Robert Earl Keen‘s upcoming album Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions (2015) heads into bluegrass territory on tracks like the classic nineteenth century ballad “Wayfaring Stranger.” As Rolling Stone reports, Keen grew up listening to bluegrass music and that music has continued as a “hidden influence” throughout his career. So, it is exciting to see him bringing this music to the forefront with the new album.
The song “Wayfaring Stranger” has been recorded by many artists including Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, and Burl Ives, who used the song’s name for the title of his autobiography. On Keen’s new version of “Wayfaring Stranger,” Natalie Maines provides harmonies. Check it out.
“Wayfaring Stranger” is not Natalie Maines’s only connection to Keen’s Happy Prisoner album. Her father Lloyd Maines produced the album. Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions will be released on February 10, 2015.
What is your favorite version of “Wayfaring Stranger”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On January 9 in 1768, the first modern circus was staged in London. Philip Astley, a former cavalry sergeant major, made a ring and invited the public to watch him do tricks on horseback as he rode around the ring.
The Growth of the Circus
Because the public enjoyed the act, Astley then added other riders, a clown, and musicians, eventually putting a roof over his ring in 1770. In 1782, Astley’s Amphitheatre faced competition from a similar act down the road, with the competitor using the name “Royal Circus.” The competitor took the word “circus” from the Roman name for where chariot races were held.
Eventually, the word “circus” would become the generic name for such events. And Astley himself eventually established eighteen more such venues across Europe.
Circuses spread around the world. John Bill Ricketts created the first U.S. circus in 1792 in Philadelphia. In the late 1800s, P.S. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey went into the circus business, as did five Ringling brothers.
The Greatest Show on Earth
Since the invention of the circus, fictional stories have used the circus setting to tell stories too. In 1952, director Cecil B. DeMille and Paramount Pictures released The Greatest Show on Earth, set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
The cast included Betty Hutton, Holly Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, James Stewart (as Buttons the Clown), Dorothy Lamour, and Gloria Grahame. Check out the trailer below, where it is funny to hear the narrator’s voice from The Ten Commandments (DeMille) narrating this trailer about a circus.
Springsteen’s “Wild Billy’s Circus Story”
One of my favorite stories about a circus is found in Bruce Springsteen’s song, “Wild Billy’s Circus Story,” from The Wild, The Innocent & The E-Street Shuffle (1973). The song is really an excuse to string together a number of wonderful circus images. Springsteen’s tale features the barker, the man-beast, the flying Zambinis, the stong man, and others.
Finally, “Wild Billy’s Circus Story” concludes with an enticing question that many children have dreamed of being asked. “And the circus boss leans over, whispers in the little boy’s ear, ‘Hey son, you wanna try the big top?'”
Apparently, I am not the only fan of the somewhat unusual and obscure song. In this video below from July 2013 in Kilkenny in Ireland, Springsteen explains how a fan has been following him around trying to get him to play “Wild Billy’s Circus Story.”
And then the Boss leans over and whisper’s in his ear that the wish will be granted. Or something like that.
What is your favorite circus story? Leave your two cents in the comments.Photo of Astley’s Amphitheatre via public domain.
On December 31, 1964, American International Pictures released The T.A.M.I. Show in theaters as a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” This early rock concert film gave rock and roll fans a snapshot of some of the biggest bands of the time and was groundbreaking.
“T.A.M.I.” stands for “Teenage Awards Music International,” although some promotional materials also used “Teen Age Music International.” But the important part of The T.A.M.I. Show is the music, filmed from the standpoint of the audience. The technique made viewers feel like they were at the show recorded at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on October 28 and 29, 1964.
Below is the trailer for the film.
The general consensus is that James Brown gives his greatest filmed performance here, an outstanding display of passion and performing experience that made the Rolling Stones regret they had to follow him. But there are other highlights throughout the concert, including the 18-year-old Lesley Gore and a surprisingly loose performance by The Beach Boys.
Although producer Bill Sargent lost the rights to the film and it disappeared for decades, it is now available for your viewing on DVD (with extras) and with various performances on YouTube. Below, James Brown performs “Please, Please, Please.”
Performers include Jan and Dean (over the credits), Chuck Berry, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Lesley Gore, The Beach Boys, Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, The Supremes, The Barbarians, James Brown and The Famous Flames, and The Rolling Stones.
Artists are still making great music today, but it is hard to imagine people agreeing on so many great performers in one film now. So, travel back to another time, and check out the Rolling Stones closing the show, joined by others on the stage.
Some trivia tidbits: The opening credits list The Blossoms with the performers, but they are not introduced when they appear as the backing singers for Marvin Gaye (or when later they appear to encourage James Brown to return to the stage). The Blossoms were used to not getting credit, having recorded the 1962 hit “He’s a Rebel” without credit.
Also, future actress Teri Garr and future recording star Toni Basil appear as background dancers in the film, and singer Glen Campbell and musician Leon Russell played in the show’s backing band, The Wrecking Crew. Reportedly, filmmaker John Landis and future Partridge Family star David Cassidy, who were seventh grade classmates at the time, were in the audience for the show.
What are your favorite parts of The T.A.M.I. Show? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Sam Smith had a great year, and he ended is ending the year by giving us a moving new version of an old classic. Check out Sam Smith singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and have a merry Christmas.
The Killers sought some help from Jimmy Kimmel in putting together their annual Christmas song. The result is a catchy and surprisingly touching song, “Joel the Lump of Coal.” The song tells the story of a lump of coal named Joel who is excited to be a Christmas present before learning the disappointing news that Santa Claus’s plan is to use him to teach a naughty boy a lesson. But, since this song is a Christmas song, it ends with a heart-warming twist.
Below is a video of The Killers playing the new Christmas classic, “Joel the Lump of Coal.” Check it out.
The video of Jimmy Kimmel working with The Killers to write the song is on YouTube too. The Killers’ “Joel the Lump of Coal” benefits the RED campaign to raise awareness about AIDS.
What do you think of “Joel the Lump of Coal”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(1973). The song is really an excuse to string together a number of wonderful circus images. Springsteen’s tale features the barker, the man-beast, the flying Zambinis, the stong man, and others.
and with various performances on YouTube. Below, James Brown performs “Please, Please, Please.”
