Dave Schwensen's Blog, page 12

#214 – She’s About A Mover

#214 – She’s About A Mover by Sir Douglas Quintet

– Remember record stores? Yeah, I know they’re still around. Vinyl is making a comeback and every decent sized city has at least a few record stores for collectors to haunt around and pick up memories. Also Vinyl Record Day (was August 12th this year) brings back the cracks, pops and fizzes that many of us still remember as being part the music we memorized as the needle from our portable record players dragged, jumped and sometimes skipped th...

#215 – Crocodile Rock

#215 – Crocodile Rock by Elton John

– I’ve had two relatively close encounters with Elton John. I’ll tell you about both because “that’s what I do” as The Classic Rocker, but first…

Elton John broke HUGE on the pop scene in 1970 and in 1973 Crocodile Rock was added to our “hoppin’ and boppin'” college party playlist. But I never became a HUGE fan. If an explanation is needed, I’ll blame it on my sheltered existence as part of the youngest edge of the boomer generation. By the time we got out...

Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones

The Classic Rocker Featured Book Review

Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones by Paul Trynka

Rating: FOUR AND A HALF Classic Rock Stars

Out of Control Rock and Roll Fatality

This book will remind original Rolling Stones fans who started the band and for younger generations, who the blonde guitarist is in the old videos. Whatever era you fit into, it’s an enlightening look at the brief life of a musician who dedicated his extraordinary talent to making the blues mainstream, then became...

#216 – Moonage Daydream

#216 – Moonage Daydream by David Bowie

– When we rock and rolled into summer 1972 I had never heard of David Bowie. The past year had been great in rock music terms with LP’s by the solo Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who and Alice Cooper, but for some reason I was in the mood for something new.

Actually, I was looking for something different…

I was between my freshman and Sophomore years in college and one hot afternoon in July or August I wandered into a local record store i...

#217 – Honey Pie

#217 – Honey Pie by The Beatles

– Wish I could say “Welcome to camp” but I’m not sure everyone would get the idea. But if you caught my not-so-hidden meaning, it’s good way to describe Honey Pie, which was released in 1968 as part of The Beatles’ The Beatles (actual title of The White Album).

Mention camp and some people might think of pitching a tent somewhere or Keith Moon as Uncle Ernie welcoming disciplesto Tommy’s “Holiday Camp” in the 1975 movie. But what I’m talking about is “camp” as...

#218 – Why Can’t We Be Friends?

#218 – Why Can’t We Be Friends? by War

– Music is never tied to a certain year or era. A good song can cast a wide shadow across generations. Staying within our context of classic rock and pop, songs recorded by Elvis and The Beatles more than half a century ago are still the soundtrack for new fans making new memories in 2016. Since I fully expect this generation to be impacting the world a half century from now, it’s safe to say these songs will still be alive and well – with an excellent c...

#219 – An Old Fashioned Love Song

#219 – An Old Fashioned Love Song by Three Dog Night

– Not to be over dramatic, especially with everything going on in the world today, but for boomers on the edge of adulthood, 1971 could be described as an intense year. I’ve written about it from a personal perspective in past Classic Rocker’s and memory-wise it’s a magnet on my timeline.

We were two years past Woodstock.And Altamontin December ’69 threw a sucker punch at the peace and love of the Woodstock Generation, delivering a major hi...

Interview with Scotty Moore

– Scotty Moore, the legendary guitar player who make his mark on rock and roll playing the ground breaking licks behind Elvis Presley on his Sun Records hits, passed away on June 28, 2016. I was fortunate to have interviewed Scotty in 2002 when he was touring through the rockabilly universe with former Stray Cat stand-up bassist, Lee Rocker. It was an honor to talk with him – and just as much of an honor to learn our conversation is still posted on Scotty’s website.

Here it is…

*

Playing Rock...

#220 – Don’t Stop Believin’

#220 – Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey

– Let’s say you’re in Hamburg, Germany in December 1962 and hanging at a local bar with some pals. It’s a Saturday night around 2 am and not as crowded as it was at midnight, but there’s still a cool vibe going on and a great jukebox.

Four guys walk in.

They’re not from the neighborhood and their hair and the way they dress make it obvious they’re musicians. They have a couple girls with them, but seem more interested in relaxing and making some new frie...

They say it’s your birthday (again)!!

– Guess I should have saved my past birthday posts after the number of years writing The Classic Rocker. It would’ve been like another mini timeline of where, what and what the heck was I thinking! With today being this year’s birthday, here’s the experience (and it was a good one!)…

This really happened and even I wouldn’t dare make this one up.

Today is my birthday. Last night at 11:30 pm I’m standing in line to buy beer. No one in front of me was carded. I got to the counter and the guy as...