Category: Memorabilia

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Jimi Hendrix – The Day I Was There

As a veteran of over 415 concerts in 49 years, one of my regrets is that I never saw Jimi Hendrix live in concert. Alas, that was not meant to happen.

I will soon have an opportunity to read about the personal memories of 400 eyewitness accounts of seeing Jimi live. Richard M. Houghton has a new book coming out on the 48th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix’s death, September 18, 2018, Jimi Hendrix, The Day I Was There.

I love the use of color that illustrates the book cover.

Richard M. Houghton is a music journalist/archivist. He has forged an interesting niche by writing a series of books from a rock music fan’s point of view. His, I Was There theme is a smart and welcome idea. The Jimi Hendrix book is the fifth I Was There title in the series.

He has written I Was There books about The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Pink Floyd.

He is working on several more I  Was There books for 2019 and beyond. Upcoming projects are fan memories of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath (2019), the Faces, Cream and Neil Young.  I have some memories to share with Richard for those titles.

If there’s anyone else you’re passionate reading about, he’ d love to hear from you. Drop him a line at iwasatthatgig@gmail.com

I will be corresponding with Richard very soon 🙂

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1968 Official Doors Concert Program

Although I never saw the original Doors live in concert, I would love to own this reproduction of their 1968 concert program.

The band has reprinted their original 1968 Doors concert program for the first time, which is available exclusively from The Doors Web store. This was the only official tour program ever created by the band.

Produced in 1968 for their upcoming U.S. tour, but sold only at a few select shows, and via mail order. Designed by Paul Ferrara, this 24-page program includes many color and black & white images taken by Ferrara, plus poetry by Jim Morrison, astrology charts for each band member, and more.

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It’s Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection

A couple of weeks ago we attended the “It’s Alive” exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.

There are 100+ items on display curated from Kirk Hammett of Metallica’s private collection.

Like Kirk, I grew up as an early teen reading everything I could find about horror and sci-fi movies.  The definitive information source in the early 60’s were the Famous Monsters of Filmland and Spacemen magazines which I would buy at the local variety store.

Forrest J. Ackerman(Forry) was our monster movie subject matter authority.  He was Editor for Famous Monsters/Spacemen. He had an extensive memorabilia archive of 36,000+ items at his three Ackermansions. I learned a great deal from his authoritative articles that highlighted rare movie stills from such classics as King Kong, Bride of Frankenstein, and Dracula. His favorite sci-fi movie that he turned me on to was Metropolis by Fritz Lang (1927).

I collect music posters and they adorn many walls in my house. I gained a deeper appreciation for the rare movie posters in Kirk’s collection as an art form. Many of the posters on display were from Universal Pictures.  I never fathomed how many movies Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi had made either individually or in collaboration.

If I had to choose one poster that enchanted me most it was the French movie poster of Frankenstein (1931) with the rare graveyard scene.

I deeply thank Kirk Hammett for sharing his private collection with the public.  I also want to thank Peabody Essex Museum for the fantastic exhibition. It brought back many deep-seated memories seeing the Universal Movie posters, lobby cards and giant green Space Invader from Mars alien.

It’s Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection is on view until November 26.

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101 Essential Rock Records

The music coffee table book that you will want to sink your teeth into is 101 Essential Rock Records, The Golden Age of Vinyl From The Beatles by Jeff Gold.

This volume is a tribute to the vinyl album and celebrates 101 of rock’s most influential records — from The Beatles’ 1963 début Please Please Me — through the Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks (1977.)

The book also features contribution writings from musicians Devendra Banhart, David Bowie, Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Nels Cline (Wilco), Robyn Hitchcock, Johnny Marr (The Smiths), Graham Nash, and Suzanne Vega.

The book documents a period in recorded music where vinyl ruled with commanding authority. I love that it was a time when I was a rabid music collector and listener. I am proud to say that I own 60 of the 101 essential rock records 🙂 The book brings back the feelings of going to the record store to buy the rare cover edition of Blind Faith sold to me in a brown paper bag.

Jeff Gold is my new hero. He writes with such passion and conviction. It’s no wonder he is profiled by Rolling Stone as one of five “top collectors of high-end music memorabilia”.

Gold owns the music collectibles website Recordmecca.com, and writes about topics of interest to collectors on its associated blog. By the way the Web site is awesome!

This is a book you will want to squirrel away quality reading and listening time with as you explore the essential records.

There is a companion 101 Essential Rock Records Web site where you can see full sample pages of the four page spreads of the respective albums.

So here is the list in chronological order of the 101 Essential Rock Records, see how many you can check off 😉

101 Essential Rock Records 

1. The Beatles – Please Please Me
2. Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
3. The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones
4. Bob Dylan – Another Side of Bob Dylan
5. Davy Graham – Folk Blues & Beyond…
6. Them – Angry Young Them
7. The Byrds – Mr. Tambourine Man
8. Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
9. The Who – My Generation
10. Simon & Garfunkel – Sounds of Silence
11. The Rolling Stones – Aftermath
12. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
13. Bob Dylan – Blonde On Blonde
14. The Mothers of Invention – Freak Out!
15. Yardbirds – Yardbirds
16. John Mayall with Eric Clapton – Blues Breakers
17. The Butterfield Blues Band – East West
18. The Beatles – Revolver
19. Jefferson Airplane – Takes Off
20. The Kinks – Face to Face
21. The 13th Floor Elevators – The Psychedelic Sounds Of
22. Laura Nyro – More Than A New Discovery
23. The Doors – The Doors
24. Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow
25. The Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground
26. Grateful Dead – Grateful Dead
27. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced?
28. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
29. Moby Grape – Moby Grape
30. Tim Buckley – Goodbye and Hello
31. Pink Floyd – The Piper At The Gates of Dawn
32. Buffalo Springfield – Again
33. Love – Forever Changes
34. Cream – Disraeli Gears
35. Traffic – Mr. Fantasy
36. The Who – The Who Sell Out
37. Leonard Cohen – Songs of Leonard Cohen
38. The Velvet Underground – White Light/White Heat
39. Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac
40. The Incredible String Band – The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter
41. The Zombies – Odessey & Oracle
42. Small Faces – Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake
43. The Band – Music From The Big Pink
44. Grateful Dead – Anthem of the Sun
45. Jeff Beck – Truth
46. Big Brother & The Holding Company – Cheap Thrills
47. The Byrds – Sweetheart of the Rodeo
48. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland
49. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
50. The Beatles – The Beatles (White Album)
51. The Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow
52. The Pentangle – Sweet Child
53. The Soft Machine – The Soft Machine
54. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bayou Country
55. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin
56. The Flying Burrito Bros. – The Gilded Palace of Sin
57. MC5 – Kick Out The Jams
58. Sly And The Family Stone – Stand!
59. Neil Young With Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
60. Alexander Spence – Oar
61. The Who – Tommy
62. Crosby, Stills & Nash – Crosby, Stills & Nash
63. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica
64. Blind Faith – Blind Faith
65. Jethro Tull – Stand Up
66. The Stooges – The Stooges
67. Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left
68. King Crimson – In The Court of The Crimson King
69. Vashti Bunyan – Just Another Diamond Day
70. Fairport Convention – Liege & Leaf
71. The Move – Shazam
72. James Taylor – Sweet Baby James
73. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
74. Emerson Lake & Palmer – Emerson Lake & Palmer
75. David Bowie – The Man Who Sold The World
76. Cat Stevens – Tea For The Tillerman
77. Carole King – Tapestry
78. Can – Tago Mago
79. Yes – The Yes Album
80. Joni Mitchell – Blue
81. The Allman Brothers Band – At Fillmore East
82. Genesis – Nursery Cryme
83. Faust – Faust
84. The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main St.
85. David Bowie – The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
86. Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
87. Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure
88. Iggy And The Stooges – Raw Power
89. New York Dolls – New York Dolls
90. Big Star – #1 Record
91. Kraftwerk – Autobahn
92. Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run
93. Patti Smith – Horses
94. Ramones – Ramones
95. The Modern Lovers – The Modern Lovers
96. AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Cheap
97. Fleetwood Mac – Rumors
98. The Damned – The Damned
99. The Clash – The Clash
100. Talking Heads – Talking Heads: 77
101. Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The Sex Pistols

 

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The Two British Invasion Duos

British-invasion-union-jack

The music of our heart is warming up to the nostalgic feelings that surround the memories and music of the 50th Anniversary of the British Invasion (1964-2014).

My attention is focused today on the two male duos from the 1964 NY radio and television airwaves, Chad & Jeremy and Peter and Gordon. I listened to both duos actively in the car this afternoon. It was a soothing, fun sing along experience. 🙂

Each duo had several major hits during 1964.  I have highlighted the hit record from each duo that has held the most staying power these past 50 years.

1) Chad & Jeremy

Chad Stuart recalled that his “A Summer Song” collaborators Clive Metcalfe and Keith Noble were themselves a musical duo with whom Chad & Jeremy became friendly, and that “A Summer Song” was written at Stuart’s flat in London: “We were sitting around jamming on four chords and we came up with ‘A Summer Song'”.[1]

2) Peter and Gordon

“A World Without Love” is a song recorded by the English duo Peter and Gordon and released as their first single in February 1964, reaching number one in the UK Singles Chartin April. The song was written by Paul McCartney[1] and attributed to Lennon–McCartney. The B-side was “If I Were You” written by Peter and Gordon.

A World Without Love
A World Without Love (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As of Late January 2013, Paul McCartney’s Original Demo has been leaked on YouTube. Its only 30 seconds in length, but offers a rare glimpse into the song’s origins. The clip was played at Peter Asher”s most recent string of concerts. We heard it on Cousin Brucie’s 60s show on Sirius XM where Peter Asher was interviewed by Cousin Brucie to position and explain the demo.

Peter Asher indicates he has another unheard Beatles demo, ‘I’ll Follow the Sun’ which we are hoping he will play at the Fest for Beatles Fans.

Peter Asher and Chad & Jeremy are scheduled to appear at The Fest for Beatles Fans in New York next month at the Grand Hyatt.

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Music Mash ’13: WPKN Record Fair – September 7

This avid record collector is so pumped for this event taking place very soon now!

Music Mash ’13 is this year’s WPKN Record Fair, taking place on Saturday, September 7 at the Fairfield Theatre Company Annex at 70 Sanford Street, Fairfield, CT from 8 AM to 5:30 PM. Early Bird hours from 8 AM to 10 AM for a $20 admission fee. Regular admission begins at 10 AM for $5. Children under 12 admitted free. Located across from the Fairfield Train Station, parking is plentiful and free.

The event features the region’s top vendors. WPKN 89.5 has roughly 1000 LP’s and CDs to sell, including a private gift of near mint collectible LP’s that are valued at around $10,000. It will offer great opportunities to acquire some amazing albums, CDs, memorabilia and autographs.

Featured special guests at the WPKN Booth: Chris Frantz & Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club), Hilton Valentine(The Animals), Rusty Ford (Lothar & the Hand People), and Charlie Karp (Buddy Miles Express).

Food trucks from Taco Loco (Bridgeport), Fire Engine Pizza Company (Bridgeport), and Cowabunga (Norwalk) and The Vintanthromodern Vintage Clothing Truck (New Haven) will also be featuring their wares.

This event is made possible with support from: Fairfield Theatre Company, Advocate Weekly Media, FCBuzz.org, The Beat,FairfieldAfterDark.com, and The Sound Magazine.

 

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A Tale of Two Posters

I became interested in Rock and Roll memorabilia in the 70’s. My passion for rock merchandise has several areas of focus. I love rock poster art. Much of the walls in my home have unique framed art.

My membership in The Rock Poster Society has kept me in direct touch with famous rock poster artists and their monumental work. Yesterday I got to see the Fillmore East Rock Art Poster guru, David Edward Byrd.

The event began with a Rock Art Poster Fair that featured various poster sellers and several of the poster artists themselves. The centerpiece of the Rock Art Poster Fair was to witness the artist proofs of David Edward Byrd before we attended the exhibition and the talk by David Edward Byrd and Arnold Skolnick. I was blown away to see the artist proofs of David’s Jimi Hendrix Fillmore East posters. I intend to buy one of those proofs from his Web site this year.

I can’t decide between these two images below. The final poster feature The Jimi Hendrix Experience and is the final artwork. The first poster was David’s original poster, which I like the colors and lightning bolt effect of he chose for Jimi. Decisions, decisions…

Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix Experience - Fillmore East - May 1968

We then went downstairs to see the Byrd/Skolnick, A Tale of Two Posters exhibit. The exhibition did great justice to both art icons. I learned how much more David Edward Byrd has accomplished beyond my understanding of him as the Fillmore East poster artist. He has made a major contribution to Broadway, Television and Film with classic posters and art for Godspell, Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Harry Potter. David Edward Byrd’s work is in a word, magnificent.

Godspell

Arnold Skolnick educated us about his art contributions for nook covers, photography and painting. Yes he is the creator of the Woodstock poster that we all know and love, but he has an amazing dimensional ability with his art that is impressive.

We especially loved his photography book Love Songs.

The next event was a talk that featured both artists. Their discussion was informative, lively, revealing, filling us with laughter and respect. It was a great chance to learn more about them, their art and the stories behind famous posters and famous people like Bill Graham.

We had a lovely time at this event. The exhibition was well curated. The talk was very informative. Thank you Bethel Woods Center for the Arts for a fantastic weekend.

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It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it

Publicity photo of Dick Clark from his ABC rad...
Publicity photo of Dick Clark from his ABC radio show. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was sad to learn this afternoon that a major hero in my life passed away. My wife texted me that Dick Clark had died. We owe so much to Dick Clark as a music impressario. We grew up watching and dancing with Dick Clark on American Bandstand. My favorite part of his show was when they would choose audience members and let them rate the latest 45 r.p.m. records. The classic response was, “It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it.”

Much will be written and remembered about Dick Clark in the ensuing days. He deserves much high praise for his vision for music broadcasting, his production efforts and his passionate enthusiasm for music. I loved how courageous he was in spite of his past stroke on national television every New Year’s Eve.

My warmest personal memory of Dick Clark took place one week night in 1976 at Bloomingdale’s in Stamford, Ct. My wife, my sister-in-law and I went to buy his book, Rock, Roll & Remember and get it signed by him. We never anticipated we would get such an exclusive audience with Dick Clark at  Bloomingdales. It was about 90 minutes before closing time when we found Dick Clark’s signing area in the store. We couldn’t believe our luck. Hardly anyone was there. The majority of book purchasers and fans had been in earlier that evening to see him. He was so cordial to us, we found him to be a very genuine and down to earth person. He let me talk with him for over an hour. He was genuinely interested in my college disk jockey experience and what I knew about music. We spoke at length about his shows American Top 40, S10,000 Pyramid, and the music broadcasting field. He was an engaging speaker and I listened to him intently, working actively to keep my hero-worship at bay. Dick Clark treated me as an equal, a fellow broadcaster (I was doing a Sunday radio show on WVOF-FM 88.5 at Fairfield University at that time). He thanked us for stopping in and for buying his book. He had a great smile. We considered ourselves fortunate that we got such quality time with Dick Clark.

Rock and Roll Heaven has the premier music host now. I can hear the echoes of American Bandstand playing as I write…

God Bless You Dick Clark. Our hearts go out to your spirit. We send your lovely wife and family our deep sympathy and prayers.

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Stuff I Collect

Cover of "Tin Can Trust"
Cover of Tin Can Trust

Los Lobos (Autograph) – Tin Can Trust CD

I collect autographs of musicians and musical groups. My collection started due to my wife and I attending live music concerts and wanting to meet the artists before or after the show. If I owned their music on CD or vinyl form I would bring their recordings to the concerts in the hopes they would be available for signing and to chat.

I now have a healthy and sizable collection of autographed music memorabilia that adorn the walls of my home.

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