Dave Schwensen's Blog, page 16

#244 – Rock On

#244 – Rock On by David Essex

– This was really a different type of a song. Period. That statement could be the entire article about this catchy, not sounding like anything elsehit by David Essex that rocked us on during the winter of 1973-74. But if you’ve ever read one of these Classic Rocker ramblings, you’ll know I can’t just leave it at that.

Rock On plants English rocker and actor Essex firmly into the one hit wonder category in the U.S., though he’s had a long and successful career in...

#245 – Can’t Buy Me Love

#245 – Can’t Buy Me Love by The Beatles

– Beatles fans will undoubtedly remember Can’t Buy Me Love from the joyful romp to freedom by The Fab Four in A Hard Day’s Night. Arguably the beginnings of the music video, thoughElvis fans might disagree thanks to his musical movie adventures, the scene stood out because of how the song was presented. The Beatles didn’t lip-sync their way through the number as they did with most of the songs in the film, but instead it was used it as a soundtrack.

“So...

#246 – Evil Ways

#246 – Evil Ways by Santana

Santana

– This was something totally different for those of us considered to be “average” Midwest teenagers in 1969 going into 1970. We were already deep into our rock and roll influences, but there was so much more to be heard. For many of the younger baby boomers, The British Invasion in 1964 was only a starting point. By 1965 American artists had caught up and between the two, hit songs seemed to be coming on an almost daily basis.

What they gave us through AM T...

Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan by Howard Sounes

The Evolution of R. Zimmerman into Bob Dylan and Beyond

The Classic Rocker Featured Book Review

Rating: FOUR AND A HALF Classic Rock Stars

This was meant to be the definitive biography of Bob Dylan to mark his 60thbirthday in 2001. In the years since, as he hit his 70thyear and beyond, it still stands as an extremely well-researched and insightful look at a man who has done his best to remain mysterious and elusive as a celebrity, while keeping his private life shrouded in almost total secrec...

#247 – Hey There Lonely Girl

#247 – Hey There Lonely Girl by Eddie Holman

– With hindsight acting as a time machine with 20/20 vision in the rear view mirror, the segment of baby boomers under the age of 18 in December 1969 weren’t yet totally exposed to what our older brethren were dealing with. As pre-adults we were still pretty much safe in our high school and junior high cocoons while college campuses were reaching the boiling point over Vietnam and an absence of having a legal voice in the matter.

The voting age wou...

#248 – Silly Love Songs

#248 – Silly Love Songs by Wings

Wings with the well-known bass player

– Here’s an opinion about dedicated, first generation Beatles fans. We think we know these guys. In some cases, more than even family members because we think we know what they’re thinking.

I’m sure there’s a study out there in a psychology magazine or floating around the internet agreeing that’s not such an outrageous statement. I think it’s pretty common in the celebrity world. Generations have had favorite television sh...

August 15, 1965 – The Beatles At Shea Stadium

– It started earlier than you might think…

Sid Bernstein

During the winter of 1963 Sid Bernstein, a New York producer and entrepreneur,decided to expand his horizons by taking a course in Political Science. The instructor said if students wanted learn about democracy they need to study Great Britain, so Bernstein trekked down to Times Square every week and bought the British newspapers.

After reading updates about the government, he turned to where his real interests were – the entertainment...

#249 – I’m Gonna Make You Mine

#249 – I’m Gonna Make You Mine by Lou Christie

– Bubblegum or pop? The lines were blurred in 1969 with any songs that couldn’t be described as Woodstock-worthy falling into one of the two categories dominating Top 40 AM Radio. Rock was the genre of choice as boomers moved into the realm of FM airwaves. But as I’ve mentioned before in earlier Classic Rocker ramblings, I didn’t know any teenagers in 1969 that had FM radios in their cars.

We’d drive around searching the AM channels forHonky Tonk...

#250 – Alone Again (Naturally)

#250 – Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O’Sullivan

College Prep Pop

– Talk about strange…This was a 1972 pop song about suicide and death that had no attachment to Alice Cooper. Gilbert O’Sullivan was from the opposite end of the image spectrum as the innocent victim, rather than the decadent instigator. But just like Alice, his wardrobe made this statement very clear. You could tell he shopped on the other side of town and favored the college prep look with slacks (flared, of course) and s...

#251 – Too Much Heaven

#251 – Too Much Heaven by The Bee Gees

Music for UNICEF

– Okay, it was 1979 and let’s be honest here. The disco faze was fading. The Bee Gees were the rulers of the genre and phenomenally successful. Their soundtrack to the major blockbuster film Saturday Night Fever is still one of the top-sellers of all time and it seemed everything they touched in the mid to late 70’s turned to gold.

But Too Much Heaven, even though it hit number one on the charts and the Brothers Gibb (Bee Gees – get it?)...