Dave Schwensen's Blog, page 22

#291 – Hello It’s Me

#291 – Hello It’s Me by Todd Rundgren

It took me awhile to get my head wrapped around this one…

Hello It’s Me was hitting the FM airwaves in the fall of 1973 – and it was coming at a good time. I remember laughing and singing the first line, “Hello, it’s me…” as an introductionwhile walking into a room full of my knucklehead college pals.

And by the way – that term is meant as a loving compliment to my college brothers. We were all in our late teens or early 20′s and outside of lecture halls and...

#292 – Crazy On You

#292 – Crazy On You by Heart

Crazy was an appropriate term for the music scene when this song hit the airwaves in 1976. Dividing lines were being drawn within the boomer ranks, depending on where you landed in the age brackets.

Here’s what I mean…

The older members of the generation were pushing 30, starting careers and families, and in my opinion pretty much set in their musical tastes. All four solo Beatles were still making music and The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin hadn’t been called out...

#293 – Big Yellow Taxi

#293 – Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell The late 1960′s and early 70′s was the era of the rock’n roll troubadour. It was a U-turn from pop, psychedelic and rock scenes where a lot of musicians ditched their tailored stage outfits and electric guitars for denim, bare feet and laid back acoustic tunes. And to be honest, I was bored not long after it started.

For many boomers the earth shook onFebruary 9, 1964with the beginning of The British Invasion. The Beatles hit first, followed by The Dave...

#294 – The Bitch Is Back

#294 – The Bitch Is Back by Elton John

Dressed for the radio

This was 1974. If you were around, think about it…

No one in 1974 said “bitch” – or should I say “b***h” – on the radio or on television. It just didn’t happen. Archie Bunker may have been throwing around a few choice comments on All In The Family that year, but he never said that one to Edith. And even though it wasn’t included on George Carlin’s Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television in 1972, that didn’t mean it wasn’t an uniden...

These Boots R Made 4 Rockin’

More expensive than
a ticket to see The Beatles

I bought a pair of outdoor boots in 1971. Actually, my parents bought the boots – I just shopped for them. It was a northern Midwest winter and I was a teenager in high school. They cost $60 which was approximately the cost of a used car at the time and considered big bucks.

To put it into perspective…

Only five years before I saw The Beatles in concert and paid $5.50 for the highest priced ticket. Actually, my parents bought the ticket – I just use...

#295 – The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

#295 – The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot

I’m going to have to pull out the regional card for this one. I remember the song coming out in 1976 and becoming a big hit when I was living on the shores of Lake Erie. But after spending the better part of two decades living in New York and Los Angeles, I have no memory of hearing this song on my classic rock radio stations of choice.

It’s too bad because its not only a good song – it’s a meaningful song.

Following a return to The N...

Bonus Track – (Another) Birthday

You say it’s your birthday?

This is June 19th and The Classic Rocker is celebrating another birthday. Age? I knew you would ask. I’m not as old as Ringo Starr or as young as Justin Timberlake. Pick an age somewhere in between and if it’s not too outrageous I’ll probably admit to it.

As Three Dog Night would say: “Liar!”

Let’s just call it stretching the truth.

My age only means one thing to me. I’ve been around long enough to have seen all the great bands with their original members. I’m talking...

#296 – The Weight

#296 – The Weight by The Band

I’ve been to Woodstock once. Not for the Music & Arts Festival, but just to hang around for a day. The town has a laid-back image with a lot of peace, love and understanding, so I went there to find some.

It was a brief escape from The City, meaning New York City where I had been living for over a decade. I loved it and still do. I consider myself to be a City Person, though where I grew up – northern Ohio – was (and probably still is) considered The Sticks to my N...

Elton Is Everywhere

Mr. Nixon

Even though I can picture myself in a high collared spangled jumpsuit with elephant bell bottoms, I have no desire to join a Mojo Nixon tribute band and sing Elvis Is Everywhere. But I can relate to the meaning of the song if we trade the jumpsuit for an over-sized pair of outlandish glasses and a Donald Duck costume.

Let me explain in my usual roundabout way…

There was a guy I knew in New York City named Wild Jim. It wasn’t his real name, but it’s what we used to keep him separate fro...

#297 – I Woke Up In Love This Morning

#297 – I Woke Up In Love This Morning by The Partridge Family

It’s 7:30 pm – do you know where your kids are?

To quote the President of The United States in 1971:

“Let me make this perfectly clear…”

When my friends and I were teenagers, there was no way we’d sit home on a weekend night to watch television. Whatever the season there was always something to do – and we’d find it and do it.

To use another quote from the older generation:

“Youth is wasted on the young.”

I don’t remember wasting too much...