Mountain View
Frank Mastropolo
'I Wanted It to Be a Jazz-Type Tune': The Kinks' 'You Really Got Me'
The raw sound of Dave Davies’ lead guitar on “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks has been called the blueprint for the power chords of heavy metal and punk rock. Written by Ray Davies, the song topped the British charts and introduced the Kinks to America, where it was a №7 hit. But the song that revolutionized rock was recorded in a variety of styles before the raucous single was released in September 1964.
'This Diamond Ring' Didn't Shine for Everyone
The Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ tune “This Diamond Ring” song took a labyrinthine path to №1. In the early 1960s, keyboardist Al Kooper and lyricists Bob Brass and Irwin Levine were hungry young songwriters hoping to craft their first hit. The trio would write songs all day, every day, and shop them to New York’s music publishers. In his autobiography Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards, Kooper writes that one day the team composed “a bright little R&B item that none of us figured to be worth all that much.”
'Freddie Kept Coming In With More Galileos': Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Explained
“Bohemian Rhapsody” was a №9 hit in 1976 and reached №2 in 1992 when it was re-released after Freddie Mercury’s death and appeared in the film Wayne’s World. Clocking in at almost six minutes, the song is a mix of a cappella, opera, and rock anthem elements.
Fillmore East’s Commemorative Plaque Has Disappeared
There are reports that the plaque commemorating the site of Fillmore East in New York’s East Village has disappeared without a clue of who removed it. The following article ran in Bedford+Bowery after the plaque was installed on Oct. 29, 2014.
New York's Bottom Line, Where Bruce Springsteen 'Was on Fire'
The Bottom Line was an intimate Greenwich Village club that hosted major rock, jazz, and blues artists. The 400-seat club was a launch pad for young musicians like Bruce Springsteen, who appeared in 1975. Lou Reed, Johnny Winter, Billy Joel, Carly Simon, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, and Van Morrison performed here.
Biker Anthem 'Born to Be Wild' Began in a Ford Falcon
Before Steppenwolf formed, singer John Kay and guitarist Mars Bonfire were members of the Sparrows. Canadian-born Dennis McCrohan first changed his name to Dennis Edmonton and later to Mars Bonfire. The Sparrows broke up in 1967, leaving Bonfire time to drive into the mountains and deserts of Los Angeles in his used Ford Falcon.
T. Rex Makes Some Noise on 'Bang a Gong (Get It On)'
“Bang a Gong (Get It On)” was written by T. Rex vocalist Marc Bolan, a №10 hit. The song was released on the band’s 1971 album Electric Warrior. When “Bang a Gong” was released in the UK in 1971, it was titled “Get It On.” To avoid confusion with a song with the same title by Chase, it was renamed for its US release.
Paul Revere & the Raiders' Revolutionary Anti-Drug Song 'Kicks'
As drug use became more prevalent in the 1960s, pop music reflected the times. Songs that glamorized getting high flooded the airwaves. The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” and “Purple Haze” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience had some of the more obvious references to drugs; others, like the Association’s “Along Comes Mary,” were more oblique.
Talking Heads Found Their Voice on New York's Lower East Side
‘New York Groove: An Inside Look at the Stars, Shows, and Songs That Make NYC Rock’ Book Excerpt. The core members of Talking Heads — singer-songwriter and guitarist David Byrne, drummer Chris Franz, and bassist Tina Weymouth — met at the Rhode Island School of Design. Guitarist and keyboardist Jerry Harrison joined in 1977. The band pioneered new wave music in early performances at CBGB and Max’s Kansas City.
'It Was Just a Jammin’ Time': Musicians Recall Late Night Jams at Fillmore East
'Fillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever’ Book Excerpt. Steve Miller, Steve Miller Band: Shows could run until four in the morning. You could stay up all night. And there were a lot of jams that I would go to that that would be exactly the case. The cream of the crop of the world would be passing through town and would come by and play. It would not be unexpected to have Hendrix come in and play or Jeff Beck or any one of the really great, great guitar players or see Cannonball Adderley come in and play.
'It Overwhelmed Me': Bob Dylan on 'All Along the Watchtower' by Jimi Hendrix
‘200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs Vol. 2’ Book Excerpt. Bob Dylan recorded “All Along the Watchtower” in Nashville for his 1967 LP John Wesley Harding. The song was released as a single but failed to chart. Dylan, who played acoustic guitar and harmonica, was accompanied by Charlie McCoy on bass and Kenneth Buttrey on drums.
'My Old School' Taught Steely Dan a Lesson
Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker met at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, the site of 1973’s “My Old School.” The tune was included on Steely Dan’s 1973 LP Countdown to Ecstasy. The song only reached №63 but is a fan favorite. Its lyrics describe their arrest, along with Fagen’s girlfriend Dorothy White, in a marijuana raid.
There Really Was a Crazy Chester
The Band was made up of talented multi-instrumentalists and vocalists: four Canadians, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel, and Levon Helm from Turkey Scratch, Arkansas. Its members met in Canada as part of Ronnie Hawkins’ band, the Hawks.
What Went On Under the Stage at Fillmore East
‘Fillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever’ Book Excerpt. Before he became an acclaimed television and film director, Allan Arkush was a member of the stage crew and later joined Joe’s Lights at Fillmore East. In this excerpt from Fillmore East: The Venue That Changed Rock Music Forever, Arkush recalls the area of the New York City concert hall favored by Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, singer and keyboardist of the Grateful Dead.
'The Laughter Just About Tore the Roof Off': Johnny Cash's 'A Boy Named Sue'
‘200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs Vol. 2’ Book Excerpt. “A Boy Named Sue” was Johnny Cash’s highest charting single, reaching №2 in 1969. The tune was written by humorist Shel Silverstein. “A Boy Named Sue” was recorded live at San Quentin Prison in February 1969 and appeared on Cash’s At San Quentin album.
Paul Simon's 'Mother and Child Reunion' Was Cooked Up at a Chinatown Restaurant
‘New York Groove: An Inside Look at the Stars, Shows, and Songs That Make NYC Rock’ Book Excerpt. Chef Shorty Tang opened Say Eng Lok at 1 East Broadway in New York’s Chinatown in the late 1960s. Say Eng Lok translates as 4–5–6, a mahjong hand. Like many Chinese restaurants of the era, its menu items were given poetic names. Tang served a Sichuan chicken and egg dish named “Mother and Child Reunion.”
Seinfeld's Coffee Shop Serves Up a Hit Record
‘New York Groove: An Inside Look at the Stars, Shows, and Songs That Make NYC Rock’ Book Excerpt. Singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega recorded “Tom’s Diner” for her 1987 album Solitude Standing. Vega wrote in the New York Times that the song’s title refers to a New York coffee shop better known for its use as the exterior of Monk’s Diner on the sitcom Seinfeld. “When I was at Barnard College in Manhattan, I used to go to Tom’s Restaurant for coffee, and after I graduated I also ate there before going to work. It was then a cheap, greasy place on 112th and Broadway, and it still is, in spite of its celebrity.
George Thorogood Rocks a Country Classic With 'Move It On Over'
“Move It On Over” was written and first recorded by country singer Hank Williams in 1947. Some music critics consider it one of the earliest rock and roll records. “Move It On Over” has been described as a novelty song but Williams’ fiddler Jerry Rivers disputed this in The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006. Rivers said Williams’ songs ”weren’t novelty — they were serious, not silly, and that’s why they were much better accepted and better selling. ‘Move It On Over’ hits right home, ’cause half of the people he was singing to were in the doghouse with the ol’ lady.”
Mountain's 'Mississippi Queen' Delivers an Avalanche of Sound
Mountain — singer-guitarist Leslie West, bassist and producer Felix Pappalardi, and drummer Corky Laing — formed in 1969. Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” is the band’s biggest hit, reaching №21 in 1970. West told Music Aficionado that Laing came up with the inspiration for the lyrics.
Frank Mastropolo
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Visit www.edgarstreetbooks.com for more information about our latest projects chronicling the history of rock and roll! Frank Mastropolo is the author of a best-selling series of books on music and New York City history that are multiple winners of the Independent Publishers Book Awards. Mastropolo is a former ABC News 20/20 writer and producer, winner of the Alfred I. DuPont–Columbia University silver baton and the Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists. His rock concert photography is licensed by Getty Images and featured in the Bill Graham Rock & Roll Revolution exhibition.
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