S&UP

The Beatles et. al.

Photo by Chase Yi on Unsplash

When I was 12, in 1968 I ran away from home intending to get as far away as I could; made it as far as Nashville, Tenn. on a cheap 10 speed bicycle. Spreading my blanket on the grass in some park for the night, along came a stranger and introduced me to marijuana, euphoria for the troubled mind.

Early musical influences:

• American Top 40 with Casey Kasem every Saturday morning.

• Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner, Sundays with guest stars Loretta Lynn and others.

• Most Appalachian shanties have one clean corner where the gun cabinet is; our shanty the corner was a vast collection of 45 and 33 1/2 records and albums along with a lumbering stereo cabinet and hi-fidelity sound. Every Hank Williams album, every Johnny Cash (The Man in Black), Woody Guthrie, Flatts and Scruggs, of course Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner, Chris Christopherson, Ed Ames (for cryin’ out loud), every Elvis Presley album along with a treasure trove of American music from the 1940’s through the 60’s into the seventies.

  We hated it, Country Western red necks. The only benefit was a peaceful period with The Harvey Monster in his less violent phase while he shuffled and placed another disk on the turn table.
  Christmas, though, was mostly pleasant with the sounds of Burl Yves, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams along with the obligatory celebrity lineup of Christmas albums.

Then along came The Ventures and my first taste of raw virtuoso electric guitars.

Photo by Miller James on Unsplash

• By this time a Hohner Blues Harp harmonica went with me everywhere. My first album was The J. Geils Band in cassette, with a lot of raw material for my harp. Later, in my high school days I dated a girl (Crystal) who moved to California and ended up in the music video for J. Geils album, Centerfold Girl. Another girlfriend (Tara) wound up a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, yet another (Vicki) was shipped out west by her parents to pursue a modelling career, another (Michele) was a distant cousin of Linda Ronstadt, when she sang, which was rarely, her voice was a ringer and her looks not far off. Don’t ask me why, maybe I was a long haired rebellious chic magnet; lately, not as pretty.

The Seventies

Buffalo Springfield, solo Neil Young, Led Zeppelin shuttered the windshields of the latest Mustangs, Steppenwolf, Yes!, Moody Blues all the sounds that made up the background as we binged on White Crosses; barbiturates obtained through a harem of overweight girls getting their weight loss prescriptions filled, doctors doling them out like candy. All the while to the sounds of HEE HAW and In A Gadda Da Vida.

• Thus began my long career of live performance. Ticket prices for concerts averaged around $15, money we didn’t have, so gate crashing was a thing. My first concert featured Uriah Heap and a little known one hit band named Argent. The venue was The Harrisburg Farm Show Large Arena, filled to capacity for “The Heap” who appeared on stage so drunk and stoned they couldn’t get through the lyrics, the show lasted less than an hour before they staggered off stage; it would have been a disastrous show if not for all the pot and LSD that held the audience until the follow up band came on to close. As I live to tell you, Argent’s live performance was nothing at all like their limited success; these were accomplished and dedicated artists in full symphonic order, the Moog Synthesizer, Hammond B3 organ, guitars and a brand-new sound that took the crowd by complete surprise. They performed non-stop over two hours, filling the arena with sound and levitating the audience; Avant Garde was born right then and there. Of course, they closed with the song above which gave them their only recognition from the general public. A high-water mark in modern music.

  
  The Middle Period

• The acclaim and adherents to The Beatles were unavoidable; yet this was not in keeping with our ilk, and we eschewed them as too girly for our liking, and lord forbid we admit anything from the Bee Gees lest we face the rath and body punches. The Beach Boys we found tolerable. One must remain loyal to one’s tribe. Three Dog Night was a comedy show giving reason to roam the back roads singing Geremia Was a Bullfrog. Credence would get one credence. We understood the world changed when Black Sabath made their debut.

Well, tired now, so maybe there’ll be more in a later post.

Peace…

Photo by Buddha Elemental 3D on Unsplash

Addendum: in my later period, and in the final recordings of Johnny Cash, The Man in Black himself, his rankings in my personal pantheon went way up for his genius; not the technical kind, but for his grass roots appeal and American iconoclast.