Dave Schwensen's Blog, page 15

Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story

The Classic Rocker Featured Book Review

Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story by Rick Bragg

Rating: FIVE Classic Rock Stars

A Rockin’ and Rollin’ Life Story

This is one of the most entertaining books I’ve read in quite awhile. If you know anything about Jerry Lee Lewis as a performer, you know he doesn’t waste any time kicking himself into high speed. Off stage he was no different. His life story rocks, jukes, jives, swings, dodges, sinks to the lowest depths and rises to the highest highs. Somehow...

#236 – Just One Look

#236 – Just One Look by The Hollies

– I can’t be the only one to ever admit this, but the first time we heard The Hollies we didn’t know it was a new band. At least they didn’t seem new to music fans in the U.S. The song Just One Look was released in Spring 1964. The British Invasion was hitting us at full force and it seemed anything that came out of England was a hit.

Except this one didn’t score.

It was a hit in the UK, but received hardly – if any – U.S. radio play between hits by The Bea...

#237 – In The Midnight Hour

#237 – In The Midnight Hour by Wilson Pickett

It’s getting close to midnight Wilson!

– A quick surf through internet and satellite radio shows that music has been separated into specific genres. You can find stations dedicated to playing only classic rock, album rock, deep cuts, pure country, pop, hip-hop, jazz, heavy metal, opera, show tunes, movie soundtracks and any other style imaginable. There are even stations that only play tracks by one artist, such as Elvis or The Beatles.

In the mid...

#238 – The Long Run

#238 – The Long Run by The Eagles

– I could pull a cliché and say The Long Run is a good description for closing out the 1970’s. Similar to any decade, the beginning year offers no clue on how it’s going to end. As a comparison, all you have to do is skim through YouTube videos of news stories and music from the beginning to the end of the 1960’s and you’ll find it’s more than a little mind-blowing.

Think about it.

Number one songs in 1960 included Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot B...

#239 – Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

#239 – Scenes From An Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel

“Yo, Billy!”

– This one has New York City written all over it. Yeah, you can always get a “A bottle of white, a bottle of red. Perhaps a bottle of rose instead” anywhere fromVenice, Italy to The Venetian in Las Vegas. But you would be drinking it with a girl named Brenda. In Billy Joel’s Italian restaurant, you’re splitting the bottle with “Brend’r.”

A New York accent? Only for someone that doesn’t live in one of the boroughs that make up...

#240 – Will It Go Round In Circles

#240 – Will It Go Round In Circles by Billy Preston

– In the late 1960’s and early-to mid 70’s every rock’n roller (and now Classic Rocker) knew of Billy Preston. He was the ultimate session guy – but in a BIGGER way than anyone else. An argument could be made he was a member of both The Beatles AND The Rolling Stones. And when you think about it, no matter how famous they are, no other member of either band can make that claim.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney sang backup vocals on The Stones’...

#241 – You Shook Me All Night Long

#241 – You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC

– It’s a good thing I sleep with a soft pillow or waking up to this head-banging rock anthem could’ve been dangerous to my mental health. A classic track from the classic AC/DC album Back In Black, it’s rock and roll to the Nth degree kicked out of Marshall Amps jacked-up to full volume.

That’s the only way to hear it. Make it LOUD or do us all a favor and listen to something else.

Of course that’s not exactly how it was playing in my mind when it r...

Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009 by J. Randy Taraborrelli

The Story, The Talent, The Scandals and The Weirdness

The Classic Rocker Featured Book Review

Rating: FOUR AND A HALF Classic Rock Stars

This is a long journey that takes us from young, talented, happy and abused Michael, to superstar, fabulously rich, depressed and weird Michael – and everywhere in between. It’s a good but sometimes opinionated insight into the public and private life of one of the most talked-about celebrities of the past fifty years.

The story of the Jackson family during...

#242 – Winston Cigarettes Commercial Jingle

#242 – Winston Cigarettes Commercial Jingle

– I could be banned by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) for this one. If it happens, I’ll play the never say never card and start writing from a ship docked off the coast in international waters. We’ll call the new base Radio Carolina No. If nothing else my story of self-exile could become a cult movie.

The reason for my flying under the government radar is the television / radio jingle for Winston Cigarettes that was replaying through my...

#243 – With A Little Luck

#243 – With A Little Luck by Wings

– If you’ve grown up anywhere in a northern climate, you’ll have more than a few stories about getting stuck in the snow. But after awhile, the winters all blend together. I can remember shoveling driveways as a teenager, but couldn’t tell you exactly what year it was. The shovels, snow, hats, gloves and everything else look the same in my memory bank. Also how much I hated it. I don’t ever plan to shovel snow again… at least for a few more months.

But I rem...