when she blinked she looked like a cow, or those dolls you get when you're little and the eyes open and close. And we're on acid. Oh my God! It was a sight! And everything she was wearing were things that you weren't supposed to be wearing if you were heavy -- white pleated skirt, mohair sweater. You know, until she became famous, she suffered so much, and was poked fun at." This gets to an important point about Elliot, and one which sadly affected everything about her life. Elliot was *very* fat -- I've seen her weight listed at about three hundred pounds, and she was only five foot five tall -- and she also didn't have the kind of face that gets thought of as conventionally attractive. Her appearance would be cruelly mocked by pretty much everyone for the rest of her life, in ways that it's genuinely hurtful to read about, and which I will avoid discussing in detail in order to avoid hurting fat listeners. But the two *other* things that defined Elliot in the minds of those who knew her were her voice -- every single person who knew her talks about what a wonderful singer she was -- and her personality. I've read a lot of things about Cass Elliot, and I have never read a single negative word about her as a person, but have read many people going into raptures about what a charming, loving, friendly, understanding person she was. Michelle later said of her "From the time I left Los Angeles, I hadn't had a friend, a buddy. I was married, and John and I did not hang out with women, we just hung out with men, and especially not with women my age. John was nine years older than I was. And here was a fun-loving, intelligent woman. She captivated me. I was as close to in love with Cass as I could be to any woman in my life at that point. She also represented something to me: freedom. Everything she did was because she wanted to do it. She was completely independent and I admired her and was in awe of her. And later on, Cass would be the one to tell me not to let John run my life. And John hated her for that." Either Elliot had brought round Meet The Beatles, the Beatles' first Capitol album, for everyone to listen to, or Denny Doherty already had it, but either way Elliot and Doherty were by this time already Beatles fans. Michelle, being younger than the rest and not part of the folk scene until she met John, was much more interested in rock and roll than any of them, but because she'd been married to John for a couple of years and been part of his musical world she hadn't really encountered the Beatles music, though she had a vague memory that she might have heard a track or two on the radio. John was hesitant -- he didn't want to listen to any rock and roll, but eventually he was persuaded, and the record was put on while he was on his first acid trip: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I Want to Hold Your Hand"] Within a month, John Phillips had written thirty songs that he thought of as inspired by the Beatles. The New Journeymen were going to go rock and roll. By this time Marshall Brickman was out of the band, and instead John, Michelle, and Denny recruited a new lead guitarist, Eric Hord. Denny started playing bass, with John on rhythm guitar, and a violinist friend of theirs, Peter Pilafian, knew a bit of drums and took on that role. The new lineup of the group used the Journeymen's credit card, which hadn't been stopped even though the Journeymen were no more, to go down to St. Thomas in the Caribbean, along with Michelle's sister, John's daughter Mackenzie (from whose name Scott McKenzie had taken his stage name, as he was born Philip Blondheim), a pet dog, and sundry band members' girlfriends. They stayed there for several months, living in tents on the beach, taking acid, and rehearsing. While they were there, Michelle and Denny started an affair which would have important ramifications for the group later. They got a gig playing at a club called Duffy's, whose address was on Creeque Alley, and soon after they started playing there Cass Elliot travelled down as well -- she was in love with Denny, and wanted to be around him. She wasn't in the group, but she got a job working at Duffy's as a waitress, and she would often sing harmony with the group while waiting at tables. Depending on who was telling the story, either she didn't want to be in the group because she didn't want her appearance to be compared to Michelle's, or John wouldn't *let* her be in the group because she was so fat. Later a story would be made up to cover for this, saying that she hadn't been in the group at first because she couldn't sing the highest notes that were needed, until she got hit on the head with a metal pipe and discovered that it had increased her range by three notes, but that seems to be a lie. One of the songs the New Journeymen were performing at this time was "Mr. Tambourine Man". They'd heard that their old friend Roger McGuinn had recorded it with his new band, but they hadn't yet heard his version, and they'd come up with their own arrangement: [Excerpt: The New Journeymen, "Mr. Tambourine Man"] Denny later said "We were doing three-part harmony on 'Mr Tambourine Man', but a lot slower... like a polka or something! And I tell John, 'No John, we gotta slow it down and give it a backbeat.' Finally we get the Byrds 45 down here, and we put it on and turn it up to ten, and John says 'Oh, like that?' Well, as you can tell, it had already been done. So John goes 'Oh, ah... that's it...' a light went on. So we started doing Beatles stuff. We dropped 'Mr Tambourine Man' after hearing the Byrds version, because there was no point." Eventually they had to leave the island -- they had completely run out of money, and were down to fifty dollars. The credit card had been cut up, and the governor of the island had a personal vendetta against them because they gave his son acid, and they were likely to get arrested if they didn't leave the island. Elliot and her then-partner had round-trip tickets, so they just left, but the rest of them were in trouble. By this point they were unwashed, they were homeless, and they'd spent their last money on stage costumes. They got to the airport, and John Phillips tried to write a cheque for eight air fares back to the mainland, which the person at the check-in desk just laughed at. So they took their last fifty dollars and went to a casino. There Michelle played craps, and she rolled seventeen straight passes, something which should be statistically impossible. She turned their fifty dollars into six thousand dollars, which they scooped up, took to the airport, and paid for their flights out in cash. The New Journeymen arrived back in New York, but quickly decided that they were going to try their luck in California. They rented a car, using Scott McKenzie's credit card, and drove out to LA. There they met up with Hoyt Axton, who you may remember as the son of Mae Axton, the writer of "Heartbreak Hotel", and as the performer who had inspired Michael Nesmith to go into folk music: [Excerpt: Hoyt Axton, "Greenback Dollar"] Axton knew the group, and fed them and put them up for a night, but they needed somewhere else to stay. They went to stay with one of Michelle's friends, but after one night their rented car was stolen, with all their possessions in it. They needed somewhere else to stay, so they went to ask Jim Hendricks if they could crash at his place -- and they were surprised to find that Cass Elliot was there already. Hendricks had another partner -- though he and Elliot wouldn't have their marriage annulled until 1968 and were still technically married -- but he'd happily invited her to stay with them. And now all her friends had turned up, he invited them to stay as well, taking apart the beds in his one-bedroom apartment so he could put down a load of mattresses in the space for everyone to sleep on. The next part becomes difficult, because pretty much everyone in the LA music scene of the sixties was a liar who liked to embellish their own roles in things, so it's quite difficult to unpick what actually happened. What seems to have happened though is that first this new rock-oriented version of the New Journeymen went to see Frank Werber, on the recommendation of John Stewart. Werber was the manager of the Kingston Trio, and had also managed the Journeymen. He, however, was not interested -- not because he didn't think they had talent, but because he had experience of working with John Phillips previously. When Phillips came into his office Werber picked up a tape that he'd been given of the group, and said "I have not had a chance to listen to this tape. I believe that you are a most talented individual, and that's why we took you on in the first place. But I also believe that you're also a drag to work with. A pain in the ass. So I'll tell you what, before whatever you have on here sways me, I'm gonna give it back to you and say that we're not interested." Meanwhile -- and this part of the story comes from Kim Fowley, who was never one to let the truth get in the way of him taking claim for everything, but parts of it at least are corroborated by other people -- Cass Elliot had called Fowley, and told him that her friends' new group sounded pretty good and he should sign them. Fowley was at that time working as a talent scout for a label, but according to him the label wouldn't give the group the money they wanted. So instead, Fowley got in touch with Nik Venet, who had just produced the Leaves' hit version of "Hey Joe" on Mira Records: [Excerpt: The Leaves, "Hey Joe"] Fowley suggested to Venet that Venet should sign the group to Mira Records, and Fowley would sign them to a publishing contract, and they could both get rich. The trio went to audition for Venet, and Elliot drove them over -- and Venet thought the group had a great look as a quartet. He wanted to sign them to a record contract, but only if Elliot was in the group as well. They agreed, he gave them a one hundred and fifty dollar advance, and told them to come back the next day to see his boss at Mira. But Barry McGuire was also hanging round with Elliot and Hendricks, and decided that he wanted to have Lou Adler hear the four of them. He thought they might be useful both as backing vocalists on his second album and as a source of new songs. He got them to go and see Lou Adler, and according to McGuire Phillips didn't want Elliot to go with them, but as Elliot was the one who was friends with McGuire, Phillips worried that they'd lose the chance with Adler if she didn't. Adler was amazed, and decided to sign the group right then and there -- both Bones Howe and P.F. Sloan claimed to have been there when the group auditioned for him and have said "if you won't sign them, I will", though exactly what Sloan would have signed them to I'm not sure. Adler paid them three thousand dollars in cash and told them not to bother with Nik Venet, so they just didn't turn up for the Mira Records audition the next day. Instead, they went into the studio with McGuire and cut backing vocals on about half of his new album: [Excerpt: Barry McGuire with the Mamas and the Papas, "Hide Your Love Away"] While the group were excellent vocalists, there were two main reasons that Adler wanted to sign them. The first was that he found Michelle Phillips extremely attractive, and the second is a song that John and Michelle had written which he thought might be very suitable for McGuire's album. Most people who knew John Phillips think of "California Dreamin'" as a solo composition, and he would later claim that he gave Michelle fifty percent just for transcribing his lyric, saying he got inspired in the middle of the night, woke her up, and got her to write the song down as he came up with it. But Michelle, who is a credited co-writer on the song, has been very insistent that she wrote the lyrics to the second verse, and that it's about her own real experiences, saying that she would often go into churches and light candles even though she was "at best an agnostic, and possibly an atheist" in her words, and this would annoy John, who had also been raised Catholic, but who had become aggressively opposed to expressions of religion, rather than still having nostalgia for the aesthetics of the church as Michelle did. They were out walking on a particularly cold winter's day in 1963, and Michelle wanted to go into St Patrick's Cathedral and John very much did not want to. A couple of nights later, John woke her up, having written the first verse of the song, starting "All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey/I went for a walk on a winter's day", and insisting she collaborate with him. She liked the song, and came up with the lines "Stopped into a church, I passed along the way/I got down on my knees and I pretend to pray/The preacher likes the cold, he knows I'm going to stay", which John would later apparently dislike, but which stayed in the song. Most sources I've seen for the recording of "California Dreamin'" say that the lineup of musicians was the standard set of players who had played on McGuire's other records, with the addition of John Phillips on twelve-string guitar -- P.F. Sloan on guitar and harmonica, Joe Osborn on bass, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, and Hal Blaine on drums, but for some reason Stephen McParland's book on Sloan has Bones Howe down as playing drums on the track while engineering -- a detail so weird, and from such a respectable researcher, that I have to wonder if it might be true. In his autobiography, Sloan claims to have rewritten the chord sequence to "California Dreamin'". He says "Barry Mann had unintentionally showed me a suspended chord back at Screen Gems. I was so impressed by this beautiful, simple chord that I called Brian Wilson and played it for him over the phone. The next thing I knew, Brian had written ‘Don't Worry Baby,' which had within it a number suspended chords. And then the chord heard 'round the world, two months later, was the opening suspended chord of ‘A Hard Day's Night.' I used these chords throughout ‘California Dreamin',' and more specifically as a bridge to get back and forth from the verse to the chorus." Now, nobody else corroborates this story, and both Brian Wilson and John Phillips had the kind of background in modern harmony that means they would have been very aware of suspended chords before either ever encountered Sloan, but I thought I should mention it. Rather more plausible is Sloan's other claim, that he came up with the intro to the song. According to Sloan, he was inspired by "Walk Don't Run" by the Ventures: [Excerpt: The Ventures, "Walk Don't Run"] And you can easily see how this: [plays "Walk Don't Run"] Can lead to this: [plays "California Dreamin'"] And I'm fairly certain that if that was the inspiration, it was Sloan who was the one who thought it up. John Phillips had been paying no attention to the world of surf music when "Walk Don't Run" had been a hit -- that had been at the point when he was very firmly in the folk world, while Sloan of course had been recording "Tell 'Em I'm Surfin'", and it had been his job to know surf music intimately. So Sloan's intro became the start of what was intended to be Barry McGuire's next single: [Excerpt: Barry McGuire, "California Dreamin'"] Sloan also provided the harmonica solo on the track: [Excerpt: Barry McGuire, "California Dreamin'"] The Mamas and the Papas -- the new name that was now given to the former New Journeymen, now they were a quartet -- were also signed to Dunhill as an act on their own, and recorded their own first single, "Go Where You Wanna Go", a song apparently written by John about Michelle, in late 1963, after she had briefly left him to have an affair with Russ Titelman, the record producer and songwriter, before coming back to him: [Excerpt: The Mamas and the Papas, "Go Where You Wanna Go"] But while that was put out, they quickly decided to scrap it and go with another song. The "Go Where You Wanna Go" single was pulled after only selling a handful of copies, though its commercial potential was later proved when in 1967 a new vocal group, the 5th Dimension, released a soundalike version as their second single. The track was produced by Lou Adler's client Johnny Rivers, and used the exact same musicians as the Mamas and the Papas version, with the exception of Phillips. It became their first hit, reaching number sixteen on the charts: [Excerpt: The 5th Dimension, "Go Where You Wanna Go"] The reason the Mamas and the Papas version of "Go Where You Wanna Go" was pulled was because everyone became convinced that their first single should instead be their own version of "California Dreamin'". This is the exact same track as McGuire's track, with just two changes. The first is that McGuire's lead vocal was replaced with Denny Doherty: [Excerpt: The Mamas and the Papas, "California Dreamin'"] Though if you listen to the stereo mix of the song and isolate the left channel, you can hear McGuire singing the lead on the first line, and occasional leakage from him elsewhere on the backing vocal track: [Excerpt: The Mamas and the Papas, "California Dreamin'"] The other change made was to replace Sloan's harmonica solo with an alto flute solo by Bud Shank, a jazz musician who we heard about in the episode on "Light My Fire", when he collaborated with Ravi Shankar on "Improvisations on the Theme From Pather Panchali": [Excerpt: Ravi Shankar, "Improvisation on the Theme From Pather Panchali"] Shank was working on another session in Western Studios, where they were recording the Mamas and Papas track, and Bones Howe approached him while he was packing his instrument and asked if he'd be interested in doing another session. Shank agreed, though the track caused problems for him. According to Shank "What had happened was that whe

This week on the Classroom Double K and Mr Suave discuss the events of the NBA Offseason and the NFL Preseason. So tune in and enjoy...

This week Double K and The Doual discuss some of the hottest topics in Sports...

This week Double K and OMalley talk about the hottest opics in Sports today...

A motivated Stenson wins in Bedminster. Are the Four Aces a super-team? Finau's putter stays hot for back-to-back wins. Trump Bedminster vs Detroit GC. Ian Davis claims the State Am. Davis Love III said what?!?!?! MUCH MORE!!!

This week Double K and Suave debate the hottest topics from the NBA Finals and the NBA Offseason

This week Double K and OMalley talk the Warriors season and the craziness of the NFL offseason...

 The year was 1955. Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock blasted off and just around the corner on the charts was Elvis who had a minor hit in 1954 that made some waves with That's Alright, Mama and Good Rockin' Tonight.  RCA bought his contract from Sun Records for $35K. The minimum wage reached new heights of $1.00 per hour. The Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Honeymooners and Gunsmoke debuted on television. And we'll be digging through the top ten charts of country, rhythm & blues, and pop in a year where the Cold War was a fact of life leading us to duck and cover. Tune in for some Webb Pierce, Eddy Arnold, Four Aces, Mitch Miller, Fats Domino, and Chuck Berry this week on our show that browses those dusty digital bins on a weekly basis on Community Radio here in Sonoma County. 

This week Double K is back on this new debate show on 4ACES jfirst up to the plate is The Doual of WCB...

The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop music quartet, popular since the '50s ( the Golden Days of Radio).

The Four Seasons, the Four Aces, the Four Tops, the Four Freshmen, the Four Lads...well today on "The Cowsill's Podcast" we are visiting with Bruce Belland of THE FOUR PREPS!!!! In terms of audience reaction to the Four Preps think Beatles and Frank Sinatra. They were mobbed after their concerts. Do you remember watching Ozzie and Harriett and waiting for Ricky Nelson to sing the song at the end of the episode? Remember the band that always stood there with Ricky? That's the Four Preps plus James Burton. That's Bruce Belland to Ricky's right. The Four Preps were Ricky's college buddies on the TV show. Imagine what is must have been like when your band is riding high and the Beatles arrive on the scene and change the whole landscape and there's no room for you anymore. We were new to the story of the Four Preps since they were a little before our time but it just blew us away so we wanted to have Bruce on to share his story with everybody and he was gracious to accept the invitation. You have to read his biography at brucebelland.com and you will be AMAZED! Remember "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)"? It sold 10 million records! That's The Four Preps!! Hope you enjoy the episode.Song of the Week: A Letter To The Beatles by The Four Preps

Down Home Cajun Music- Leo Soileau's Four Aces 1935-1936Leo Soileau was the first Cajun fiddler to record back in 1928. After the Depression Leo returned to recording with a group in the string band style and recorded for Decca. While the group recorded songs in Cajun French; they also covered songs by the Carter Family and other country groups, as well as pop hits of the day. This episode features their English string band songs.Leo's Four Aces was comprised of Leo along with Floyd Shreve and Bill (Dewey) Landry. It is speculated that some of these recordings features Tony Gonzales on drums.Leo Soileau's Four Aces- Green Valley Waltz (Decca 5102)Leo Soileau's Four Aces- Corrine, CorrinaLeo Soileau's Four Aces- Nobody's Buisness If I DoLeo Soileau's Four Aces- Frankie and JohnnieLeo Soileau's Four Aces- Red River Valley Leo Soileau's Four Aces- Birmingham JailLeo Soileau's Four Aces- The Unexplained BluesLeo Soileau's Four Aces- KC RailroadLeo Soileau's Four Aces- Little Darling Pal of MineLeo Soileau's Four Aces- Wreck of Old No. 9*All selections from the original 78 rpm records

The Orioles of the late '60s and early '70s were one of the best teams in baseball, with a strong and stable rotation that peaked 50 years ago this week when Jim Palmer became the 4th Baltimore starter to win 20 games on the year. Mike and Bill discuss this staff and the epic run that fell just short of winning it all. Plus, happy birthday to Jelly Gardner and Hunky Shaw!

En El Guateque estamos de vuelta de las vacaciones, que viene a ser el fin del verano, las despedidas. Hoy despedimos a JUANA GINZO. Inimitable, personal y única, su voz era grave, con un timbre precioso, versátil, limpio, pero sobre la voz se imponía la propia Juana, con su actitud, su modo de ser. También se nos fueron Mikis Theodorakis - con su composición en 1964 de 'Zorba el griego', protagonizada por Anthony Quinn y dirigida por Michael Cacoyannis, Theodorakis consiguió llevar la música popular griega al mundo entero, y también fue el autor de una melodía utilizada en la película “Luna de miel” (en la que participó el bailarín Antonio). La discográfica de Gloria Lasso encargó al excelente poeta y actor Rafael de Penagos una letra en español que Gloria grabó con su espléndida y sensual voz.Otro recuerdo emocionado para los Everly Brothers, uno de los grupos más influyentes en el mundo de la música popular. Yo diría que el dúo más importante, sin desmerecer a otros. Este verano también nos dejó Don Everly, el mayor de los hermanos, el de la voz más grave y el que solía cantar los solos.Muchos han llorado el adiós de Charlie Watts. El punto es que nada de lo que han hecho los Rolling Stones hubiera sido posible, sin el impasible e imperturbable Charlie Watts.‘All Summer Long' podría parecer una tonta canción veraniega , pero la historia es algo más que un reflejo de una fantasía de quinceañeros en el verano, porque al final se recuerda que todos aquellos momentos felices serán sólo recuerdos de aquel largo verano. Muy poético, escrito por Mike Love . La melodía es del gran Brian Wilson, que se esmeró mucho en los arreglos vocales, con ese absolutamente maravilloso falsete.La película Grease dejaba la imagen del fin del verano, de despedida de un amor de verano, en esa escena de playa con la fuerza de las olas que protagonizaron Olivia Newton John y John Travolta . La canción apareció originalmente en un drama romántico dirigido por Henry King, La colina del adiós (Love is a Many-Splendored Thing) con William Holden y Jennifer Jones en los papeles principales. La película obtuvo tres Oscar: Mejor Canción Original, Mejor Banda Sonora Drama y Mejor Vestuario. La composición interpretada por The Four Aces se ha convertido en todo un clásico, y la grabaron, entre otros, Nat King Cole Brigitte Bardott canta A LA FIN D'ETÉ . Una canción compuesta por Gérard Bourgeois con el que colaboraba habitualmente Jean-Max Rivière , que se encargaba de los textos. Compuso casi toda la discografía de la Bardott y algunas canciones para Gloria Lasso..Gelu nos llena de esperanzas para esta temporada con una canción que interpretó Bobby Darin. Y este Guateque reúne también a Dusty Springfield. Fórmula V. Los Ángeles, Rocky Kan, Luis Aguilé, Bruno Lomas, Los Puntos, Caterina Valente

As many of you know, I'm a firm believer that a robust arts scene is critical for a region to be considered vibrant. Michigan has long been a hot spot for the arts, and the talent seems to be gathering momentum. Joining Chris to discuss a new faction of the arts are a pair of the Four Aces of Arts - Sarah Sanders & Autumn Hopkins, and the Owner & Director of Opportunity Arts, Mike Marriott!

As many of you know, I'm a firm believer that a robust arts scene is critical for a region to be considered vibrant. Michigan has long been a hot spot for the arts, and the talent seems to be gathering momentum. Joining Chris to discuss a new faction of the arts are a pair of the Four Aces of Arts - Sarah Sanders & Autumn Hopkins, and the Owner & Director of Opportunity Arts, Mike Marriott!

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE I'm from Philly. Born there, lived there a little, grew up near there & was there every week for decades. It's in my blood in more ways than one. But that pales in comparison to my dad's experience. He was born there, lived there 30 years, and visited family there every week for many MORE decades. Why does this matter? Because place matters. Not just for family but for culture too. And that very much includes music. Now that I've spent over 20 years in NYC, I can tell you there's one big difference in the two cities: pressure. Both cities are a crossroads of cultures. Both have tons of options & influences & sounds. But whereas NYC is one giant pressure cooker, constantly testing you, Philly lets you breathe, doesn't ask you to be any more than you are. It's why so many stage shows & musicians have historically gone there first to get into fighting shape. You NEED to be in fighting shape to thrive in NYC. Philly doesn't just let you live, it encourages it. In NYC you can do whatever you want too, but you're on your own until you can prove you're worth the trouble. This is why Philly music fans, venues & radio are so much better, so much easier to find your place in and be supported. It's also why Philly music is way more of a mix of styles than NYC music. In NYC, you have every imaginable style of music, but they're segregated into silos that rarely mix in any significant way. And they're way more self-conscious about it all. In Philly, every kind of music talks to every other kind just because, and the results are new amalgams that couldn't have been born anywhere else. Does that make Philly the greatest music city in the US? Probably not. There are too many worthy competitors – New Orleans, Memphis, Chicago, etc. But it does put Philly WELL in the top 5, and I'd say even the top 3. G. Love & Special Sauce are a great example of the Philly amalgam. Led by Garrett Dutton, they mix hip-hop, funk, psychedelica, folk, blues, soul & alt rock in a way only a Philly band could do. There are so many other examples of this kind of mixing through the decades. The Philadelphia Sound itself – funk-soul-dance mixed with lush orchestral strings & percussive horns. Think Hall & Oates – folk roots turned to funk-soul-pop-rock. Lil Uzi Vert – lo-fi emo rap rock. Below is a very incomplete list of other well-known artists from the Philly area. Note the variety of styles, both among and within the artists: The Four Aces, Danny & the Juniors, Frankie Avalon/Fabian/Bobby Rydell/Chubby Checker/Nicky DeMatteo, McCoy Tyner, Todd Rundgren & Nazz, Jim Croce, Hall & Oates, Gamble & Huff/McFadden & Whitehead/The Stylistics/Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes/Teddy Pendergrass/Sister Sledge/The Delfonics, Patti LaBelle, Joan Jett, Robert Hazard & the Heroes, The Hooters, Cinderella/Britny Fox, Pretty Poison, The Dead Milkmen, Live, Ween, Schoolly D, DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Boyz II Men, The Roots, Jill Scott, G. Love & Special Sauce, Ape Café, Nick DeMatteo & REC, Huffamoose, Disco Biscuits, Circa Survive, Low Cut Connie, Eve, Chiddy Bang, Meek Mill, Lil Uzi Vert, Tierra Whack. Every single thing I have ever done has Philly in it somewhere. Here's the most complete playlist to date of my solo & band work: The Semi-Complete Nick DeMatteo - Spotify playlist Do you have any ties to Philly music? Do you know G. Love? What other areas of the country are as fertile a ground for music mixing as Philly? Discuss dammit! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nick-dematteo/support

Once again with a two tone beat, here's this weeks playlist dedicated to one of the greats who set the foundation for ska, Prince Buster...so skank your way over...go on...git-The Four Aces. Just One Little Girl-Eddie Perkins. My Darling-Stranger and Gladdy. Chances-Prince Buster. Al Capone-Millie Small. Oh, Henry-Andy and Joey. You're Wondering Now-Jackie Opel. You're too Bad-Patsy Millicent Todd. You Took my LoveBackground: Los Caballeros Orchestra. Keino Ska

Award Winning Singer Songwriter Laura Cheadle has but one wish for the holidays – to lift her fans’ spirits and bring back the true meaning of Christmas. The self-proclaimed purveyor of positivity, has released a pair of seasonal songs and videos “Christmas In My Life” and “Red Ain’t Everything (The Rudolph Blues)" – available now on all DSPs – that she hopes will evoke “that nostalgic Christmas feeling, no matter where they are on Christmas.”  “Christmas In My Life,” which showcases Cheadle’s more pop-infused sound with its upbeat tempo and catchy, sing-a-along chorus, was originally written by Cheadle in 2017 and reworked this year with the help of her father and Philadelphia music icon James Cheadle (Cheadle has worked with everyone from Jerry Ross for Jerry Butler, Harold Melvin, The Blue Notes and The O'Jaysto DJ Jazzy Jeff, Don Cornell, The Four Aces, Grover Washington Jr. and The Soul Survivors) during Covid. An accompanying lyric video is available now at https://youtu.be/U0SJwv-j2wE (https://youtu.be/U0SJwv-j2wE). Support this podcast

Award Winning Singer Songwriter Laura Cheadle has but one wish for the holidays – to lift her fans’ spirits and bring back the true meaning of Christmas. The self-proclaimed purveyor of positivity, has released a pair of seasonal songs and videos “Christmas In My Life” and “Red Ain’t Everything (The Rudolph Blues)" – available now on all DSPs – that she hopes will evoke “that nostalgic Christmas feeling, no matter where they are on Christmas.”  “Christmas In My Life,” which showcases Cheadle’s more pop-infused sound with its upbeat tempo and catchy, sing-a-along chorus, was originally written by Cheadle in 2017 and reworked this year with the help of her father and Philadelphia music icon James Cheadle (Cheadle has worked with everyone from Jerry Ross for Jerry Butler, Harold Melvin, The Blue Notes and The O'Jaysto DJ Jazzy Jeff, Don Cornell, The Four Aces, Grover Washington Jr. and The Soul Survivors) during Covid. An accompanying lyric video is available now at https://youtu.be/U0SJwv-j2wE (https://youtu.be/U0SJwv-j2wE). Support this podcast

Nouvelle diffusion, ce dimanche, de la rencontre avec Stein Verrelst et Maarten Vandenbemden, deux membres du quatuor de guitares ' Four Aces '. C'était ce 27 octobre 2019. "Et si Mozart avait joué de la guitare", c'est à partir de ce postulat, aussi sympathique, saugrenu, sérieux qu'intrigant qu'est né "Tabula Rasa" le 4e disque du "Four Aces guitar quartet" Le quatuor "Four aces", est comme son nom le dit un quatuor de guitares constitué de Menno Buggenhout, Inti De Maet, Stijn Verrelst et Maarten Vandenbemden . Fondé en 2009, il publie en ce moment son 4e disque "Tabula rasa". Deux de ses membres sont nos invités : les guitaristes Stein Verrelst et Maarten Vandenbemden. " Tabula rasa " tente de répondre à une question que s'est posée le quatuor : "Que se serait-il passé si de grands Maîtres comme Jean-Sébastien Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninov ou Bizet avaient composé pour la guitare ? " On se surprend bien sûr lorsqu'on ne connaît pas le monde de la guitare, à découvrir que ces grands compositeurs ne se sont pas intéressés à cet instrument !! La guitare a donc manifestement souffert d'un manque d'intérêt et de considération évidents, au cours des siècles passés. C'est pour pallier ce manque, pour ouvrir de nouveaux horizons au public et aux guitaristes, mais surtout pour se faire plaisir que les 4 membres du "Four Aces guitar quartet" se sont attelés à la transcription de chefs d'oeuvre du répertoire, de JS Bach, à Rachmaninov et Debussy, en passant par Mozart, Bizet et Scriabine. Essentiellement des oeuvres pour piano. Le résultat est d'abord un disque à la finition technique impeccable, mais c'est surtout dans la finesse des transcriptions que s'expriment le talent et la créativité de cette formation. " Une transcription doit bien sûr d'abord respecter le texte original ", nous confiera le guitariste Maarten Vandenbemden, " Mais elle doit aussi tenter d'y apporter une valeur ajoutée. " Une mission accomplie avec brio donc, en particulier dans la célèbre Marche Turque de Mozart qui clot ce disque. Le charme des transcriptions du "Four Aces guitar quartet", c'est aussi de nous donner à entendre davantage et autre chose que la partition originale. Le cas des "Estampes" de Claude Debussy est exemplaire à cet égard, tant la finesse des quatre voix donnent à Debussy une palette de couleurs, rarement entendue dans la version originale pour piano. Cela étant dit, ces transcriptions ne devraient pas non plus laisser penser qu'on n'a pas écrit du tout pour la guitare au cours des siècles passés! Le répertoire est abondant, en particulier à l'époque baroque, au 20e et à notre 21e siècle. On pense par exemple à des figures aussi importantes que Luciano Berio ou Toru Takemitsu. "Tabula rasa" et ce postulat "Et si Mozart avait joué de la guitare..." sont donc une vraie réussite. C'est d'abord un travail d'orfèvre qui ravira les mélomanes avertis, mais aussi un voyage sensoriel charmant, par la beauté des mélodies originales, et l'inventivité de leurs transcriptions : le "Four Aces guitar quartet" parvient ainsi à toucher un large public. "Tout le monde a une histoire avec la guitare", nous dira le guitariste Maarten Vandenbemden. " Que ce soit via un père, une soeur, une amie ou un cousin. Tout le monde connaît, de près ou de loin, quelqu'un qui a joué cet instrument ! " "Tabula Rasa" est publié chez Beeldenstorm Bonne écoute ! Réalisation et présentation: Laurent GRAULUS

Nouvelle diffusion, ce dimanche, de la rencontre avec Stein Verrelst et Maarten Vandenbemden, deux membres du quatuor de guitares ' Four Aces '. C'était ce 27 octobre 2019. "Et si Mozart avait joué de la guitare", c'est à partir de ce postulat, aussi sympathique, saugrenu, sérieux qu'intrigant qu'est né "Tabula Rasa" le 4e disque du "Four Aces guitar quartet" Le quatuor "Four aces", est comme son nom le dit un quatuor de guitares constitué de Menno Buggenhout, Inti De Maet, Stijn Verrelst et Maarten Vandenbemden . Fondé en 2009, il publie en ce moment son 4e disque "Tabula rasa". Deux de ses membres sont nos invités : les guitaristes Stein Verrelst et Maarten Vandenbemden. " Tabula rasa " tente de répondre à une question que s'est posée le quatuor : "Que se serait-il passé si de grands Maîtres comme Jean-Sébastien Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninov ou Bizet avaient composé pour la guitare ? " On se surprend bien sûr lorsqu'on ne connaît pas le monde de la guitare, à découvrir que ces grands compositeurs ne se sont pas intéressés à cet instrument !! La guitare a donc manifestement souffert d'un manque d'intérêt et de considération évidents, au cours des siècles passés. C'est pour pallier ce manque, pour ouvrir de nouveaux horizons au public et aux guitaristes, mais surtout pour se faire plaisir que les 4 membres du "Four Aces guitar quartet" se sont attelés à la transcription de chefs d'oeuvre du répertoire, de JS Bach, à Rachmaninov et Debussy, en passant par Mozart, Bizet et Scriabine. Essentiellement des oeuvres pour piano. Le résultat est d'abord un disque à la finition technique impeccable, mais c'est surtout dans la finesse des transcriptions que s'expriment le talent et la créativité de cette formation. " Une transcription doit bien sûr d'abord respecter le texte original ", nous confiera le guitariste Maarten Vandenbemden, " Mais elle doit aussi tenter d'y apporter une valeur ajoutée. " Une mission accomplie avec brio donc, en particulier dans la célèbre Marche Turque de Mozart qui clot ce disque. Le charme des transcriptions du "Four Aces guitar quartet", c'est aussi de nous donner à entendre davantage et autre chose que la partition originale. Le cas des "Estampes" de Claude Debussy est exemplaire à cet égard, tant la finesse des quatre voix donnent à Debussy une palette de couleurs, rarement entendue dans la version originale pour piano. Cela étant dit, ces transcriptions ne devraient pas non plus laisser penser qu'on n'a pas écrit du tout pour la guitare au cours des siècles passés! Le répertoire est abondant, en particulier à l'époque baroque, au 20e et à notre 21e siècle. On pense par exemple à des figures aussi importantes que Luciano Berio ou Toru Takemitsu. "Tabula rasa" et ce postulat "Et si Mozart avait joué de la guitare..." sont donc une vraie réussite. C'est d'abord un travail d'orfèvre qui ravira les mélomanes avertis, mais aussi un voyage sensoriel charmant, par la beauté des mélodies originales, et l'inventivité de leurs transcriptions : le "Four Aces guitar quartet" parvient ainsi à toucher un large public. "Tout le monde a une histoire avec la guitare", nous dira le guitariste Maarten Vandenbemden. " Que ce soit via un père, une soeur, une amie ou un cousin. Tout le monde connaît, de près ou de loin, quelqu'un qui a joué cet instrument ! " "Tabula Rasa" est publié chez Beeldenstorm Bonne écoute ! Réalisation et présentation: Laurent GRAULUS

Episode 142, “1940s Weather,” includes 17 songs and stories about storms, sunshine, rain, wind, and snow. Performers include Perry Como, Sister Rosetta Tharp, Jimmy Dorsey, Sammy Kaye, Johnny Cash, and The Four Aces with Al... Read More The post Episode 142, “1940s Weather,” appeared first on Sam Waldron.

A l'approche des élections américaines, il est légitime de s'interroger sur les incompréhensions générées par nos subtiles différences culturelles, qu'on pouvait jusque là considérer comme mineures. Regardant une fonction qui influe indirectement mais considérablement sur notre quotidien, c'est fâcheux. « Sitting on Top of the World » cette semaine dans Bon Temps Rouler.         Playlist :      Sittin' On Top Of The World, Jerry Reed, Oh What A Woman!   Sittin On Top Of The World, Doc Watson, Doc Watson   Sitting On Top Of The World, Eddie Shaw, Four Decades Of Eddie Shaw   Sittin' On Top Of The World, Van Morrison & Carl Perkins, The Healing Game   Sittin' on Top of the World (Live), Reverend KM Williams, We All Sing the Blues: Live in Deep Ellum   I'm Sittin' On Top Of The World, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Will The Circle Be Unbroken Volume Two   Sittin' On Top Of The World, Willie Nelson, Milk Cow Blues   Come On In My Kitchen, Robert Johnson   You Gotta Move, Sam Cooke, Night Beat   Sitting On Top Of The World, Memphis Slim, The Blues   Sittin' On Top Of The World, The Four Aces, Mood For Love   Sittin' On Top Of The World, Jeff Healey, Mess Of Blues   When Things Go Wrong (It Hurts Me Too), Big Bill Broonzy, Trouble In MindHébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Yo La Tengo, Sophia, Fleet Foxes, Idles, Daniel Johnston, Sleaford Mods, Fontaines Dc, Ghostpoet, Thurston Moore, Holy Motors, Emmanuelle Sigal

Yo La Tengo, Sophia, Fleet Foxes, Idles, Daniel Johnston, Sleaford Mods, Fontaines Dc, Ghostpoet, Thurston Moore, Holy Motors, Emmanuelle Sigal

Good Morning, This is Louise. Episode 75 - only you featuring music byThe Creatures, The Platters, Frank Ocean, Summer Walker, King Tubby & Scientist, The Four Aces, Georgia Gibbs, Serena Isioma, Sevyn Streeter, Jackie Gleason, François de Roubaix, Dimitri Tiomkin, Arlo Parks, TeaMarrr, Jo Boyer, Monica & Lil Baby, Franz Waxman, Bernard Herrmann, and Shigeru Umebayashi with ambient field recordings by Rambalac programmed and produced by @small_ernst Thank you for listening Namo Guan Shi Yin Pusa

The Hit Parade Jukebox series highlights the music from the days when the jukebox dominated our after-school social activities. And the songs we played with our nickels, dimes, and quarters determined the “hits” of the day. This episode features: (1) Music, Music, Music by Teresa Brewer (w/ The Dixieland All-Stars) (2) L-O-V-E by Peggy Lee (3) Oh Baby Mine by The Four Knights (4) You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To by Nancy Wilson (5) Round And Round by Perry Como (6) Sweet Pumpkin by Freda Payne (7) Snootie Little Cutie by Bobby Troup (8) Are You Certain by Sarah Vaughan (9) Teach Me Tonight by The DeCastro Sisters (10) Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra (11) Opus No. 1 by The Mills Brothers (12) Heart Of My Heart by The Four Aces (13) Bugle Call Rag by The Modernaires (14) Midnight Flyer by Nat King Cole (15) Just for Old Time's Sake by The McGuire Sisters (16) Comes Love by Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra (17) Route 66 by The Four Freshmen (18) Melodie D'Amour by The Ames Brothers (19) The Lady Is A Tramp by Sammy Davis Jr (20) Send Me The Pillow You Dream On by Dean Martin (21) Allegheny Moon by Patti Page (22) Where The Blue Of The Night (Meets The Gold Of The Day) by Tommy Mara

Para este último programa de la duodécima temporada pizarra, desde la mesa camilla del Torreón, les tenemos reservado un repertorio acorde con tan magno acontecimiento... The Four Aces, Milton Brown and His Brownies, Cab Calloway y Amos Milburn, serán algunos de los titanes de la noche. A partir de las 23.00 horas en la sintonía de Radio 3. Escuchar audio

A new episode

A new episode

From 2008 to 2011, the Phillies enjoyed one of the most fruitful periods in their franchise's history, and their pitching staff was largely responsible. In this Team Building Exercise, we look back at how the Phillies built their dominant rotation, and how the famed "Four Aces" came together for a memorably dominant 2011 season. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/student-of-the-game2/support

It's time to go back to the basics! There are four aces up your sleeve that you can play at any time with your kids. Listen in to today's episode to learn how to win at the card game called, "parenting".   **Special Offer– March 1 – 31: Have a New Kid by Friday ebook for $2.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you get your ebooks**     Show Sponsored by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Produced by Unmutable™

Join the INDIGO DOOR Waitingroom on Facebook for the next training cycle.  Global Tarot Association is an organization where one can learn may ways to study the Tarot and approaches to reading the Tarot that fits your sensibilties. Found in StephanieLeonNeal.com

Lovely Radio Show is back with more artist submissions new music and new classics!

Já ágætu hlustendur við festum okkur enn og aftur í fortíðinni og skoðum dagana í kringum 12 janúar á árunum 1955, 65, 75 og 85. Árið 1955 voru kvikmyndirnar 12 á hádegi með Gary Cooper og Litli Rauður með Robert Mitchum sýndar í Alþýðuhúsinu á Ísafirði og auglýstar í blaðinu Ísfirðingi. Á Írlandi bar það til tíðinda árið 1965 að ráðamenn á Írlandi og N Írlandi funduðu í fyrsta sinn í 43 ár. Árið 1975 sló Alþýðublaðið því upp að liðið fiskveiðiár væri það fjórða besta í sögu lýðveldisins Íslands og árið 1985 var hin goðsagnakennda rokkhátíð Rock in Rio þar sem Queen og Iron Maiden komu fram á fyrsta kvöldinu fyrir framan 350 - 500 þúsund manns en við byrjum á öðrum og miklu hógværari nótum. Hér eru Four Aces frá 1955 Tímaflakk með Bergsson og Blöndal er alla sunnudaga kl. 15.02 á Rás 2

Já ágætu hlustendur við festum okkur enn og aftur í fortíðinni og skoðum dagana í kringum 12 janúar á árunum 1955, 65, 75 og 85. Árið 1955 voru kvikmyndirnar 12 á hádegi með Gary Cooper og Litli Rauður með Robert Mitchum sýndar í Alþýðuhúsinu á Ísafirði og auglýstar í blaðinu Ísfirðingi. Á Írlandi bar það til tíðinda árið 1965 að ráðamenn á Írlandi og N Írlandi funduðu í fyrsta sinn í 43 ár. Árið 1975 sló Alþýðublaðið því upp að liðið fiskveiðiár væri það fjórða besta í sögu lýðveldisins Íslands og árið 1985 var hin goðsagnakennda rokkhátíð Rock in Rio þar sem Queen og Iron Maiden komu fram á fyrsta kvöldinu fyrir framan 350 - 500 þúsund manns en við byrjum á öðrum og miklu hógværari nótum. Hér eru Four Aces frá 1955 Tímaflakk með Bergsson og Blöndal er alla sunnudaga kl. 15.02 á Rás 2

www.aeropuertojazzcafe.com Programa 0016 Jimmy Dludlu, Andy Narell, Anthony Brancati, The Cannonball Band, Roomful of Blues, The Four Aces.

www.aeropuertojazzcafe.com Programa 0016 Jimmy Dludlu, Andy Narell, Anthony Brancati, The Cannonball Band, Roomful of Blues, The Four Aces.

In this Episode We take a Ride to Sac town aka Sacramento to talk to Oakland Native and Podcaster The Saint. From his beginnings in Oakland, to the evolution of music culture growing up, and his love for music the saint brings his insight on his passions and his network Four Aces presents Radio. It’s a podcast full of wisdom and more-Anything on the table anything on the menu-Deliverybros For More on The Saint and Four Aces Network check out on these awesome platforms where you can find their content. Four Aces Facebook:https://m.facebook.com/fouracespresentsradio/ Now Vs Then Network Facebook:https://m.facebook.com/nowvsthen/ Instagram: @Saintoffouraces @Fouracespresentsradio Twitter: @NowVsThen For Deliverybros Podcast Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkoN5tkqeEAxk23J5FzAuYQ/?disable_polymer=trueMreg Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3jw3D2cMyIT588jlOcnhu1 stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/deliverybros Podbean https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-4a9vb-600bdd5 Anchor https://anchor.fm/deliverybros Apple Podcasts https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/deliverybros/id1445345188?mt=2&uo=4 S/O to our sponsors: Jarheads Mobile Welding: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jhmwkc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarheads_mobile_welding/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/eric_brack Carleton's Grand Jerky: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Carletons-Grand-Jerky-478951355496829/ Website: https://grandjerkysd.com Morris Envio Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pg/morrisenviro If you would like to support the Deliverybros check out the links below: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deliverybros Paypal: paypal.me/anthonyanthem Gofundme: https://www.gofundme.com/f/1lymc5hlc0?sharetype=teams&member=2073784&rcid=r01-156741773435-1918f0bb9f6e4203&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deliverybros/message

We are starting a new series today based on a formula called the Four ACES. This formula will lay the groundwork as to how your website plays a part in your online presence. In This Episode You'll Learn: Your Website Is The Foundation Of Your Online Presence You Have Control Over Your Website You Can Use Your Website To Build Digital Assets The Introduction to The Four ACES --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mvpradioshow/message

Musical zombies rise from the dead to sing an evening of ‘50’s pop standards. Let me try that again. On February 4, 1964, The Plaids, an eastern Pennsylvania-based vocal quartet, were headed for a major gig at the Fusel-Lounge at the Harrisburg Airport Hilton when their cherry red Mercury was broadsided by a bus full of Catholic schoolgirls. The girls, who escaped unscathed, were on their way to see the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Plaids went on to that Great Performance Hall in the Sky… or at least the green room of the Great Performance Hall in the Sky. Rather than spend an eternity waiting to “go on”, they make their way back to earth to give the concert that never was. That is the plot upon which Stuart Ross and James Raitt hang twenty-four musical standards in their very popular jukebox musical Forever Plaid, running through March 3 at the Lucky Penny Community Arts Center in Napa. Frankie (F. James Raasch), Sparky (Scottie Woodard), Jinx (Michael Scott Wells), and Smudge (David Murphy) were high school friends who dreamed of musical glory. Following the path created by ‘50’s versions of what we now refer to as “boy bands” (The Four Lads, The Four Aces, The Crew-Cuts, etc.), they formed The Plaids and specialized in four-part harmonies. And that’s what you’ll hear over the Michael Ross-directed show’s one hour and 45-minute running time. “Three Coins in the Fountain”, “Sixteen Tons”, “Chain Gang”, and “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” are just some of the 20-plus songs performed by the crisply costumed gents (courtesy Barbara McFadden) with matching choreography by Woodard. Music is nicely performed by a trio consisting of music director Craig Burdette (keyboards), Quentin Cohen (drums), and Alan Parks (bass). The guys are good with each one getting a solo shot to go along with the group work. Their stock characters (the shy one, the funny, etc.) banter with each other between numbers and amusingly engage with the audience. The comedic numbers are particularly well done with the show’s highlight being a three-minute recreation of The Ed Sullivan Show, though it helps to have some familiarity with that show. The same can be said for the music. Yes, it’s a trip down memory lane, but if toe-tapping, hand-squeezing and perpetual grinning are any indications, Forever Plaid hits all the right notes with an audience willing to make the trip. ’Forever Plaid' plays through March 3rd at the Lucky Penny Community Arts Center in Napa. Thursday evening performances are at 7pm; Fridays and Saturdays are at 8pm. There’s a Sunday matinee at 2pm. For more information, go to luckypennynapa.com

  Welcome to episode sixteen of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs. Today we're looking at "Crazy Man Crazy" by Bill Haley and the Comets. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. ----more---- Resources As always, I've created a Mixcloud streaming playlist with full versions of all the songs in the episode.   Unfortunately, there aren't many good books about Bill Haley available. There are two biographies which are long out of print -- one by John Swenson which I read as a very small child, and one from the nineties by one of Haley's sons. Another of Haley's sons has a biography due out in April, which might be worthwhile, but until then the only book available is a self-published biography by Otto Fuchs. I relied on volume one of Fuchs' book for this post -- it's very good on the facts -- but it suffers from being written by someone whose first language is not English, and it also *badly* needs an editor, so I can't wholly recommend it. This box set, which is ridiculously cheap, contains almost every track anyone could want by Haley and the Comets, and it also includes the early country music sides I've excerpted here, as well as tracks by the Jodimars (a band consisting of ex-Comets). Unfortunately it doesn't contain his great late-fifties singles "Lean Jean" and "Skinny Minnie", but it has everything else.   Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript   We've talked before about how there were multiple different musics that got lumped together in the mid-fifties under the name "rock and roll". There's rockabilly, Chicago rhythm and blues, doo-wop, New Orleans R&B, the coastal jump bands, and Northern band rock and roll. We've looked at most of these – and the ones we haven't we'll be looking at over the next few weeks – but what we haven't looked at so far is Northern band rock and roll. And in many ways that's the most interesting of all the rock and roll musics, because it's the one that at first glance has had almost no obvious impact on anything that followed, but it's also the one that first came to the attention of the white American public as rock and roll – the one that made the newspapers and got the headlines. And it's the one that had only one real example. While the other styles of music had dozens of people making them, Northern band rock and roll really only had Bill Haley and the Comets. A whole pillar of rock and roll – a whole massive strand of the contemporary view of this music – was down to the work of one band who had no peers and left no real legacy. Or at least, they seem to have left no legacy, until you look a bit closer. But before we look at where the Comets' music led, we should look at where they were coming from. Bill Haley didn't set out to be a rock and roll star, because when he started there was no such thing. He set out to be a country and western singer. He played with various country bands over the years – bands with names like The Down Homers and the Texas Range Riders – before he decided to become a band leader himself, and started his own band, the Four Aces of Western Swing. Obviously this wasn't a full Western Swing band in the style of Bob Wills' band, but they played a stripped-down version which captured much of the appeal of the music – and which had a secret weapon in Haley himself, the Indiana State Yodelling Champion. Yes, yodelling. Let me explain. Jimmie Rodgers was a huge, huge, star, and his gimmick was his yodelling: [excerpt "Blue Yodel (T For Texas)": Jimmie Rodgers] Every country singer in the 1940s wanted to sound like Jimmie Rodgers – at least until Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams came along and everyone wanted to sound like them instead. And that's the sound that Bill Haley was going for when he started the Four Aces of Western Swing. [excerpt of "Yodel Your Blues Away" by the Four Aces of Western Swing] That's how Bill Haley started out – as a Jimmie Rodgers imitator whose greatest strength was his yodelling. It definitely doesn't sound like the work of someone who would change music forever. You'd expect, without knowing the rest of his history, that the Four Aces of Western Swing would become a footnote to a footnote; a band who, if they were remembered at all, would be remembered for one or two singles included on some big box set compilation of vintage country music. Much of their music was derivative in the extreme, but there were a handful of more interesting tracks, some of which would still be of interest to aficionados, like "Foolish Questions". [Excerpt of "Foolish Questions" by the Four Aces of Western Swing] But without Bill Haley's future career, it's unlikely there'd be any more attention paid to the Four Aces than that. They don't really make a dent in country music history, and didn't have the kind of career that suggested they would ever do so. Most of their records didn't even get a proper release – Haley was signed to a label called Cowboy Records, which was a Mafia-run organisation. The first five thousand copies of every Cowboy release went to Mafia-owned jukeboxes, for free, and artists would only get royalties on any records sold after that. Since jukeboxes accounted for the majority of the money in the record business at this point, that didn't leave much for the artists – especially as Haley had to pay his own recording and production costs, and he had to do any promotion himself – buying boxes of records at $62.50 for two hundred and fifty copies, and sending them out to DJs through the post at his own expense. It was basically a glorified vanity label, and the only reason Haley got any airplay at all was because he was himself a DJ. And after a few unsuccessful singles, he decided to give up on performance and become just a DJ. But soon Haley had a new band, which would become far more successful – Bill Haley and his... Saddlemen. Yes, the Saddlemen. By all accounts, the Saddlemen weren't Haley's idea. One day two musicians turned up at the radio station, saying they wanted to join his band. Billy Williamson and Johnny Grande were unhappy with the band they were performing in, and had heard Haley performing with his band on the radio. They had decided that Haley's band would be a perfect showcase for their talents on steel guitar and accordion, and had travelled from Newark New Jersey to Chester Pennsylvania to see him. But they'd showed up to discover that he didn't have a band any more. They eventually persuaded him that it would be worth his while going back into music, and Haley arranged for the band to get a show once a week on the station he was DJing on. While Haley was the leader on stage, they were an equal partnership – the Saddlemen, and later the Comets, split money four ways between Haley, Williamson, Grande, and the band's manager, with any other band members who were later hired, such as drummers and bass players, being on a fixed salary paid out by the partnership. The band didn't make much money at first -- they all had other jobs, with Williamson and Grande working all sorts of odd jobs, while Haley was doing so much work at the radio station that he often ended up sleeping there. Haley worked so hard that his marriage disintegrated, but the Saddlemen had one big advantage – they had the radio station's recording studio to use for their rehearsals, and they were able to use the studio's recording equipment to play back their rehearsals and learn, something that very few bands had at the time. They spent two whole years rehearsing every day, and taking whatever gigs they could, and that eventually started to pay off. The Saddlemen started out making the same kind of music that the Four Aces had made. They put out decent, but not massively impressive, records on all sorts of tiny labels. Most of these recordings were called things like "Ten Gallon Stetson", and in one case the single wasn't even released as the Saddlemen but as Reno Browne and Her Buckaroos. This was about as generic as country and western music could get. [excerpt: “My Sweet Little Gal From Nevada” – Reno Browne and Her Buckaroos] But Bill Haley had bigger plans, inspired by the show that was on right before his. The radio had changed enormously in a very short period of time. Before the Second World War, playing records on the radio had been almost unknown, until in 1935 the first recognised DJ, Martin Block, started his radio show "Make Believe Ballroom", in which he would pretend to be introducing all sorts of different bands. The record labels spent much of the next few years fighting the same kind of copyright actions they would later fight against the Internet -- in this case aided by the Musicians' Union, but harmed by the fact that there was no federal copyright protection for sound recordings until the 1970s. Indeed a lot of the musicians' strikes of the 1940s were, in part, about the issue of playing records on the radio. But eventually, the record labels -- especially the ones, like RCA and Columbia, which were also radio network owners -- realised that being played on the radio was great advertising for their records, and stopped fighting it. And at the same time, there was a massive expansion in radio stations -- and a drop in advertising money. After the war, restrictions on broadcasting were lifted, and within four years there were more than twice as many radio stations as there had been in 1946. But at the same time, the networks were no longer making as much money from advertising, which started going to TV instead. The solution was to go for cheap, local, programming -- and there was little programming that was cheaper than getting a man to sit in the studio and play records. And in 1948 and 49, Columbia and RCA introduced "high fidelity" records -- the 33RPM album from Columbia, and the 45RPM single from RCA. These didn't have the problems that 78s had, of poor sound quality and quick degradation, and so the final barrier to radio stations becoming devoted to recorded music was lifted. This is, incidentally, why the earlier musicians we've talked about in this series are largely forgotten compared to musicians from even a few years later -- their records came out on 78s. Radio stations threw out all their old 78s when they could start playing 45s, and so you'd never hear a Wynonie Harris or Louis Jordan played even as a golden oldie, because the radio stations didn't have those records any more. They disappeared from the cultural memory, in a way the fifties acts didn't. And the time we're talking about now is right when that growth in the radio was at its height, and all the new radio stations were turning to recorded music. But in the early fifties, only a handful of stations were playing black music, only for an hour or two a day at most. And when they did, the DJ was always a white man -- but usually a white man who could sound black, and thought himself part of black culture. Zenas Sears in Atlanta, Dewey Phillips in Memphis, Alan Freed in Cleveland, Johnny Otis in LA -- all of these were people who even many of their black listeners presumed were black, playing black records, speaking in black slang. All of them, of course, used their privilege as white men to get jobs that black people simply weren't given. But that was the closest that black people came to representation on the radio at the time, and those radio shows were precious to many of them. People would tune in from hundreds of miles away to hear those few DJs who for one hour a day were playing their music. And the show that was on before Bill Haley's country and western show was one of those handful of R&B shows. "Judge Rhythm's Court" was presented by a white man in his forties named Jim Reeves (not the singer of the same name) under the name of "Shorty the Bailiff". Reeves' theme was "Rock the Joint" by Jimmy Preston and the Prestonians: [excerpt "Rock the Joint", Jimmy Preston and the Prestonians] Haley liked the music that Reeves was playing -- in particular, he became a big fan of Big Joe Turner and Ruth Brown -- and he started adding some of the R&B songs to the Saddlemen's setlists, and noticed they went down especially well with the younger audiences. But they didn't record those songs in their rare recording sessions for small labels. Until, that is, the Saddlemen signed up to Holiday Records. As soon as they started with Holiday, their style changed completely. Holiday, and its sister label Essex which also released Saddlemen records, were owned by Dave Miller, who also owned the pressing plant that had pressed Haley's earlier records for the Cowboy label, and Miller had similar mob connections. Haley would later claim that while Miller always said the money to start the record labels had come from a government subsidy, in fact it had been paid by the Mafia. His labels had started up during the musicians' union strikes of the 1940s, to put out records by non-union musicians, and Miller wasn't too concerned about bothering to pay royalties or other such niceties. Haley also later claimed that Miller invented payola – the practice of paying DJs to play records. This was something that a lot of independent labels did in the early fifties, and was one of the ways they managed to get heard, even as many of the big labels were still cautious about the radio. Miller wanted to have big hits, and in particular he wanted to find ways to get both the white and black markets with the same records, and here he had an ally in Haley, who took a scientific approach to maximising his band's success. Haley would try things like turning up the band's amplifiers, on the theory that if customers couldn't hear themselves talking, they'd be more likely to dance – and then turning the amps back down when the bar owners would complain that if the customers danced too much they wouldn't buy as many drinks. Haley was willing to work hard and try literally anything in order to make his band a success, and wasn't afraid to try new ideas and then throw them away if they didn't work. This makes his discography frustrating for listeners now – it's a long record of failed experiments, dead ends, and stylistic aberrations unlike almost any other successful artist's. This is someone not blessed with a huge abundance of natural talent, but willing to work much harder in order to make a success of things anyway. Miller was a natural ally in this, and they hit on a formula which would be independently reinvented a couple of years later by Sam Phillips for Elvis' records – putting out singles with a country song on one side and an R&B song on the other, to try to appeal to both white and black markets. And one song that Dave Miller heard and thought that might suit Haley's band was "Rocket 88" This might have seemed an odd decision – after all, "Rocket 88" was a horn-driven rhythm and blues song, while the Saddlemen at this point consisted of Haley on acoustic guitar, double-bass player Al Rex, Billy Williamson on steel guitar, and Johnny Grande, an accordion player who could double on piano. This doesn't sound the most propitious lineup for an R&B song, but along with ace session guitarist Danny Cedrone they actually managed to come up with something rather impressive: [excerpt of "Rocket 88"] Obviously it's not a patch on the original, but translating that R&B song into a western swing style had ended up with something a little different to the hillbilly boogie one might expect. In particular, there's the drum sound.... Oh wait, there's no drumming there. What do you mean, you heard it? Let's listen again... [excerpt of "Rocket 88"] There are no drums there. It's what's called slapback bass. Now, before we go any further, I'd better explain that there's some terminological confusion, because "slap bass" is a similar but not identical electric bass technique, while the word "slapback" is also used for the echo used on some rockabilly records, so talking about "rockabilly slapback bass" can end up a bit like "Who's on first?" But what I mean when I talk about slapback bass is a style of bass playing used on many rockabilly records. It's used in other genres, too, but it basically came to rockabilly because of Bill Haley's band, and because of the playing style Haley's bass players Al Rex and Marshall Lytle used. With slapback bass, you're playing a double bass, and you play it pizzicato, plucking the strings. But you don't just pluck them, you pull them forward and let them slap right back onto the bridge of the instrument, which makes a sort of clicking sound. At the same time, you might also hit the strings to mute them – which also makes a clicking sound as well. And you might also hit the body of the instrument, making a loud thumping noise. Given the recording techniques in use at the time, slapback bass could often sound a lot like drums on a recording, though you'd never mistake one for the other in a live performance. And at a time when country music wasn't particularly keen on the whole idea of a drum kit – which was seen as a dangerous innovation from the jazz world, not something that country and western musicians should be playing, though by this time Bob Wills had been using one in his band for a decade – having something else that could keep the beat and act as a percussion instrument was vital, and slapback bass was one of the big innovations that Haley's band popularised. So yes, Bill Haley and the Saddlemen's version of "Rocket 88" had no drum kit on it. Despite this, some people still cite this, rather than Jackie Brenston's original, as "the first rock and roll record". As we've said many times, though, there is no such thing. But Haley's recording makes an attractive candidate – it's the mythical "merging of black R&B with white country music", which of course was something that had been happening since the very start, but which people seem to regard as something that marked out rock and roll, and it's the first recording in this style by the person who went on to have the first really massive rock and roll hit to cross over into the pop charts. "Rocket 88" wasn't that big hit. But Haley and Miller felt like they were on to something, and they kept trying to come up with something that would work in that style. They put out quite a few singles that were almost, but not quite, what they were after, things like a remake of "Wabash Cannonball" retitled "Jukebox Cannonball", and then they finally hit on the perfect formula with "Rock the Joint", which had been in Haley's setlist off and on since he heard it on Jim Reeves' programme. The original "Rock the Joint" had been one of the many, many, records that attempted to cash in on the rock craze ignited by Wynonie Harris' version of "Good Rockin' Tonight", but it hadn't done much outside of the Philadelphia area. Haley and the band went into the studio to record their own version, which had a very different arrangement – and listen in particular to the solo... [excerpt "Rock the Joint" – Bill Haley and the Saddlemen] That solo is played by the session musician, Danny Cedrone, who played the lead guitar on almost all of Haley's early records. He wasn't a member of the band – Haley kept costs low in these early years by having as small a band as possible, but hiring extra musicians for the recordings to beef up the sound -- but he was someone that Haley trusted to always play the right parts on his records. Haley and Cedrone were close enough that in 1952 – after "Rocket 88" but before "Rock the Joint" – Haley gave Cedrone a song for his own band, The Esquire Boys. That song, "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie", would probably have been a hit for Haley, had he recorded it at the time -- instead, he didn't record it for another three years. But that song, too, shows that he was on the right track. He was searching for something, and finding it occasionally, but not always recognising it when he had it. (Excerpt: "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" by The Esquire Boys) "Rock the Joint" was a massive success, by the standards of a small indie country label, reportedly selling as much as four hundred thousand copies. But even after "Rock the Joint", the problems continued. Haley's next two records were "Dance With a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stockin')" – which was to the tune of "Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight?" – and "Stop Beatin' Around the Mulberry Bush", which was a rewrite of "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" as a hillbilly boogie. But "Stop Beatin' Around the Mulberry Bush" was notable for one reason – it was the first record by "Bill Haley and Haley's Comets", rather than by the Saddlemen. The pun on Halley's comet was obvious, but the real importance of the name change is that it marked a definitive moment when the band stopped thinking of themselves as a country and western band and started thinking of themselves as something else – Haley didn't pick up on the term "rock and roll" til fairly late, but it was clear that that was what he thought he should be doing now. They now had a drummer, too – Dick Richards – and a sax player. Al Rex was temporarily gone, replaced by Marshall Lytle, but Rex would be back in 1955. They were still veering wildly between rhythm and blues covers, country songs, and outright novelty records, but they were slowly narrowing down what they were trying to do, and hitting a target more and more often – they were making records about rhythm, using slang catchphrases and trying to appeal to a younger audience. And there was a genuine excitement in some of their stage performances. Haley would never be the most exciting vocalist when working in this new rock and roll idiom – he was someone who was a natural country singer and wasn't familiar with the idioms he was incorporating into his new music, so there was a sense of distance there – but the band would make up for that on stage, with the bass player riding his bass (a common technique for getting an audience going at this point) and the saxophone player lying on his back to play solos. And that excitement shone through in "Crazy Man Crazy", which became the Comets' first real big hit. This was another example of the way that Haley would take a scientific approach to his band's success. He and his band members had realised that the key to success in the record business was going to be appealing to teenagers, who were a fast-growing demographic and who, for the first time in American history, had some real buying power. But teenagers couldn't go to the bars where country musicians played, and at the time there were very few entertainment venues of any type that catered to teenagers. So Bill Haley and the Comets played, by Johnny Grande's count, one hundred and eighty-three school assemblies, for free. And at every show they would make note of what songs the kids liked, which ones got them dancing, which ones they were less impressed by, and they would hone their act to appeal to these kids. And one thing Haley noted was that the teenagers' favourite slang expression was "crazy", and so he wrote... [excerpt: Crazy Man Crazy, Bill Haley and the Comets] That went to number fifteen on the pop charts, a truly massive success for a country and western band. Marshall Lytle, the Comets' bass player, later claimed that he had co-written the song and not got the credit, but the other Comets disputed his claims. This is another of those records that is cited as the first rock and roll record, or the first rock and roll hit, and certainly it's the first example of a white band playing this kind of music to make the charts. And, more fairly to Haley, it's the first example of a band using guitars as their primary instruments to get onto the charts playing something that resembles jump band music. "Crazy Man Crazy" is very clearly patterned after Louis Jordan, but those guitar fills would be played by a horn section on Jordan's records. With Danny Cedrone's solos, Bill Haley and the Comets were responsible for making the guitar the standard lead instrument for rock and roll, although it took a while for that to *become* the standard and we will see plenty of piano and saxophone, including on later records by Haley himself. So why was Haley doing something so different from what everyone else did? In part, I think that can be linked to the reason he didn't stay successful very long – he wasn't part of a scene at all. When we look at almost all the other musicians we're talking about in this series, you'll see that they're all connected to other musicians. The myth of the lone genius is just that – a myth. What actually tends to happen is that the "lone genius" is someone who uses the abilities of others and then pretends it was all himself – and it almost always is a him. There's a whole peer group there, who get conveniently erased. But the fact remains that Haley and the Comets, as a group, didn't have any kind of peer group or community. They weren't part of a scene, and really had no peers doing what they were doing. There was no-one to tell them what to do, or what not to do. So Bill Haley and the Comets had started something unique. But it was that very uniqueness that was to cause them problems, as we'll see when we return to them in a few weeks...

  Welcome to episode sixteen of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs. Today we’re looking at “Crazy Man Crazy” by Bill Haley and the Comets. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. —-more—- Resources As always, I’ve created a Mixcloud streaming playlist with full versions of all the songs in the episode.   Unfortunately, there aren’t many good books about Bill Haley available. There are two biographies which are long out of print — one by John Swenson which I read as a very small child, and one from the nineties by one of Haley’s sons. Another of Haley’s sons has a biography due out in April, which might be worthwhile, but until then the only book available is a self-published biography by Otto Fuchs. I relied on volume one of Fuchs’ book for this post — it’s very good on the facts — but it suffers from being written by someone whose first language is not English, and it also *badly* needs an editor, so I can’t wholly recommend it. This box set, which is ridiculously cheap, contains almost every track anyone could want by Haley and the Comets, and it also includes the early country music sides I’ve excerpted here, as well as tracks by the Jodimars (a band consisting of ex-Comets). Unfortunately it doesn’t contain his great late-fifties singles “Lean Jean” and “Skinny Minnie”, but it has everything else.   Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript   We’ve talked before about how there were multiple different musics that got lumped together in the mid-fifties under the name “rock and roll”. There’s rockabilly, Chicago rhythm and blues, doo-wop, New Orleans R&B, the coastal jump bands, and Northern band rock and roll. We’ve looked at most of these – and the ones we haven’t we’ll be looking at over the next few weeks – but what we haven’t looked at so far is Northern band rock and roll. And in many ways that’s the most interesting of all the rock and roll musics, because it’s the one that at first glance has had almost no obvious impact on anything that followed, but it’s also the one that first came to the attention of the white American public as rock and roll – the one that made the newspapers and got the headlines. And it’s the one that had only one real example. While the other styles of music had dozens of people making them, Northern band rock and roll really only had Bill Haley and the Comets. A whole pillar of rock and roll – a whole massive strand of the contemporary view of this music – was down to the work of one band who had no peers and left no real legacy. Or at least, they seem to have left no legacy, until you look a bit closer. But before we look at where the Comets’ music led, we should look at where they were coming from. Bill Haley didn’t set out to be a rock and roll star, because when he started there was no such thing. He set out to be a country and western singer. He played with various country bands over the years – bands with names like The Down Homers and the Texas Range Riders – before he decided to become a band leader himself, and started his own band, the Four Aces of Western Swing. Obviously this wasn’t a full Western Swing band in the style of Bob Wills’ band, but they played a stripped-down version which captured much of the appeal of the music – and which had a secret weapon in Haley himself, the Indiana State Yodelling Champion. Yes, yodelling. Let me explain. Jimmie Rodgers was a huge, huge, star, and his gimmick was his yodelling: [excerpt “Blue Yodel (T For Texas)”: Jimmie Rodgers] Every country singer in the 1940s wanted to sound like Jimmie Rodgers – at least until Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams came along and everyone wanted to sound like them instead. And that’s the sound that Bill Haley was going for when he started the Four Aces of Western Swing. [excerpt of “Yodel Your Blues Away” by the Four Aces of Western Swing] That’s how Bill Haley started out – as a Jimmie Rodgers imitator whose greatest strength was his yodelling. It definitely doesn’t sound like the work of someone who would change music forever. You’d expect, without knowing the rest of his history, that the Four Aces of Western Swing would become a footnote to a footnote; a band who, if they were remembered at all, would be remembered for one or two singles included on some big box set compilation of vintage country music. Much of their music was derivative in the extreme, but there were a handful of more interesting tracks, some of which would still be of interest to aficionados, like “Foolish Questions”. [Excerpt of “Foolish Questions” by the Four Aces of Western Swing] But without Bill Haley’s future career, it’s unlikely there’d be any more attention paid to the Four Aces than that. They don’t really make a dent in country music history, and didn’t have the kind of career that suggested they would ever do so. Most of their records didn’t even get a proper release – Haley was signed to a label called Cowboy Records, which was a Mafia-run organisation. The first five thousand copies of every Cowboy release went to Mafia-owned jukeboxes, for free, and artists would only get royalties on any records sold after that. Since jukeboxes accounted for the majority of the money in the record business at this point, that didn’t leave much for the artists – especially as Haley had to pay his own recording and production costs, and he had to do any promotion himself – buying boxes of records at $62.50 for two hundred and fifty copies, and sending them out to DJs through the post at his own expense. It was basically a glorified vanity label, and the only reason Haley got any airplay at all was because he was himself a DJ. And after a few unsuccessful singles, he decided to give up on performance and become just a DJ. But soon Haley had a new band, which would become far more successful – Bill Haley and his… Saddlemen. Yes, the Saddlemen. By all accounts, the Saddlemen weren’t Haley’s idea. One day two musicians turned up at the radio station, saying they wanted to join his band. Billy Williamson and Johnny Grande were unhappy with the band they were performing in, and had heard Haley performing with his band on the radio. They had decided that Haley’s band would be a perfect showcase for their talents on steel guitar and accordion, and had travelled from Newark New Jersey to Chester Pennsylvania to see him. But they’d showed up to discover that he didn’t have a band any more. They eventually persuaded him that it would be worth his while going back into music, and Haley arranged for the band to get a show once a week on the station he was DJing on. While Haley was the leader on stage, they were an equal partnership – the Saddlemen, and later the Comets, split money four ways between Haley, Williamson, Grande, and the band’s manager, with any other band members who were later hired, such as drummers and bass players, being on a fixed salary paid out by the partnership. The band didn’t make much money at first — they all had other jobs, with Williamson and Grande working all sorts of odd jobs, while Haley was doing so much work at the radio station that he often ended up sleeping there. Haley worked so hard that his marriage disintegrated, but the Saddlemen had one big advantage – they had the radio station’s recording studio to use for their rehearsals, and they were able to use the studio’s recording equipment to play back their rehearsals and learn, something that very few bands had at the time. They spent two whole years rehearsing every day, and taking whatever gigs they could, and that eventually started to pay off. The Saddlemen started out making the same kind of music that the Four Aces had made. They put out decent, but not massively impressive, records on all sorts of tiny labels. Most of these recordings were called things like “Ten Gallon Stetson”, and in one case the single wasn’t even released as the Saddlemen but as Reno Browne and Her Buckaroos. This was about as generic as country and western music could get. [excerpt: “My Sweet Little Gal From Nevada” – Reno Browne and Her Buckaroos] But Bill Haley had bigger plans, inspired by the show that was on right before his. The radio had changed enormously in a very short period of time. Before the Second World War, playing records on the radio had been almost unknown, until in 1935 the first recognised DJ, Martin Block, started his radio show “Make Believe Ballroom”, in which he would pretend to be introducing all sorts of different bands. The record labels spent much of the next few years fighting the same kind of copyright actions they would later fight against the Internet — in this case aided by the Musicians’ Union, but harmed by the fact that there was no federal copyright protection for sound recordings until the 1970s. Indeed a lot of the musicians’ strikes of the 1940s were, in part, about the issue of playing records on the radio. But eventually, the record labels — especially the ones, like RCA and Columbia, which were also radio network owners — realised that being played on the radio was great advertising for their records, and stopped fighting it. And at the same time, there was a massive expansion in radio stations — and a drop in advertising money. After the war, restrictions on broadcasting were lifted, and within four years there were more than twice as many radio stations as there had been in 1946. But at the same time, the networks were no longer making as much money from advertising, which started going to TV instead. The solution was to go for cheap, local, programming — and there was little programming that was cheaper than getting a man to sit in the studio and play records. And in 1948 and 49, Columbia and RCA introduced “high fidelity” records — the 33RPM album from Columbia, and the 45RPM single from RCA. These didn’t have the problems that 78s had, of poor sound quality and quick degradation, and so the final barrier to radio stations becoming devoted to recorded music was lifted. This is, incidentally, why the earlier musicians we’ve talked about in this series are largely forgotten compared to musicians from even a few years later — their records came out on 78s. Radio stations threw out all their old 78s when they could start playing 45s, and so you’d never hear a Wynonie Harris or Louis Jordan played even as a golden oldie, because the radio stations didn’t have those records any more. They disappeared from the cultural memory, in a way the fifties acts didn’t. And the time we’re talking about now is right when that growth in the radio was at its height, and all the new radio stations were turning to recorded music. But in the early fifties, only a handful of stations were playing black music, only for an hour or two a day at most. And when they did, the DJ was always a white man — but usually a white man who could sound black, and thought himself part of black culture. Zenas Sears in Atlanta, Dewey Phillips in Memphis, Alan Freed in Cleveland, Johnny Otis in LA — all of these were people who even many of their black listeners presumed were black, playing black records, speaking in black slang. All of them, of course, used their privilege as white men to get jobs that black people simply weren’t given. But that was the closest that black people came to representation on the radio at the time, and those radio shows were precious to many of them. People would tune in from hundreds of miles away to hear those few DJs who for one hour a day were playing their music. And the show that was on before Bill Haley’s country and western show was one of those handful of R&B shows. “Judge Rhythm’s Court” was presented by a white man in his forties named Jim Reeves (not the singer of the same name) under the name of “Shorty the Bailiff”. Reeves’ theme was “Rock the Joint” by Jimmy Preston and the Prestonians: [excerpt “Rock the Joint”, Jimmy Preston and the Prestonians] Haley liked the music that Reeves was playing — in particular, he became a big fan of Big Joe Turner and Ruth Brown — and he started adding some of the R&B songs to the Saddlemen’s setlists, and noticed they went down especially well with the younger audiences. But they didn’t record those songs in their rare recording sessions for small labels. Until, that is, the Saddlemen signed up to Holiday Records. As soon as they started with Holiday, their style changed completely. Holiday, and its sister label Essex which also released Saddlemen records, were owned by Dave Miller, who also owned the pressing plant that had pressed Haley’s earlier records for the Cowboy label, and Miller had similar mob connections. Haley would later claim that while Miller always said the money to start the record labels had come from a government subsidy, in fact it had been paid by the Mafia. His labels had started up during the musicians’ union strikes of the 1940s, to put out records by non-union musicians, and Miller wasn’t too concerned about bothering to pay royalties or other such niceties. Haley also later claimed that Miller invented payola – the practice of paying DJs to play records. This was something that a lot of independent labels did in the early fifties, and was one of the ways they managed to get heard, even as many of the big labels were still cautious about the radio. Miller wanted to have big hits, and in particular he wanted to find ways to get both the white and black markets with the same records, and here he had an ally in Haley, who took a scientific approach to maximising his band’s success. Haley would try things like turning up the band’s amplifiers, on the theory that if customers couldn’t hear themselves talking, they’d be more likely to dance – and then turning the amps back down when the bar owners would complain that if the customers danced too much they wouldn’t buy as many drinks. Haley was willing to work hard and try literally anything in order to make his band a success, and wasn’t afraid to try new ideas and then throw them away if they didn’t work. This makes his discography frustrating for listeners now – it’s a long record of failed experiments, dead ends, and stylistic aberrations unlike almost any other successful artist’s. This is someone not blessed with a huge abundance of natural talent, but willing to work much harder in order to make a success of things anyway. Miller was a natural ally in this, and they hit on a formula which would be independently reinvented a couple of years later by Sam Phillips for Elvis’ records – putting out singles with a country song on one side and an R&B song on the other, to try to appeal to both white and black markets. And one song that Dave Miller heard and thought that might suit Haley’s band was “Rocket 88” This might have seemed an odd decision – after all, “Rocket 88” was a horn-driven rhythm and blues song, while the Saddlemen at this point consisted of Haley on acoustic guitar, double-bass player Al Rex, Billy Williamson on steel guitar, and Johnny Grande, an accordion player who could double on piano. This doesn’t sound the most propitious lineup for an R&B song, but along with ace session guitarist Danny Cedrone they actually managed to come up with something rather impressive: [excerpt of “Rocket 88”] Obviously it’s not a patch on the original, but translating that R&B song into a western swing style had ended up with something a little different to the hillbilly boogie one might expect. In particular, there’s the drum sound…. Oh wait, there’s no drumming there. What do you mean, you heard it? Let’s listen again… [excerpt of “Rocket 88”] There are no drums there. It’s what’s called slapback bass. Now, before we go any further, I’d better explain that there’s some terminological confusion, because “slap bass” is a similar but not identical electric bass technique, while the word “slapback” is also used for the echo used on some rockabilly records, so talking about “rockabilly slapback bass” can end up a bit like “Who’s on first?” But what I mean when I talk about slapback bass is a style of bass playing used on many rockabilly records. It’s used in other genres, too, but it basically came to rockabilly because of Bill Haley’s band, and because of the playing style Haley’s bass players Al Rex and Marshall Lytle used. With slapback bass, you’re playing a double bass, and you play it pizzicato, plucking the strings. But you don’t just pluck them, you pull them forward and let them slap right back onto the bridge of the instrument, which makes a sort of clicking sound. At the same time, you might also hit the strings to mute them – which also makes a clicking sound as well. And you might also hit the body of the instrument, making a loud thumping noise. Given the recording techniques in use at the time, slapback bass could often sound a lot like drums on a recording, though you’d never mistake one for the other in a live performance. And at a time when country music wasn’t particularly keen on the whole idea of a drum kit – which was seen as a dangerous innovation from the jazz world, not something that country and western musicians should be playing, though by this time Bob Wills had been using one in his band for a decade – having something else that could keep the beat and act as a percussion instrument was vital, and slapback bass was one of the big innovations that Haley’s band popularised. So yes, Bill Haley and the Saddlemen’s version of “Rocket 88” had no drum kit on it. Despite this, some people still cite this, rather than Jackie Brenston’s original, as “the first rock and roll record”. As we’ve said many times, though, there is no such thing. But Haley’s recording makes an attractive candidate – it’s the mythical “merging of black R&B with white country music”, which of course was something that had been happening since the very start, but which people seem to regard as something that marked out rock and roll, and it’s the first recording in this style by the person who went on to have the first really massive rock and roll hit to cross over into the pop charts. “Rocket 88” wasn’t that big hit. But Haley and Miller felt like they were on to something, and they kept trying to come up with something that would work in that style. They put out quite a few singles that were almost, but not quite, what they were after, things like a remake of “Wabash Cannonball” retitled “Jukebox Cannonball”, and then they finally hit on the perfect formula with “Rock the Joint”, which had been in Haley’s setlist off and on since he heard it on Jim Reeves’ programme. The original “Rock the Joint” had been one of the many, many, records that attempted to cash in on the rock craze ignited by Wynonie Harris’ version of “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, but it hadn’t done much outside of the Philadelphia area. Haley and the band went into the studio to record their own version, which had a very different arrangement – and listen in particular to the solo… [excerpt “Rock the Joint” – Bill Haley and the Saddlemen] That solo is played by the session musician, Danny Cedrone, who played the lead guitar on almost all of Haley’s early records. He wasn’t a member of the band – Haley kept costs low in these early years by having as small a band as possible, but hiring extra musicians for the recordings to beef up the sound — but he was someone that Haley trusted to always play the right parts on his records. Haley and Cedrone were close enough that in 1952 – after “Rocket 88” but before “Rock the Joint” – Haley gave Cedrone a song for his own band, The Esquire Boys. That song, “Rock-A-Beatin’ Boogie”, would probably have been a hit for Haley, had he recorded it at the time — instead, he didn’t record it for another three years. But that song, too, shows that he was on the right track. He was searching for something, and finding it occasionally, but not always recognising it when he had it. (Excerpt: “Rock-A-Beatin’ Boogie” by The Esquire Boys) “Rock the Joint” was a massive success, by the standards of a small indie country label, reportedly selling as much as four hundred thousand copies. But even after “Rock the Joint”, the problems continued. Haley’s next two records were “Dance With a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stockin’)” – which was to the tune of “Buffalo Gals Won’t You Come Out Tonight?” – and “Stop Beatin’ Around the Mulberry Bush”, which was a rewrite of “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” as a hillbilly boogie. But “Stop Beatin’ Around the Mulberry Bush” was notable for one reason – it was the first record by “Bill Haley and Haley’s Comets”, rather than by the Saddlemen. The pun on Halley’s comet was obvious, but the real importance of the name change is that it marked a definitive moment when the band stopped thinking of themselves as a country and western band and started thinking of themselves as something else – Haley didn’t pick up on the term “rock and roll” til fairly late, but it was clear that that was what he thought he should be doing now. They now had a drummer, too – Dick Richards – and a sax player. Al Rex was temporarily gone, replaced by Marshall Lytle, but Rex would be back in 1955. They were still veering wildly between rhythm and blues covers, country songs, and outright novelty records, but they were slowly narrowing down what they were trying to do, and hitting a target more and more often – they were making records about rhythm, using slang catchphrases and trying to appeal to a younger audience. And there was a genuine excitement in some of their stage performances. Haley would never be the most exciting vocalist when working in this new rock and roll idiom – he was someone who was a natural country singer and wasn’t familiar with the idioms he was incorporating into his new music, so there was a sense of distance there – but the band would make up for that on stage, with the bass player riding his bass (a common technique for getting an audience going at this point) and the saxophone player lying on his back to play solos. And that excitement shone through in “Crazy Man Crazy”, which became the Comets’ first real big hit. This was another example of the way that Haley would take a scientific approach to his band’s success. He and his band members had realised that the key to success in the record business was going to be appealing to teenagers, who were a fast-growing demographic and who, for the first time in American history, had some real buying power. But teenagers couldn’t go to the bars where country musicians played, and at the time there were very few entertainment venues of any type that catered to teenagers. So Bill Haley and the Comets played, by Johnny Grande’s count, one hundred and eighty-three school assemblies, for free. And at every show they would make note of what songs the kids liked, which ones got them dancing, which ones they were less impressed by, and they would hone their act to appeal to these kids. And one thing Haley noted was that the teenagers’ favourite slang expression was “crazy”, and so he wrote… [excerpt: Crazy Man Crazy, Bill Haley and the Comets] That went to number fifteen on the pop charts, a truly massive success for a country and western band. Marshall Lytle, the Comets’ bass player, later claimed that he had co-written the song and not got the credit, but the other Comets disputed his claims. This is another of those records that is cited as the first rock and roll record, or the first rock and roll hit, and certainly it’s the first example of a white band playing this kind of music to make the charts. And, more fairly to Haley, it’s the first example of a band using guitars as their primary instruments to get onto the charts playing something that resembles jump band music. “Crazy Man Crazy” is very clearly patterned after Louis Jordan, but those guitar fills would be played by a horn section on Jordan’s records. With Danny Cedrone’s solos, Bill Haley and the Comets were responsible for making the guitar the standard lead instrument for rock and roll, although it took a while for that to *become* the standard and we will see plenty of piano and saxophone, including on later records by Haley himself. So why was Haley doing something so different from what everyone else did? In part, I think that can be linked to the reason he didn’t stay successful very long – he wasn’t part of a scene at all. When we look at almost all the other musicians we’re talking about in this series, you’ll see that they’re all connected to other musicians. The myth of the lone genius is just that – a myth. What actually tends to happen is that the “lone genius” is someone who uses the abilities of others and then pretends it was all himself – and it almost always is a him. There’s a whole peer group there, who get conveniently erased. But the fact remains that Haley and the Comets, as a group, didn’t have any kind of peer group or community. They weren’t part of a scene, and really had no peers doing what they were doing. There was no-one to tell them what to do, or what not to do. So Bill Haley and the Comets had started something unique. But it was that very uniqueness that was to cause them problems, as we’ll see when we return to them in a few weeks…

Bonus Clip #2 [00:00-06:39]: The Four Aces for Projecting Confidence To share feedback about this podcast episode, ask questions that could be featured in a future episode, or to share research-related resources, contact the “Research in Action” podcast: Twitter: @RIA_podcast or #RIA_podcast Email: riapodcast@oregonstate.edu Voicemail: 541-737-1111 If you listen to the podcast via iTunes, please consider leaving us a review. The views expressed by guests on the Research in Action podcast do not necessarily represent the views of Ecampus or Oregon State University.

On this episode, Katie is joined by Michael Alley. Holding a master of science in electrical engineering and a master of fine arts in writing, Michael Alley is an associate professor of engineering communication at Penn State.  He is the author of The Craft of Scientific Presentations (Springer, 2013), which has been translated into Japanese and Chinese. Over the past decade, he has taught presentations to scientists and engineers on four continents, in sixteen countries, and at more than 150 institutions. He has presented at Google, MIT, Harvard Medical School, Texas Instruments, Simula Research Laboratory (Norway), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the European Space Organization in the high desert of Chile. Alley’s websites on presentations are top Google listings for the topics of "engineering presentations" and "scientific presentations." Segment 1: Best Practices for Scientific Presentations [00:00-09:35] In this first segment, Michael shares some of what he has learned about making effective research presentations. In this segment, the following resources are mentioned: Alley, M. (2013). The Craft of Scientific Presentations. New York: Springer. Michael Alley's website Segment 2: Investigations on Confidence in Speaking [09:36-16:25] In segment two, Michael discusses how researchers can be more confident as presenters. Segment 3: Rethinking the Way We Use PowerPoint [16:26-30:55] In segment three, Michael shares some of his thoughts on PowerPoint and best practices for using the tool. In this segment, the following resources are mentioned: Microsoft PowerPoint Reynolds, G. (2012). Presentation Zen. Berkely, CA: New Riders. Duarte, N. (2008). Slide:ology. Sebastopol, CA: O'Riley Media, Inc. Slides Carnival Canva assertion-evidence.com Bonus Clip #1 [00:00-02:48]: Tips for Presenting to Non-scientists Bonus Clip #2 [00:00-06:39]: The Four Aces for Projecting Confidence To share feedback about this podcast episode, ask questions that could be featured in a future episode, or to share research-related resources, contact the “Research in Action” podcast: Twitter: @RIA_podcast or #RIA_podcast Email: riapodcast@oregonstate.edu Voicemail: 541-737-1111 If you listen to the podcast via iTunes, please consider leaving us a review. The views expressed by guests on the Research in Action podcast do not necessarily represent the views of Ecampus or Oregon State University.

If you like this episode, check out https://otrpodcasts.com for even more classic radio shows! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leikin eru lög úr nokkrum kvikmyndum frá fyrri tíð. Flytjendur eru Frank Sinatra, Four Freshmen, Alice Faye, Bob Hope & Clark Sisters, Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Audrey Hepburn og Four Aces. Umsjón: Jónatan Garðarsson.

Leikin eru lög úr nokkrum kvikmyndum frá fyrri tíð. Flytjendur eru Frank Sinatra, Four Freshmen, Alice Faye, Bob Hope & Clark Sisters, Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Audrey Hepburn og Four Aces.

Leikin eru lög úr nokkrum kvikmyndum frá fyrri tíð. Flytjendur eru Frank Sinatra, Four Freshmen, Alice Faye, Bob Hope & Clark Sisters, Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Audrey Hepburn og Four Aces.

Show 36, “Top Hits of 1951,” includes every No. 1 Billboard best-selling record from that year plus a bit of interesting information about that year. Performers include Tommy Edwards, The Four Aces, Tony Bennett, Rosemary... Read More The post Episode 36, “Top Hits of 1951” appeared first on Sam Waldron.

France Gall, José Guardiola, The Four Aces, Los Ángeles, Bruno Lomas. Antonio Prieto, Los Puntos, Fórmula V, Andrés Do Barro, Luis Aguilé, Los Brincos, Pepa Flores, The Beach Boys, Hervé Vilard, Christophe

Lee and Daniel are back for a special episode of TMBDOS!. This time out they take a look at three films of the recently departed actress Mary Dorothy Maloney (January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018), known best as Dorothy Malone. This is not a detailed look at her entire lengthy career, but more of a fan discovery for the hosts, as they watch two films she did when no longer under contract by the big studios. Those being the Roger Corman-produced "The Fast and Furious" (1955), and the first film Corman directed, "Five Guns West" (1955). After that they look at the film that won her an Oscar for best supporting actress in 1956's "Written on the Wind". Also, Daniel and Lee play at remaking "Written on the Wind" and cover a large amount of listener comments. "The Fast and the Furious" IMDB "Five Guns West" IMDB  "Written on the Wind" IMDB Featured Music: "It's Written on the Wind" by The Four Aces.

Wild Bil Hickok - Four Aces for Death http://oldtimeradiodvd.com

Wild Bil Hickok - Four Aces for Death http://oldtimeradiodvd.com

Wild Bil Hickok - Four Aces for Death http://oldtimeradiodvd.com

RARE & SCRATCHY ROCK 'N ROLL_047 – COUNTING DOWN THE TOP 40 ITALIAN-AMERICAN ROCK AND POP GROUPS OF ALL TIME – The impact of Italian-American singers and musicians on rock and pop music is incredible and immeasurable. Hundreds of acts. Thousands of songs. And an endless universe of solo stars that’s too vast to explore in just one show. So, for this episode, we’ve narrowed it down to only groups primarily composed of or fronted by Italian-Americans rather than showcasing individual singers.   We’ll feature the 40 greatest Italian-American acts in rock and pop history – from the 1950s all the way to the present day. We’ll hear from the Four Seasons, the Duprees, Dion & The Belmonts, the Angels, Santo & Johnny, Joey Dee & the Starliters, the Outsiders, the Four Aces, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and Chicago among many others.   Our resident rockologist, Ken Deutsch, joins us along with a special guest expert on Italian-American groups, Nay Nassar, to add some context to our countdown. Here it all here.

On this episode, I am joined by Michael Alley. Holding a master of science in electrical engineering and a master of fine arts in writing, Michael Alley is an associate professor of engineering communication at Penn State.  He is the author of The Craft of Scientific Presentations (Springer, 2013), which has been translated into Japanese and Chinese. Over the past decade, he has taught presentations to scientists and engineers on four continents, in sixteen countries, and at more than 150 institutions. He has presented at Google, MIT, Harvard Medical School, Texas Instruments, Simula Research Laboratory (Norway), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the European Space Organization in the high desert of Chile. Alley’s websites on presentations are top Google listings for the topics of "engineering presentations" and "scientific presentations". Transcript (.docx) Show Notes Would you like to incorporate this episode of "Research in Action" into your course? Download the Episode 47 Instructor Guide (.docx) or visit our Podcast Instructor Guides page to find additional information and past episode guides. Segment 1: Best Practices for Scientific Presentations [00:00-09:35] In this first segment, Michael shares some of what he has learned about making effective research presentations. Segment 2: Investigations on Confidence in Speaking [09:36-16:25] In segment two, Michael discusses how researchers can be more confident as presenters. Segment 3: Rethinking the Way We Use PowerPoint [16:26-30:55] In segment three, Michael shares some of his thoughts on PowerPoint and best practices for using the tool. Bonus Clip #1 [00:00-02:48]: Tips for Presenting to Non-scientists Bonus Clip #2 [00:00-06:39]: The Four Aces for Projecting Confidence To share feedback about this podcast episode, ask questions that could be featured in a future episode, or to share research-related resources, contact the “Research in Action” podcast: Twitter: @RIA_podcast or #RIA_podcast Email: riapodcast@oregonstate.edu Voicemail: 541-737-1111 If you listen to the podcast via iTunes, please consider leaving us a review.

Bonus Clip #2 [00:00-06:39]: The Four Aces for Projecting Confidence To share feedback about this podcast episode, ask questions that could be featured in a future episode, or to share research-related resources, contact the “Research in Action” podcast: Twitter: @RIA_podcast or #RIA_podcast Email: riapodcast@oregonstate.edu Voicemail: 541-737-1111 If you listen to the podcast via iTunes, please consider leaving us a review.

Kay Starr was 94 when she passed last week. She began her singing career in the Big Band era and went solo when she joined Capitol Records. She was a terrific singer and had some major hits: "Wheel Of Fortune" and "Rock And Roll Waltz". I met Kay when she came to Vancouver in late 1982. I introduced her when she performed with Frankie Laine and The Four Aces for a fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Kay Starr was one of my favorite singers. I will miss her distinctive voice.

Interview with West Michigan player, Jon Gay. Jon has been doing well in the Firekeepers tournaments and shares his story of coming up in online poker before playing live tournaments and cash games. Also, Frank and Gambit talk about PLO8 at Four Aces and the MSPT at Firekeepers. Music by MC5.

Four Aces owner, Guy Hickey is featured in this episode talking about the new Four Aces Club location and the charity rules changes. Frank and Gambit play the $100 tournament at Four Aces that day and breakdown a hand from that tournament. Music by Alfred English.

This episode has an interview with Motor City Casino poker player, Coach McGuirk. Frank and Gambit also discuss Four Aces Club, Charity Poker Rule Changes, Tournament Soft Play and Full Tilt payouts. Music by DJ Carpool.

Frank and Gambit go on location to Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant for the Heartland Poker Tour. Listen to an interview with Fred Bevill, host of the HPT, player interviews, and two big hands from cash game action! Music by 60 Second Crush.

Pay4MySchool tells us about his first trip to Vegas and about some hands he played at the MGM Grand. Frank and Gambit also break down hands from Four Aces and Firekeepers Casino. Music by Dirty Americans.

Jason 'icufish' and Derek '1game' breakdown some of Gambit's play in an entertaining strategy segment. We also feature stories from casinos abroad with John 'rumrunner'. Music by Sufjan Stevens.

In observance of the one-year anniversary of the podcast, this episode features Kevin McGeehan’s one-man show FOUR ACES, told in its entirety. In October of 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained Kevin when a dog smelled an illegal substance on his body. He was taken to a back room and thoroughly and embarrassedly searched. One Customs Agent, a man who threatened incarceration found Kevin’s journal buried deep in his backpack. The Agent began reading it and soon discovered a startling connection between the two of them. The Customs agent completely changed his tune and made it his goal to get Kevin released without charges. FOUR ACES is the story of what he read in that journal.

This is the episode for March 29, 2012, includes a trip reports from Four Aces, a discussion about what to say when someone asks, what did you have? Also, can you play poker for a living in Michigan and the Monster Hand of the Week.

This is the episode for January 5, 2012, featuring local player, JDoe. We also have stories from home game action, Motor City Casino and Four Aces. Also, Frank and Gambit first ever sports picks!

This is the October 13, 2011, show with local player, Village Idiot1. Frank and Gambit talk about the upcoming opening of Joe Cada's poker room. Please visit our web site at http://www.mipokermonster.com/

The life and work of songwriter, Sammy Fain. Songs include: Love is a Many Splendored Thing, I'll Be Seeing You, That Old Feeling, By a Waterfall and Secret Love.  Performers include: Dorris Day, Shep Fields, Billie Holliday, The Four Aces, Dick Powell and Maurice Chevalier.

Big Band Serenade presents The Four Aces, The music in this program is listed in order of play;1) "Three Coins In The Fountain"  2) "Stanager In Paradise"  3) "Mister Sandan" 4) "Dream" 5) "Melody Of Love" 6) "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" Please Take Our Survey