The news came through late last night that the great Robbie Robertson has left us to do the last waltz his old pal Levon Helm in that great Band in the sky. On hearing of his death, most people (who know anything about anything) will have thought of this...
Me though... being a child of a very specific time... thought instead of one of the first two dozen 7 inch singles I bought with my own money. It still gives me the shivers...
Three and a half decades later, that's one of Sam's favourite songs too.
The jukebox has only one tribute song to play today, but it comes from one of my favourite bands. Lead singer Craig Finn admits, "I was (and still am) obsessed about the Last Waltz and the Band in general."
She said my name's Robbie Robertson but people call me Robo
When I grew up, I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to write
books and comics and plays and TV shows, and I spent many years of my life
trying to crack my way into the magic circle of professional writers, but while
they occasionally held the door open and beckoned me in, it was only to slam
that door in my face as soon as I tried to set foot over the threshold.
I also wanted to be a radio DJ, back when DJs chose their
own records and championed variety, mixing the underdogs with the mega stars
and always seeking out that next great tune. I did become a DJ, of sorts, just
as freedom of choice was taken away from most radio presenters and market-tested playlists
were enforced on the majority of the industry.
Over the years, I found ways to merge my interests with my
career. Compromise, to pay the bills. I wrote advertising copy,
and when that door was slammed on me (and the room behind the door became so irksome
and malodorous that I was glad to see it slam, and had no desire to seek out
any similar doors), I became an English teacher. I never wanted to be a
teacher, and don’t consider myself a particularly good one, but I’ve been lucky
enough in recent years to find a niche, a safe cave in which I can (hopefully) weather
out my remaining years of employment.
Some people, when they hit a milestone birthday, create a
bucket list of aspirations. Goals, adventures and missions to tick off before
they bite the big one. But there is no bucket list for me. My main ambition now
is just to keep going as long as I can and help Sam become the man he needs to
be to survive the insanity of this world. It was never my ambition to become a
father, but Sam is my greatest achievement, the one thing I’m proud of, so I’ll
live vicariously through him. That’s my bucket list right there.
As to the other things… Writer? DJ? I’ve got this blog. Set
the bar low and you can achieve anything.
A few weeks back I discovered an act on bandcamp called The Spanish Amanda. Except my
aging eyes read it as The Spanish Armada, so that’s the name I
used in the post. Fortunately, Huw
from The Spanish Amanda has nothing better to do with his time than trawl
the Vanarama National League of the blogosphere looking for erratum relating to
his band, and he was kind enough to leave me a comment pointing out the error
of my ways. Since them, I’ve been sampling a variety of their wares, and was properly
KO-ed when I came across the track below. It seemed the perfect tune for this
post…
I shall never play
the Dane No, I shall never
play the Dane I shall never lay
me down on Jutland sands Nor shall I dine
on honeyed bacon Overlooking
Copenhagen It’s a shame Yes, it’s a shame But I shall never
play the Dane So I shall never
play the Dane No, I shall never
play the Dane I can only sit and
nurse my Danish blues For to rampage
like a Viking May have been
quite to my liking It’s a pain Yes, it’s a pain That I shall never
play the Dane
Calling your band "Bush" must seem like a hilarious idea. Because, guess what, "bush" is slang for pubic hair! I said "pubic hair"!!!
Here are some bands who laughed all the way to the bank... although in most cases, I'm guessing it was only the piggy bank.
THE BUSH #1
Garage rockers from Rialto, California who released a bunch of singles in the mid-60s. Many years later, their recorded output was collected on an album called Got Bush If You Want It! Also known as The Bushmen (but that might well be next week's post).
BUSH #2
Canada in 1970 is where we find our next Bush. They released one album and one single, and toured with Steppenwolf and Three Dog Night (who also covered the track below as the B-Side to Joy To The World). Band members went on to join The James Gang and Guess Who, as well as offering tour support for Alice Cooper and Lou Reed.
La BUSH #3
6 and a half minutes of Belgian disco from 1977. You can thank me later.
BUSH #4
Finnish soft rock from 1990, made for AM radio... which I guess makes this an Ambush.
I'm here all week.
BUSH #5
Bush were one of the biggest bands of the 90s, apparently. Not that we were aware of that in their native country where they managed one Top Ten hit in March 1997, and an also ran Top 30 mention a few months later. In the States though, their debut album went 6 times Platinum. They were also huge in Canada, where their lawyers tried to sue the 70s Canadian Bush to prevent them from using the name they got to first. British Bush lost the case and for a while were forced to release their albums as Bush X in Canada, until an amicable settlement was arrived at.
BUSH #6
German "hard trance" from 2001. With the deepest apologies to my dance music friends, this makes me understand why God wanted to set that bush on fire in the Bible.
When I typed "Bush" into discogs, there were almost 2500 entries with that word in their name, so you'll excuse me if I missed a few. When I typed "Bush" into google... well, I had some explaining to do.
Of course, we all know that the greatest Bush of all has the first name Kate, but as she's not allowed to play today... which is your best Bush?
As I mentioned a week or so ago, to celebrate the one hundredth edition of Celebrity Jukebox, I chose one of my favourite artists. But then we lost Sinéad O'Connor, and my plans were thrown out of the window.
Now though, I return to the man who gave voice to my Number One song, Jimmy Webb's amazing...
I won't say anymore about that tune today, but here's a post I wrote about it some years back. I will, however, share with you my review of the time I saw him live, on his farewell tour back in 2011 (this taken from my old blog, Sunset Over Slawit)...
It's long been my dream to see my all time favourite song performed live by the singer who made it famous. Friday at the Salford Lowry was my last chance to make that dream a reality. Unlike many "Farewell Tours" where you suspect the artist may well be "quitting" only to sell more tickets (before next year's inevitable "reunion tour"), Glen Campbell really will be hanging up his mike and guitar once this tour is done. You may have read how the 75 year-old star, famous in his younger days for his baby-faced looks and country choirboy vocals, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's late last year. His return to the road is seen by many as not just a farewell to fans but also a brave effort to publicise a disease which celebrities rarely make public.
It's clear when Campbell takes to the stage that this is not a man in the prime of health. Although joyful and enthusiastic, he does at times appear confused and his legendary guitar playing is no longer at its flawless best. Fortunately he's supported by a band that includes three of his kids: Cal, Ashley and Shannon who help keep him focused throughout the show. And what a show... all the hits that made him famous (many composed by the divine Jimmy Webb), topped off by a showstopping, standing ovation double bill of Wichita Lineman and Rhinestone Cowboy. It was impossible not to be moved to tears by the former, a song that's meant so much to me for so many years and now sounds more bittersweet than ever.
Glen died 6 years later, but he's a mainstay on my jukebox, and the Celebrity Jukebox honours him today with these choice tunes...
Every time I hear Glen Campbell, I think about you And in that moment I can always find "Southern Nights" coming up the hallway And I’m home again in such a simpler time Back when the world was ever "Gentle On My Mind"
Now some days I feel like an engagement ring Resting on the ocean floor Yet others just like that same Glen Campbell record Found in every second hand store
Here's a song about a young man who plays a Yamaha guitar in the Slee Cowboy Orchestra and knows all the lyrics to Glen's biggest hits... in French, I bet...
C'était un garçon des cantons Avec son étui plein d'chansons On pouvait l'voir tous les samedis Avec l'orchestre de cowboys Slee Y avait une guitare Yamaha Et un habit aux opéras Y connaissait toutes les paroles Des dernières tounes de Glen Campbell
When he got out of prison, country music outlaw David Allan Coe lived in a red Cadillac hearse parked in front of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. He was clearly more of a badass than Glen Campbell, and I'm sure Glen would have agreed.
I've always been the Rhinestone Cowboy I don't care what Glen Campbell has to say
James Reyne is quite a big deal down under, first as lead singer of Australian Crawl, then as as successful solo artist. Glen's influence travels far and wide...
Couldn't tell if I was dreaming When I woke before the dawn Thought I heard Glen Campbell screaming Where have all the flowers gone?
Canadian pop punks Chixdiggit win the prize for Band Name of the Week...
I can't be with you tonight, it ain't right Got home, one message for me, our song was on the machine Now I got a song in my head, a mix of Glen Campbell and Queen
Jeremy Warmsley is from London. He's in the band Summer Camp, writes soundtrack music, and releases his own stuff. This is a pretty perfect 60's pastiche...
You swore that you would never tour again Just stay home in bed and write the songs Glen Campbell sat in and sang the high parts While the interband relationships fell apart
Definitely the most famous song to mention Glen - and arguably the best - comes from the legendary Gil Scott Heron. It's a cursory mention in a list of performers who are symptomatic of the "white-washing" of US TV in the 70s, so hardly a tribute to Glen... but always worth a spin.
All of which brings us to these guys. Back in 1980, Melody Maker called Any Trouble "the most exciting new rock 'n' roll group since the Pretenders". They signed to Stiff, then EMI... but never broke the big time. They reformed in 2007 and released two new albums. This track comes from their 2015 album Present Tense. I wonder if it was in response to Glen releasing a song coincidentally named after their band on his final album in 2011...?
