It's Only Rock and Roll (History)...
More rock history, including "Wild Thing" ... the world's most famous (and expensive) guitar ... Dr. Brian May (Queen) ... Alan Parsons' Projects
I try not to let too many random thoughts burrow into my lizard brain. But stuff occasionally leaks in, typically during Hypnagogia, that time between consciousness and sleep. My wiring retains trifles, anecdotes and other oddities about this strange world we live in.
I reckon that’s why music sticks. I can recite lyrics from songs from a half-century ago, but cannot remember a password I created yesterday. Undoubtedly, there’s a sentimental property. The limbic system, which is involved in processing emotions and controlling memory, “lights” up when our ears perceive music.
For me, it’s rock and roll … and I take pleasure in sharing its wonderful history.
“Wild Thing”
Everybody knows the hit single “Wild Thing,” recorded in 1966 by the English band The Troggs. Jimi Hendrix covered the song at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, the memorable live performance where he burned his guitar on stage.
“Wild Thing” originally was written by American songwriter Chip Taylor, who, coincidentally, has a lot of Hollywood ties. Taylor is the brother of actor Jon Voight, and therefore the uncle of actress Angelina Jolie.
In 1989, the song was resurrected in the baseball movie Major League as the entrance music for pitcher Ricky (“Wild Thing”) Vaughn (Charlie Sheen).
What’s in a Name?
– U2’s lead singer Bono’s real name is Paul David Hewson. When he was a teenager, a friend suggested the stage name Bono Vox. Hewson didn't like it at first. However, he accepted it after being told it came from the Latin word Bonavox, which meant good voice. Bona Vox was also the name of a hearing-aid store in Dublin where U2 grew up.
– Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Hibbing, MN. But before he changed his name to Dylan (an homage to Welsh poet Dylan Thomas), he went by the name Elson Gunn.
– In May 1966, The Who’s Keith Moon and John Entwistle recorded an instrumental track "Beck's Bolero" with Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and John Paul Jones. The recording came out well, and the musicians tossed around the idea of forming a new band. Moon allegedly said the band would go over like a “lead balloon.” Page remembered the joke two years later when he created Led Zeppelin.
Frau Eva von Zeppelin, a direct descendant of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, was upset over what she believed to be a dishonoring of the family name by the band. She demanded the group change their name and got her wish on February 28, 1970, when the band performed as The Nobs in Copenhagen.
Both popular and critical opinions favored the band's preferred name, and they were Led Zeppelin once more for their next show—and every show thereafter.
Trivia Question: Elvis Presley recorded more than 600 songs in his long career, including 23 studio albums, five live albums, 13 compilation albums, 30 box sets, and 31 feature films. It’s estimated he sold more than a half billion records worldwide. How many songs did Elvis actually write? (answer below)
David Gilmour’s “Black Strat”
Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour purchased his iconic black Fender Stratocaster from Manny’s guitar shop in New York in 1970. It was a rather modest beginning for what would become the world’s most famous guitar.
After many modifications (including a new maplewood neck and removal of the pickguard), the “Black Strat” became Gilmour’s go-to guitar. He used it for recordings on Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1980), and all four of his solo albums. Its rich vibrant tone is heard on “Comfortably Numb,” “Money,” and “Shine on You Crazy Diamond.”
It also was his working guitar; Gilmour played it on and off in live performances for 45 years.
Given its history while in the hands of a virtuoso musician, the “Black Strat” became an instrument of rock lore.
The guitar was put up for charity auction by Christie’s in New York in 2019, and was purchased for a world record $3,975,000 by Indianapolis Colts owner Robert Irsay.
Alan Parsons’ Projects
Many rock fans are familiar with Alan Parsons, who recorded several albums under the collective name of the Alan Parsons Project in the 70s and 80s. His most well-known songs include “Sirius“ – made famous as the Chicago Bulls introduction music in the Michael Jordan era – and “Eye in the Sky.” (1977)
But Parsons already was highly renowned in the music business.
He was 18 when he joined EMI Records in London in 1968. He was a tape operator for the Beatles’ Get Back sessions and earned his first credit as a sound engineer for Abbey Road (1969). But Parsons’ crowning achievement was as the producer for Pink Floyd’s iconic Dark Side of the Moon (1973).
Parsons also produced albums for The Hollies, Wings, and Al Stewart’s Year of the Cat album. He’s been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards.
Killer Queen: Brian May, Ph.d
Legendary Queen guitarist Brian May is actually Dr. Brian May.
May, who played lead guitar on all of Queen’s greatest tracks – “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You” and “Radio Ga Ga” – is a real-life physicist and cosmologist. He earned his doctoral degree in astrophysics from Imperial College London in 2007, and was Chancellor of John Moores University in Liverpool from 2008 to 2013.
The “Red Special” guitar
Dr. May also is one of the few musicians in rock history to create his own instrument.
The story goes that the May family could not afford an industry-standard Gibson or Fender model. So May and his father Harold custom built Brian’s “Red Special” guitar from scratch between 1963-64.
The body was fashioned from blockboard (strips of softwood sandwiched between two plywood skins), with oak inserts on the top and bottom sourced from an old table. It was stained red and covered with a mahogany marquetry veneer.
The neck was carved with wood from a 100-year-old fireplace hearth. The guitar was wired with three single-coil pickups, two tone switches, and a built-in Vox distortion feature. The tremolo system was made from an old hardened steel knife-edge, with two motorcycle valve springs to counter the 79 pounds string tension.
One more thing about Queen’s mad scientist. Most guitarists use their fingers or a plastic pick to play. May uses a British sixpence coin.
Songs you didn’t know were covers
(original songwriter/performer in parentheses)
“Blinded by the Light” by Manfred Mann (Bruce Springsteen)
“Red, Red Wine” by UB40 (Neil Diamond)
“First Cut is the Deepest” by both Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow (written by Cat Stevens and recorded by PP Arnold)
"Time Is on My Side" by the Rolling Stones (written by Jerry Ragavoy and recorded by Kai Winding)
“Woodstock” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Joni Mitchell)
"House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals (a traditional folk song of unknown origin)
“Nothing Compares 2U” by Sinead O’Connor (Prince)
“All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix (Bob Dylan)
“Black Magic Woman” by Santana (Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac)
“Crossroads” by Cream (Robert Johnson)
Trivia Answer: None. Elvis never wrote a single song.
###
Jim Geschke was inducted into the prestigious Marquis Who’s Who Registry in 2021.
